On a recent and remarkably warm winter afternoon in Cape Town, South African fashion designers Svoboda[ova], Stiaan Louw, Michelle Ludek, Undacova, Via la Moda, and Jingle & Chimes transformed the lively and vibrant Bascule Bar at the Cape Grace Hotel into a mini fashion metropolis. Set right on the water’s edge of the historic Cape Town Waterfront, the Bascule Bar offered a perfect back drop to what proved to be a truly glamorous and festive day.

Even the invitation to the event proved to be a real treat for guests, with each invitation containing delicious biscuit shoes from Roxanne Floquet Cake Design. We would highly recommend their services for any future function or event!

As 5 o-clock rolled around, the fashion crowd began to trickle in just as SCAR hair finished primping and prepping our models in two of the Cape Grace Suites and the technical production company, Something Different, completed assembling the stage for the show.

With the sounds of Icelandic classical music filling the room, the first collection from talented designer Svoboda[ova] floated onto the runway, immediately captivating the crowd. Svoboda[ova]‘s collection was timeless, with pure and crisp pieces such as the Crushed Bodice Dress, the Egyptian Dress, the Rose Dress, the Thorn Dress, the Corset Dress and the Roman Twisted Straps Dress.

The sleek Roman Twisted Straps Dress from designer Svoboda[ova].

Following Svoboda[ova] was up and coming fashion designer Stiaan Louw. Awarded menswear designer of the year from AFI, Stiaan proved to the crowd that his women’s wear collection was worthy of similar recognition. With classic, clever and trendy pieces such as the Cobalt Cardigan, the Paneled Vest, the Linen Trouser, the Track Hybrid Trousers and the Constructed Cowl T-Shirt, Stiaan’s collection left the audience begging for more.

The smart and fashionable Linen Trouser paired with the Constructed Cowl T-Shirt and the Cobalt Cardigan from designer Stiaan Louw.

Old star, Michelle Ludek, was up next, once again surprising us with her new easy going collection filled with feminine, everyday casual pieces, including the Sienna Dress and the Jane Dress.

Designer Michelle Ludek‘s simple yet elegant Jane Dress.

Last but most definitely not least, the funky underwear brand, Undacova, strutted their quirky and vibrant South African patterned underwear collection, wowing the crowd with their brightly coloured pieces such as the Rust Hooded Top and the Yellow Hooded Top, the Rust Runner Shorts and the Yellow Runner Shorts, the White Mzansi Printed Vest, and the Bikini Briefs.

The White Mzansi Printed Vest paired with the Bikini Briefs from underwear designer Undacova.

To finish up the show, the audience was happy to see the surprise guest, a very attractive male model (yum!), come rolling out with shopping rails filled with the designers’ collections, allowing for guests to browse through and try on pieces as they pleased.

In addition to the shopping rails, accessories were also on display for sale, including fashionable leather handbags from Via la Moda and stunning jewellery from Jingle & Chimes by Louise Carver.

Leather handbags on display from designer Via la Moda.

Beautiful jewellery on display from Jingle & Chimes by Louise Carver.

Guests stayed long, mingling and enjoying the wonderful cap classique from Genevieve MCC as well as the gorgeous Cape Grace Canapes. The event was certainly a success, a truly marvelous evening enjoyed by all, and we look forward to the many more fashion shows and wonderful events sure to come!

Continuing our Top 10 theme, we have decided to put together yet another Top 10 list, this time highlighting 10 noteworthy African fashion blogs and their bloggers. Our goal was to cover both global blogs that extensively cover the African fashion industry as well as local blogs that offer a more personal take on fashion in South Africa, due to our being based here in Cape Town ourselves. We hope you enjoy learning about the ever-changing African fashion industry through these well informed blogs!

And again, to clarify, we decided to focus on English speaking African fashion blogs and have listed our Top 10 picks in alphabetical order.

