The common knowledge around the world is that everyone
thinks they have the whole style and fashion thing on lockdown, right? Now,
with that said, how do we begin to rectify the wrongs done to us by thrift
shops and knock-off brand factories? I notice that the “cool kid” era has given
birth to a whole new breed of “fashionistas”.
Girls are looking more and more like their grandmothers with the coming
of every weekend in the name of “vintage”.
Braamfontein is the capital city of this new breed.
The general practice is to raid Wanderers street during the
5am thrift-on-the-sidewalk “dunusa” activity, dunk your latest purchase in
fabric softener to rid of the reek and slay Neighborgoods Market and Kitcheners
in your frocks. The ladies will be clad in Moss Crepe maxi skirts, pussy bow
Goergette blouses and ill-fitting Tartan blazers. The gentlemen are then in
pinstripe suits, tribal print wax shirts and tassel slip-ons. Though honestly,
it is not so much the guys that bother me but much more the ladies. I totally
get the idea and the direction of the aesthetics and all, but the execution is
horrendous, to say the least. How this came to be called vintage is beyond my
wildest understanding.
The accessibility and free use of Tumblrhas not made it any
easier for me and any other person that shares my sentiments. My timelines are forever filled with images
of bright lipstick and ill-fitting skirts.
Look, by no means am I hating on the poor kids. Hell, I was probably
much worse when I was in fashion school thinking I was the Dion Chang of my
time (I once owed a green Seshweshwe maxi “man skirt” inspired by Amanda Laird
Cherry). Yeah, I know.
However, I had the basic understanding that I cannot, under
any circumstances, wear a Tweed jacket and Leather pants in the middle of
November at a food market. The dashikis, the shorts with the tights, reef boots
and riding hats. It’s a whole new era of bad fashion.
They travel in prides of no less than 10, and often have a
name. Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting “The Nomads”. What an
interesting group of humans. With that being said though, politics aside, there
is a lot to be admired and applauded with these young trailblazers. They have
balls.
Remember when Boom Shaka’s Lebo Mathosa and Thembi Seete
first hit the local music scene in PVC regalia and Paula Abddul-meets-Janet
Jackson-style choreography? It was a jaw-dropping time in local music and
possibly changed the face of South African music. This movement is no different
really. Well, depending on how you look at it. It’s an entirely new movement
and rebellion. The kindthat cannot be ignored or pushed aside. It’s raw and it’s
loud. It’s a new revolution and whether you hate or love it, it’s a movement
that’s happening and possibly reshaping the history of South African fashion.
Fashion will probably never be the same. Will it?
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