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Friday, March 14, 2008

Audi Joburg Fashion Week Autumn/Winter '08, II

Alright folks, this completes our review of Audi Joburg Fashion Week as we prepare for Sanlam SA Fashion Week Autumn/Winter '08 which began today! Some key things to note in the business of fashion in SA this Autumn/Winter. It has been all about high profile partnerships to elevate South Africa's industry on a local and international level. Audi Joburg Fashion Week, for example, partnered with the reputable TV station SABC3 to have their local designers dress SABC3 TV personalities. Sanlam SA Fashion Week, likewise, partners with Samsung for a very attractive model competition.

The winner of the competition, 1 girl and 1 guy receives a modeling contract valued at $75,000, opens for Sanlam SA Fashion Week in August and guest stars in selected promotional advertising for Samsung. In addition, the top 12 finalists will do a shoot with Cosmopolitan Magazine and attend a VIP party at Taboo, Sandton. The competition closes May 1st, 2008 so click here and apply ASAP if you want a chance at a modeling contract with Next, New York. Enjoy the rest of our Audi review which includes Ladybrille Fashion Police [LFP]. All photos by Simon Deiner of SDR photo, South Africa.
David Tlale is a strong designer whose gift has always been to push the envelope and create artistic, talented, functional, elegant and bold designs. In fact, he was one of chosen four who showed at Paris Fashion Week last year. This season, we seriously have to ask, "What happened and what was he thinking?" His women's collection seemed to overpower the woman wearing it. The men's collection, not so sure what happened either. There were a few looks, nevertheless, that we liked, especially as it seemed he had a fusion of African/Egyptian/Indian theme going on.

This look without the sandals would work fine

Seriously what was David Tlale thinking?

Same here. What happened? LFP help!

The New Generations Designers comprised of various emerging designers. Below are the two looks we really liked.While the fit is not quite on point on this model's body the dress is clever with its sexy pleatings, fabric and color choice.
Thula Sindi was also one of the designers last year that made his debut on Paris Fashion Week's catwalk. For Autumn/Winter Collection, he definitely continues to show he understands your lifestyle as his collection takes you from a day at the office to even being red carpet ready!



Gavin Rajah is always grande with his work. This collection was no different as he brought the "wow" factor with sassy, voluminous and fluid designs that would have all turning when you walk into a room.
Kluk CGDT-We loved everything about the Kluk CGDT collection. It was fresh, colorful, flirty, fluid, demure and sexy all at the same time! Our favorite is the pick below but check out a short snippet of the show in the accompanying You Tube below to see a bit more of the collection.


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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Audi Joburg Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008

Audi Joburg Fashion Week completed its showings of colorful and inspiring collections for Autumn/Winter 2008 this past weekend and we are ready to tell you what we think! Now, check this out folks. We are constantly asked about the African fashion brands we think have crossover appeal and can be successful in reaching the Western Consumers we cater to. Among the names we mention time and time again, specific from South Africa's Fashion Industry, are Gavin Rajah, Sun Goddess and Stoned Cherie. They just got it like that! But, there are some labels we have been observing and are equally impressed with, names like Machere and Ifa Lethu. Here is our review and Editor's picks, Part I. Enjoy. [All photos by Simon Deiner of SDR Photo].

Machere Pooe, the creative brain behind the label Machere was right on the money this season. Beyond the fact that she got it right with yellow color palettes for winter seen on runways across the globe, her designs offered clean lines, exciting and bold colors and sexy body hugging as well as fluid silhouttes in a '50s elegance meets today's woman.

Stoned Cherrie: We really could write volumes about the label Stoned Cherrie and not get tired! The strength of the brand continues to lie in its ability to use local South African fabrics to make clothes in a very cosmopolitan way that resonates with women globally. We predict, in five years, Stoned Cherrie will become a well known brand with Western consumers like Ladybrille's. This season, the brand showed its diversity with looks that were more lifestyle oriented taking you from street savvy to powerful yet feminine designs fit for the court/boardroom. The accesories were also very complimentary and fierce! By the way, we can't help but think Tracy Reese with the high waisted pants and Lola Faturoti for the flirty pleated dresses. Sun Goddess is simply African Royalty redefined. From the textured leather in rich chocolates and browns and creative yet functional silhouettes, every woman is indeed a goddess in one of the SG designs. We also love their full and high waisted skirts.


Okay this one was a miss. So not werking!