Beatnik Bazaar, a Cape Town based blog, draws its inspiration from the Beatnik Bazaar Shop in Kalk Bay, South Africa. With a main focus on hand crafted designs and goods, this blog contains many fascinating images and illuminating, in-depth features on local designers. A South African Awards Finalist for Best Fashion Blog, we deeply enjoyed the creativity and insight that this blog offers its readers.

Ciaafrique, a United States based blog that was born out of  African native Assa Cisse’s belief that their was a lack of information available about African fashion designers on the web, really caught our eye with its in depth coverage of the African fashion industry. With a high passion for African fashion, we found Ciaafrique to be an instantly engaging blog that is committed to promoting African designers, stylists and models with the hopes that the global fashion industry will “Welcome in the World of African Fashion.”

HauTeBLOG immediately impressed us with its comprehensive coverage of Africa’s hottest designers. This blog, which was created to  accompany the top fashion magazine HauTe, a magazine that showcases African designers to the global fashion industry, not only provides its readers with illuminating stories about African fashion designers but also keeps its visitors updated on the latest events in the African and global fashion industry. It is the perfect blog for any fashionista looking to stay on top of the trendiest African designers.

Iamthenublack is a United Kingdom based  blog that was created with the hopes of highlighting African youths and the inspiring ways in which they are shaping the world. Focusing specifically on the fashion and style section of the blog, we found a multitude of features on talented up-and-coming designers as well as engaging stories on new trends and upcoming events in the African fashion industry.

IFor1 is a South African based independent fashion blog that was created out of Justine Stafford’s intense passion for beautiful clothes and South African fashion. IFor1, which is located on the Aficionado Network, a sophisticated portal to blogs with topics ranging from lifestyle, design, food and travel, has a variety of captivating features about local designers, shopping tips, and the hottest new fashion trends in South Africa. With its personable feel and intriguing content, it comes as no surprise to us that IFor1 was recently nominated as a South African Awards Finalist for Best Fashion Blog.

Kim Gray is a very popular South African based blog that we came across in our search, and though not directly focused on the African fashion industry itself, we found that this blog did a fabulous job of going behind the scenes of South African style, fashion, home décor and lifestyle, to bring readers like us interesting features about different trends, great shopping finds, and recent fashion events in the area. Kim Gray’s personal insight into South African fashion through her daily experiences and fashion finds provides readers with a sneak peek into South African style that we found extremely enjoyable.

Makosewe is an instantly captivating blog with its vibrant and attention-grabbing photos and interesting features on trendy and new African designers. We found the fashion imagery to be particularly stunning and we deeply enjoyed the extensive coverage of African fashion as it pertains to the global fashion world through its posts about new African collections and trends.

Man of the Cloth, a South African based blog and by Marco Riekstins, is the only blog on our list that really focuses its attention on the male fashion industry , providing local and global fashionistas alike with a valuable male’s perspective on fashion. With engaging features on high-profile fashion designers such as Stiaan Louw, one of the amazing women’s wear designers for africhic.com and is definitely worth checking out, fun weekly posts with sister site Style Guide Cape Town called Friday Fashion Face-Off, and insightful posts about up-and-coming trends in both South Africa and the world, we found this South African Awards Finalist for Best Fashion Blog to be a joy to read.

Shopliquorice a United States based blog, immediately struck us as a blog with spunk. Originally a shopblog, Shopliquorice eventually evolved into what it is today, “a compendium & celebration of Africa’s budding and blooming fashion scene.” Acting as a platform for African fashion, Shopliquorice, does a fabulous job of highlighting new African fashion designers, collections and trends, as well as offering engaging features on the latest events in the global fashion industry.

Inspired by Robyn Cooke, a renowned fashion critic in the industry with a intuitive feel and knowledge of fashion, we found Style Guide Cape Town to be a very interactive sartorial blog that garners a lot of real life input from in and around Cape Town, making it one of the most sophisticated blogs on our list. Another South African Blog Awards Finalist for Best Fashion Blog, Style Guide Cape Town has a multitude of captivating featured blogs, such as “Rebecca’s World” and “Shop with Alex” as well as catchy feature titles and updates on the latest events in both the African and global fashion industry.

