Inside South African Menswear Week Day 1
South African Menswear Week SS16/17 kicked off yesterday in Cape Town.
We’ve teamed up with Botswana-based photographer Uyapo Ketogetswe to bring you the freshest looks each day from inside and outside of Cape Town Stadium.
We’ll also be highlighting standout designers throughout SA Menswear Week. Today we get to know South African designers Jenevieve Lyons and Nao Serati.
Jenevieve Lyons
On the collection: “The new collection is called Deferential Spring/Summer 2016/17. It’s an amalgamation of different cultures. It started off with the Jarawa Tribe - they lived on the Andaman Islands and are thought to be Africans that migrated there 60 000 years ago. The pink that comes in is about gender fluidity and the adornments match with the tribes. I’m doing loose silhouettes and a lot of layering.”
On the design process: “We started three months ago with a concept; researching and trying to figure out how we can pull it together. Because it’s an amalgamation of different tribes, we had to make sure the story made sense. We’ve been constructing it for the last month.
On SAMW: “SA Menswear Week is new, they are innovating, hustling and pushing boundaries. It’s great to be a part of them because we’re showing on a global platform and the founder of SAMW shoots at London Collections: Men, and knows what we need to do to be on that level. Also menswear in South Africa is growing, so it’s great to be a part of this industry.”
Nao Serati
On the collection: “The collection actually doesn’t have a name. It’s inspired by girl groups – SWV, Destiny’s Child - and the unity that they have even though the groups were made up by individuals. I feel like girl groups really know how to show vulnerability and show a range of different emotions that guys don’t avail themselves to.
On the design process: “I mixed a lot of fabrics this season. There’s a lot of hard backing on a soft fabric. Some were printed and some pleated. A lot of the fabric is also vulnerable, soft and delicate which I think shows the vulnerability men need to open themselves up to. Every season we try to make ourselves better.