Fashionably Late, like it’s about time!

Life is beautiful, as confirmed by the garments, the atmosphere and the setting of the Arise African Fashion Week. Been a while since an event this exciting has been hosted in Jozi, exciting in the sense that Africa was getting repped big time and not just for South Africans. We know Jozi is always exciting, bless.

Mzanzi’s local fashion hot shots got to create a pan African buzz along side other African fashion hot hits like Tiffany Amber out of Nigeria, Anna Getaneh’s African Mosaique out of Ethiopia, and the slightly political Sandra Muendane from Mozambique. It was the killerest thing going never mind the soccer madness happening at the same time. Unlike the soccer there were no live broadcasts, you definitely had to be there to experience the electricity especially at the hottest shows. Thula Sindi anyone, now featuring colour, Oooow! What about killer kat walk at Klûk CGDT, leopard print baby! And hell yeah, Carducci’s C² school blazer inspired youthful suits given a penny whistle work out by Kwela Tebza and the multi coloured mohawk dance sensation Show Stoppers.

Hot young things, cool young things, gay err… things, fishy things, faux pas old things, gallons of Glaceau’s Vitamin Water all made for one heck of an interesting week out in Jozi… except those cops that had to be bribed with the African pound not to do their jobs! That European dude who got relived of his forex in Rustenburg got off lightly only parting with 15 quid, try 200 big ones! So all you World Cup fanatics insert a minor premium in your budgets, call it protection… and keep it in foreign currency. The only positive thing was the very gentlemanly manner the entire muggery was handled with. It is reassuring that at least in Africa when authority mugs you, they have the good breeding to say please, thank you and good night.

Big up Boniswa @ Totalexposure, Simon (for the photos) AFI, This Day (and their glossy baby Arise mag) I think South Africans have forgiven…☺