While we believe these 10 online African fashion blogs best represent the expansive and growing African fashion industry today, we by no means believe that these are the only options out there for a well informed and engaging African fashion blog. We look forward to hearing your comments and learning more about the wide variety of  African fashion blogs out there that we might have accidently overlooked!

We’d like to share with you how the voting process for defining the winner of the Style our Site Challenge will run.

When the bells ring at 12pm on the 30th September, the group of judges will select our Top 10 Designs and we’ll publish them online to our blogs and to Social Media marketing platforms within 1 week. Why we do this, you ask?

Firstly, we want to give as many talented students as possible exposure for their great work – so not only will your name be mentioned, but you can also add your position as Runner Up in the Africhic challenge to your portfolio/CV.

Secondly, we want to get a feel from consumers as to which designs most tickle their fancy. To do this, we’ll initiate a voting poll on Facebook. Outcomes of this voting poll will be taken into consideration to establish the Top 3 Designs. The judging panel will then make the final decision to choose the ultimate Winner. The Style Our Site winner will be announced 30 days (latest) after the entries are closed.

Our jury consists of Robyn Cooke (Styleguide Cape Town; fashion editor Oprah Magazine), Emma Carpenter (Creative Director at Quirk eMarketing) and Sylvia Gruber (MD of africhic.com).

We look forward to seeing the creative juices flow and the emerging design talent and ideas that come about as a result of the Style Our Site Challenge!

Looking for a good online African fashion magazine that is committed to providing its visitors with the latest updates in the African fashion industry can be a daunting task. So in an attempt to make your life a little easier, we have compiled a list of what we believe to be the 10 most impressive online African fashion magazines, each with their own unique commitment to promoting African fashion to the world.

To avoid any confusion, we decided to focus on English speaking online fashion magazines and have listed our Top 10 picks in alphabetical order.

African Vibes is a Los Angles based site and one of the most innovative sites that we came across in our search, with their I Wear African campaign in particular really grabbing our attention. The I Wear African initiative aims to celebrate and promote the expressive and beautiful qualities of African fashion to the global fashion industry. This unique campaign, in addition to the sites ability to offer its readers a taste of Africa’s rich cultural heritage through African fashion, completely embodies what African Vibes is all about; “Promoting African fabulousity one fashionista at a time.”

Arise Magazine online likes to describe itself as “Africa’s Global Style and Cultural Magazine.” We could not agree more with this description. A visually enticing and easy to navigate site, Arise has supported a many important fashion shows each year, including the African Fashion Collective Show during New York Fashion week in 2009 and the Arise Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, South Africa in June, 2009. In addition to this in-depth global fashion coverage, we applaud Arise Magazine’s commitment to sharing high-quality African fashion with the world through its initiative to bring a handful of top African designers to New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week each year.

One of the most popular sites on our list, Bella Naija has anything and everything you would ever want to know about the African fashion industry. With its catchy and engaging features, Bella Naija covers topics such as the newest African fashion trends, pertinent fashion advice, as well as interesting features on some of Africa’s biggest fashion collections and designers. We found Bella Naija’s ability to cover a large slice of the African fashion industry without overlooking the overall quality of their features to be one of the site’s strongest attributes.

An immediately eye-catching site filled with stunning fashion imagery and photography, BHF Magazine online is a well-known African lifestyle magazine that strives to “introduce to the world African fashion, art culture and way of life.” We  were quickly captivated by the  insightful features that the site had to offer, with topics covering recent fashion shows, such as the Vlisco Fashion show and the Festival for African Fashion and Arts. However,  it really was BHF’s wide array of breathtaking fashion imagery that we could not get enough of. Every article left us wanting more, it was truly addicting!