Ifa Lethu: We identified this label last season for its electic upscale urban feel. The brand continues to impress with funky, urban clothes that is perfect for your lifestyle.
Okay we didn't care for the rainbow colored tulle skirt matched with this jacket. A bit much. The jacket, however, could be paired with so many different bottoms including jeans to create a variety looks. Every other look we liked.


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Supermodel Oluchi Claims SA Fashion Magazines Are Racist

Oluchi joins a pool of black Supermodels such as Iman, Naomi Campbell and more in challenging fashion publications on their racist stance when it comes to African/Black faces on the covers of their publications. Here, Oluchi points the fingers at Western publications based in South Africa. Do you think Oluchi has a legitimate point under these facts?

Here is an excerpt of the article from our friends at IFashion:
"International supermodel Oluchi Onweagba says she has been snubbed by some top South African magazines — because they won’t put blacks on their covers. The Nigerian-born beauty, who won the first Face of Africa competition in 1997, claims that local editions of Glamour and GQ magazine — which belong to the Condé Nast Independent Magazines stable — refused to have her on their covers because she is black.

Oluchi said: "As a Nigerian and an African I have done so much in my career to represent everything African in Western countries. There is a diverse group of people in South Africa, be it black, white, Asian."What baffles me is them saying they can’t put a black person on the cover of the South African edition."She said GQ had scheduled an editorial shoot with her in Cape Town but cancelled at the last minute.A GQ South Africa insider revealed that the magazine has never had a black model on its cover.

GQ editor Craig Tyson said: "I am not responsible for bookings, my creative director is, so I will have to consult him before making a comment."Oluchi admitted that though she could not make the date for a Glamour shoot, this was used as an excuse to exclude her, even though she was willing to reschedule." Read the rest here and let us know your thoughts.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

SXSW Africa 2.0 Preliminary Report


[All Photos by Martin Kliehm From Frankfurt and Main Germany]
The SXSW Conference was absolutely fantastic! From March 7th-16th, about 400,000 people converge on the city of Austin to talk music, film and interactive media and seriously party like rockstars! The local news reported the City of Austin estimated making approximately $100 million from the SXSW conference. Wow!

AUSTIN CITY BABY! I loved, loved Austin. Austin is known as Silicon Hills as opposed to San Jose's Silicon Valley. There are high tech companies like DELL, APPLE, HP, INTEL and lots more. Austin is the headquaters of Whole Foods Store and boy is it gorgeous in there or what?!! There are lots of Californians that have moved to Austin and it's easy to see how as the technologically savvy environment is balanced with a laid back approach reflected even in the casual wear seen on the residents of Austin. There are quality restaurants everywhere you go and the live music scene is well and alive! Now get this, Austin has lots of money. Seriously, you don't hear me. I stayed at the Marriot South by the Austin airport and I noticed four other Marriot chains on the same street on the same block next to each other and guess what? They were all sold out of rooms! The managers informed me this is a common thing. They always have events and sell out of rooms quickly. Austin is a cool place to visit.

BUSINESS OF TECHNOLOGY:Technology as we already know is BIG business. There were so many companies marketing their products at SXSW from Dell, Zappos, IKEA, Google, Yahoo and more. Dell even had a lounge where you could chill with your Dell laptop and every few hours/on schedule, they had artists performing. SXSW also had amazing seminars on start-up businesses. One of the things I notice, again and again, is that while industries might be different i.e. technology, the business principles and lessons stay the same. It held true at the SXSW event so you can get some good advice as an entrepreneur, even though your business is fashion, for instance.

