LOCAL FASHION GAME CHANGERS. WELL, AT LEAST JUST SOME OF THEM.

Every once in a while I like to look back at where we come from as a fashion people and give credit to the masters of fashion who have paved some memorable ways and made it okay for designers ( including myself) to freely exercise and practice their creative madness. In terms of South African fashion, it sometimes becomes a tad difficult to go down memory lane as it often seems like we didn’t have much of an industry before Mr Tlale won that Elle New Designer Search. Our industry seems almost nonexistent before then. I can only ever think back to the time when SABC 1 was VUZU and Zandi Nhlapho was as big as Bonang.  Designers like Marc & Michael, The Boys and Library were the cream of the crop of South African designer circuits.

Who was your favorite designer of that era? Think way before you knew of current artists like Tlale, Sindi and Coetzee. Think back to the days when VinoliaMashego was the ultimate queen of entertainment. A time when Mafikizolo had just hit the local music scene in red hair and crochet apparel.  Busting hits such as “Lotto” and “Majika”. Remember that era?

I remember a particular name in fashion at that time. Errol Arendz. I remember this name being a regular mention on red carpets and at prestigious pageants. I recall Arendz being the Coetzee of the time. For the longest time, I didn’t even know what Mr Arendz looked like. I just knew that he was a fashion god and the ruler of all things regal and glamorous. Another one that comes to mind is Marianne Fassler. I remember her because she was like no other. Her look and her design aesthetic was like no other designer’s. She was also a popular name on the red carpets of the South African Music Awards, The DukuDuku Awards and the Metros. She certainly goes down as one of my all-time favorite designers and greatest inspirations.

 Before us black creatives even knew of Vogue and W Magazine, we all honestly relied on was the social pages of Drum and Huis Genoot. Don’t even lie about it. We only discovered the fashion bibles later. So, if you’re not a “recently fashionable” fashionista, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, the Tlales, Sindis and Coetzees are properly slaying and creating a new vibrancy in local fashion but can we acknowledge and give credit to Errol Arendz, Marianne Fassler, The Boys and Marc & Michael as formidable power houses of our past in fashion?