Another African lifestyle magazine, Essence Magazine online focuses its attention on the world of African-American fashion and beauty. With an overall inviting and upbeat tone, we found this site to be instantly engaging, with unique fashion blogs as well as features on the latest events in the fashion world that were each nicely complimented with informative images and photos.

Created with the hopes of filling the void in the market for a fashion magazine that was African oriented while also possessing a global feel, Fashizblack is an online  fashion magazine that we believe strikes a perfect balance between the two. With interesting and bold features on the hottest catwalk trends, up-to-date fashion advice as well as an inside look at the African and global fashion industry, Fashizblack is a truly global fashion magazine that demonstrates a clear devotion to showcasing the immense talents of the African fashion industry.

iFashion prides itself on providing “South Africa’s Fashion Industry at your fingertips!” And it is true! Living up to its tagline, iFashion is very well versed in the day-to-day happenings of the African fashion industry. With features such as engaging forums, a comprehensive events calendar, and an expansive job directory for relevant business listings, we found iFashion to be an excellent gateway into the African fashion industry for fashion professionals and fanatics alike.

Ladybrille Magazine online, describes itself as the “#1 African Fashion & Entertainment Site for the West” A vibrant site with a clear and definite focus on providing “African fashion and entertainment for the globally conscious style driven American and European woman,” we found that the site successfully promotes the African fashion industry to the world through its features on up-and-coming African fashionistas and recent fashion events.

A site focused specifically on African women, Mimi Magazine offers up a nice mix of African style, culture, and entertainment news. The fashion features in particular were what we really found alluring. The site was very easy for us to navigate, an we enjoyed the many eye-catching articles featuring important figures in the world of African fashion, as well as the complete coverage of the latest fashion shows and events, such as African Fashion Week.

Uzuri, which means “beauty” in Swahili, is a very fitting name for one of the most visually appealing online magazines that we stumbled across in our search. The  very well organized site works hard to stay on top of the latest African and global fashion trends and offers its readers a nice blend of features on noteworthy designers, as well as news articles about recent fashion events and shows. With a clear devotion to high fashion, Uzuri is “continually focused on shaping a new ‘fashion-compassʼ for the mainstream fashion and design industry.”

While we believe these 10 online African fashion magazines best represent the expansive and growing African fashion industry today, we by no means believe that these are the only options out there for a well informed and engaging online African fashion magazine. We look forward to hearing your comments and learning more about the wide variety of online African fashion magazines out there that we might have accidently overlooked!

Communiqué de presse, Cape Town, le 24 août 2010

Africhic.com est une nouvelle e-boutique, basée à Cape Town en Afrique du Sud, qui a pour but de promouvoir les designers africains à travers le monde. Lancé janvier 2010, ce site de mode offre une mode chic et élégante, de la robe de soirée, à la robe imprimée fleurie en passant par les colliers perlés et les sacs en cuir. Une passerelle virtuelle vers des designers africains qui peuvent exposer leurs talents, et la chance pour les fashionistas du monde entier d’accéder à une mode africaine unique, haut de gamme et faite à la main. Des créations exclusives en provenance des plus grands créateurs de mode du continent africain et plus particulièrement de l’Afrique du Sud.

Actuellement, le site africhic.com référence 17 créateurs. Il s’est fixé pour objectif d’atteindre la barre des 40 designers d’ici la fin de l’année. Ce site est une grande opportunité pour les designers africains de se faire connaitre et de présenter leurs créations à travers le monde. Nous pouvons mentionner ici LUNAR et LALESSO, deux des 17 designers à avoir rejoint Africhic. LUNAR a exposé ses créations au premier salon de l’écofashion lors de la Fashionweek de Londres en 2008. Cette marque utilise notamment les matières les plus pures, une abondance de tissus naturels et biologiques pour ses créations. LALESSO est une marque Kenyane centrée sur la transmission de l’héritage de l’Afrique de l’Est au travers du stylisme et de créations contemporaines. Lalesso a sa propre usine de fabrication à Ucunda au Kenya basée sur le respect de bonnes conditions de travail. Lalesso s’est fait remarqué plusieurs fois à des défilés de mode les plus uniques au monde, et a récemment gagné le trophée de l’innovation mode éthique en 2009. La marque a notamment été portée par des icones de la mode telles que Sienna Miller, Kate Moss et Singer Estelle.