GEEK LAND & FASHION BLOGGERS
FASHION BLOGGERS: Lord have mercy! At least on the interactive media end of things, there was no denying that I was in the midst of geek land. It was evident from the many with laptops that had their face buried in those sleek sexy things. I loved it! Geeks and I are like bread and butter.Okay don't take me literally but I'm down with geeks. In spite of my excitement of being in a space filled with [g]eeks and trying to find a match for Ladybrille, of course!, I could tell when the geeks were being replaced by the film and music festival folks because the fashionistas became more prominent with their hot trends off the runway. Speaking of fashion, fashion bloggers were in the house representing. Fellow bloggers up for the Fabbies Fashion Awards: Style Hive, Coquette and Budget Fashionista made appearances. The beauty and brain, Natalie Zee Drieu, behind Coquette organized a fashion technology panel. Check out the video here.TECHIE CELEBRITIES: There were some techie celebrities in the house like Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook, Frank Warren founder of Post Secrets, I enjoyed his keynote, and so many more dynamic influencers in the technology and non-technology world. Yes, respect these techie celebs because the ladies do fall over some of them. We think it's a combination of their heavy wallets and geeky looks. Take for example, Sarah Lacy, Business Week 2.0 Expose writer. Gurlfriend did not know how to behave when she interviewed Zuckerberg and you best believe she got chewed out by the techies and geeks on the internet! Here is the video. '>Watch at your own Peril. The music industry celebs were also present and in fact you can catch a free concert on March 15th at 8:00pm in Austin with Ice Cube, Talib Kweli and Jean Grae if hip-hop floats your boat. These celebs are also at SXSW to see how technology is changing music reality for them and their fan base.
NETWORKING: SXSW is a great place to network, network, network and network some more. I met so many cool innovators, CEOs, Presidents and Vice Presidents of start-ups, digital media groups and much more. I got invited to speak at upcoming non-SXSW conferences in the, sampled and saw demos of great technology, technology that is not even on the market till 2-3yrs down the line, met super smart web developers and kept an eye for the right personalities and brilliant minds that can be a match for Ladybrille as we position ourselves and continue to highlight Ladybrille as an innovator and pioneer for bringing African Fashions and its industry directly to Western consumers. By the way, thanks to ICY PR for the wonderful postcards they did for Ladybrille SXSW Africa 2.0 event complete with a 2008 calendar and delish websites. It made an impression especially with the networking.

AFRICA 2.0 PANEL:I am glad G. Kofi Annan had the foresight to propose such a panel and that it was approved! The space provided for our panel was quite large and the turnout was wonderful!!! People were open and had a real curiousity to see what Africa was doing on the technology end and how they could use technology to make change in Africa from tourism to fashion and everything in between. We'll be sure to get the podcast of the panel once it becomes available. I also had privilege of being interviewed by three studios that wanted to know all about the concept behind the brand Ladybrille. I spoke about that and used the opprtunity to debunk stereotypes about African fashions, and identified African designers likely to break into the USA market in a big way.

I think the icing on the cake was when the producers of SXSW invited myself and Kofi Annan the moderator and blogger at Annansi Chronicles for a chat at their SX Studio 2008. Kofi and I had lots of fun interviewing each other. We introduced our very attentive American audience to issues in Africa's technology industry but expanded our talks to include African fashion and entertainment industries including celebrities in the USA making Africa look sexy, musical collabos, Nollywood and certainly the upcoming concert in honor of Bono where the creme de la creme of African artists will sing U2 songs in celebration of Bono's work and contribution to Africa.
Again, lots of fun and I was honored to be a part of such a huge platform to take the Ladybrille message to an even diverse audience. Stay tuned later this month as we bring you a bit more updates, the podcasts/videos including some of the technology trends we found that might be applicable to you.

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Howard 4th Annual Fashion Show, Mojisola Akinyemi Reports


Howard University recently completed its first Annual African Business Conference. Part of the conference included Howard's 4th Annual African Fashion Show. Ladybrille fashion contributor Mojisola Akinyemi gives us a succint summary of her impressions of the looks off the runway.

Tosa Collection - Sexy and ready to wear

Aashik - Menswear, casual with detailed screens & logo. Vivid and bold.

IDIA - strips of vibrant luxurious material layered over more matte/solid traditional fabrics. Hommage to deceased artist. Very rich vivid colors ( red, orange and yellow). Rich fabrics, sexy and revealing.
DAV!D BY Eniola- Formal evening wear with rich fabrics. High shine and sparkle, great use of co-ordinating accessories and interesting mix of ready to wear.

Kustoms Looks - Clean and sophisticated on the outside, edgy and funky on the inside with great use of accenting fabrics in the lining & ties. Suits for work, dinner, church, weddings and hanigng out. This look is for the man that is confident in his business and personal swagger.

L-Shandi - Cute lace dresses with ribbon sashes. Some formal/cocktail dresses.
Estella Couture - Innovative rich colors, multiple texture pieces for men and women. Exquisite and unique designs ranging from casual to formal wear.
Knaf Couture- Flirty, fun , sexy dresses. Jackets are also edgy and sexy.
Ariel Swimwear- Sexy yet playful, more fun than functional.
Simply For You - Monochromatic as well as vibrant colorful accessories [neck pieces ] & beads.

All photos by BlackHerald.com.

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Sunday, March 9, 2008

Uduak with Utterz at the SXSW Conf.



Mobile post sent by Ladybrille using Utterz Replies.
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