Toutes les collections vendues sur le site Africhic.com sont 100 % « Made in Africa ». africhic.com tient à mettre en avant la riche culture africaine, le savoir faire et les diverses traditions de ce continent en recrutant des designers qui font de l’Afrique leur source d’inspiration. La qualité des produits vendus est unique et incomparable, les collections sont faites à la main et donc souvent exclusives à Africhic. Cela contribue non seulement à pérenniser le savoir faire africain mais également à maintenir l’économie et le niveau de vie du pays en créant du travail.

Africhic.com veille également au caractère éthique des produits. En effet, un des critères de sélection des créateurs est également celui du socialement et de l’environnementalement responsable. La plupart des créateurs d’Africhic travaillent avec des matières biologiques ou recyclables, ou encore en collaboration avec des petites manufactures africaines qui respectent l’environnement et garantissent de bonnes conditions de travail à leurs salariés. Cela permet par la même occasion de réduire la pauvreté par la construction de relations commerciales durables entre les designers de mode éthique et responsable et la communauté africaine (en Afrique comme à l’étranger).

Africhic.com a notamment été récemment élu The Best Retailer of the Year 2010 lors de l’ African Fashion International awards tenue à Johannesburg.« Je suis convaincue que donner la chance à ces créateurs d’exposer leur talent est une étape importante pour accroitre le succès de la mode « made in Africa » et de l’industrie de la mode africaine à travers le monde et ainsi créer du travail. » dit Sylvia Gruber, la fondatrice d’africhic.com

Contact

Pour plus d’informations merci de contacter Sylvia Gruber, chef d’entreprise.

E-mail: sylvia@africhic.com

Tél: +27 (0)21 801 1407

Photos haute résolution

Voir sur la page suivante : http://www.flickr.com/africhic

Africhic and Quirk eMarketing have devised a way to give Web Design hopefuls a shot at an internship at Africa’s largest full service digital agency and the chance to shine by designing the winning new skin for the online shop, africhic.com. You’ll find the full brief here.

Africhic was the winner of the Africa Fashion Awards Retailer of the Year 2010, a worthy honour as Africhic.com does far more for aspirant young African designers than flog their fashion on the Internet. Rather it gives South African fashion designers and increasingly, designers from the rest of the continent a platform to showcase their work, philosophy and passion for African design to a global market.

Quirk eMarketing and Africhic are offering students in the creative fields an opportunity to showcase their own take on African creativity by redesigning the look and feel of the Africhic website. Fashion legend, Robyn Cooke will be on the panel of judges. Robyn is a long time player in the local fashion scene and is respected as a stylist, as the editor of Styleguide Cape Town and as Fashion Editor for O magazine.

Submissions close 30 September 2010 and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter and will see their artwork come to life on the new Africhic website, as well as R5000 in online credit for their shopping pleasure on Africhic.com.The winner will also be able to pursue a career in the digital creative arts, kick started by a coveted internship at Quirk eMarketing.

Quirk has a passion for creativity in Africa and is promoting this competition with Africhic by offering the winner a Web design internship. The Quirk internship programme is a year’s paid apprenticeship under the watch of some of the best minds in marketing and technology in South Africa. Quirk is a leading digital agency with branches in London, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and Quirk’s interns have the unrivalled opportunity to glean the latest knowledge in the new media and digital fields, and to contribute their minds and talents to the development and implementation of exciting digital campaigns for clients such as DStv, Distell, Sun International and SA Tourism.

The Ethical Fashion Movement

Fashionistas of the world are currently spending in the region of US$1trilion every year on clothes, while ethical fashion is a growing trend with 27 percent of British consumers surveyed saying they are willing to pay a premium for fashion, footwear and accessories produced in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.

Clothing and textiles represent seven percent of the world’s exports, and in light of the current demand for sustainable sourcing, innovation in skills, recycling, and organic fabrics, all practices that African designers have been promoting for years, there is a bright opportunity for African fashion businesses to successfully compete in the international market for fashion.

“Quirk instantly took a liking to Africhic because of the evident pride the website takes in African innovation, a passion Quirk shares,” says Emma Carpenter, Creative Director at Quirk eMarketing.

“Africhic’s advocacy on behalf of local, aspirant talent and promotion of ethical fashion are values Quirk can stand by. The skin design competition we are supporting should work to further strengthen the image of South Africa as a source of creative talent, including digital talent, and to make people aware of the wealth of creativity Africa has to offer,” says Carpenter.

To Enter:

Submissions should reflect high fashion with a global appeal, while remaining true to the spirit of Africa, both urban and ethnic. The winning submission will add a new and fresh layer of meaning to outdated and over-used notions of African fashion and culture. Think Shack chic, modern versions of Africa and let the creative juices flow. The deliverables on this project are in the brief.

About Africhic:

Africhic.com is an online luxury fashion retailer for African designer fashion. It boasts a virtual catwalk on which local designers Suzaan Heyns, Undacova, Stiaan Louw, Lunar, Michelle Ludek, Kenyan designer, Lalesso and others showcase their talent, giving fashionistas all over the world the chance to buy unique designer fashion that is 100 percent African and 100 percent ethically sourced. Our vision and goal is to increase our stable of designers to 50 by the end 2010 and to advance the local industry and African fashion more generally through increased exposure and access to these products.

What the Quirk?

Quirk eMarketing is strategy-led full service digital agency with branches in London, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Quirk was born in March 1999 with the sole purpose of providing innovative digital services to the global business community. Known for being smart and creative, we have a passion for digital and are constantly updating our skills and services in the belief that enough is never enough. Using our unique knowledge and abilities, we apply the fusion of marketing and technology for the benefit of your business. Today, Quirk is an ever-growing agency with a loyal client base that includes brands like Capitec Bank, DStv, MWEB, Distell, Sun International, The Financial Times and Warner Bros.

With MC Hammer shinning the spotlight on Harem Pants back in the 80′s, resulting in their rise to global popularity, it comes as no surprise that these pants are the kind that leave an impression. Re-entering runways in 2009, the Harem pants appear determined to have another go at assuming the mainstream fashion label. Far from your regular bootleg fit, these pants are like fitted flared pants turned on their head (and at first glance, might leave you feeling like you have been turned on your head!). Harem pants, also referred to as Parachute pants or Hammer pants, are baggy in style, with a high tight waist and tapered toward the ankles, with what appear to be large flaps on the hips. They may also sport an extremely low crotch, which implores onlookers to beg the question – what is that?! A skirt? Pants? But after familiarising oneself with this unique, slightly tricky style trend, the look becomes less jarring and much more interesting… Let’s explore.

Like any great trend, the key to working the look is to know how to wear the item in question. As these pants, by nature, are baggy, pairing them with an oversized baggy jersey and some sneakers would not only cross the line between chique and shabby, but run the race and win hands down. Harem pants, while being baggy, are actually extremely flattering to the figure if worn correctly. The high waist and tapered ankle draw attention to the narrower areas of the body, creating a lanky appearance. The looser areas flow over the hips and thighs and neatly cover any areas we may want to subtly draw attention away from.

However, as they do err on the more casual and less fitted side, they need to be paired up with simple, tighter tops and jackets so as to keep these pant the main feature. Gone are the days of over the top accessories and bland bootleg denims! Harem pants speak loudly enough to have them do just about all the talking. Which makes sorting out the rest of the look a piece of cake (and don’t we love it when things are made simple!). A tight tank top and tailored jacket (or other form of structured top) is what these noisy bottoms call for. And yes, why not, the highest heels possible. Simple, classic and elegant, this look works for day and night, and can be taken to a more formal level by adding one or two pieces of larger more elegant jewelry. Big earrings do well to compliment this look.

Examples of these spotlight stealing pants are Superella’s black Harem pants that can also be worn as a jump suit. Sweet and simple, this one looks great with some bright heals and tailored jacket. Suzaan Heyns pleated Harem pants in khaki have a slightly more corporate feel and look great with a fitted white shirt or tank top and tailored jacket, partnered with some heels that mean serious business of course!

Wether you are going for classy and corporate, or casual and comfy, these crazy, confusing and yet remarkable cool pants may just be this seasons answer to many of your style needs.

Recycling isn’t that much fun, let’s face it, and throwing out old fabrics, papers, metals, spoons and what not, isn’t either, but its easy, there’s little thought to it. But in the fashion world all this trash talk is getting some designers digging for inspiration for high trends. In Kenya brands, organizations and individual designers establish a use for leftovers to create small to grand dresses, jewelry, bags and other accessories.

Take a jump wearing a dress made out of a discarded parachute: Kenyan based designer Nike Kondakis creates an ethical spin on designs using recycled parachutes and even incorporates the draw strings within the outfit. The dresses are billowy, long or short, made into tube dresses or halter gowns, and the designer even creates swimsuits and fittingly, jumpsuits. Seriously impressive! There is an air about these designs, a refreshing take on using recycled material. Kondakis also does a jewelry line, using dead wood, wood that has naturally died, or broken off a branch. Bangles, necklaces and earrings are kept thick and natural looking, accenting your body organically.

Mary, a petite woman living in the outskirts of Nairobi, gathers plastic bags, and shreds them into long strips, she then knits them into strong, colorful handbags, that I could see taking down as a beach purse or something to use on a quick run to the store. It takes Mary two hours to knit a bag, but she also uses old videotape reels to make sun hats. It’s not exactly high end couture, but it makes sense, not only environmentally, but also fashionably.

Designer Njee, for Zanja Art integrates a funky and resourceful use of beautiful discarded spoons, knives, and forks to create bracelets, necklaces and rings. The concept isn’t a new thing, but its great for emerging designers to embrace and put their edge into it, creating something new out of something old, in more ways than one!

Savera out and about spotting the cool kids in Nairobi!

Recently, africhic hosted a Champagne Shopping Soiree & Fashion Show at none other than the Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town. The evening was a huge success filled with good cheer, good laughs, and great design.

The idea behind the event was to showcase many of the different designs all available on africhic.com and further promote these exceptionally talented African fashion designers in an environment that invites & also promotes local design such as the Cape Grace Hotel does. But the primary concern of the evening was that a fantastic time would be had by all! A lovely evening out for the girls, the ladies sipped champers by lovely Genevieve (our favourite, try it out girls!), enjoyed wonderful canapes by the Cape Grace chef and enjoyed the show organized by africhic.

There was also the opportunity to meet the designers themselves — which added a whole new dimension to the evening. Designs shown on the runway were on sale and ladies were ale to fit garments in the Cape Grace suits and make purchases right there and then. This was undoubtably an evening fit for royalty. With Champagne, a room full of fashionistas, a meet and greet with some of  Africa’s best designers and then the opportunity to shop — this was an evening that will not be hastily forgotten by all those lucky ladies who attended this special evening.

Amongst the designers featured at this event were Lunar, August, Angeluchi, Lalesso and Michelle Ludek. The designs were practical and fresh, and had us all begging for more.

Lunar stepped onto the runway in their natural elegant way with this irresistible Poloneck wool dress.

Angeluchi knocked the socks of the guests as this beautiful grey georgette dress with flower print floated all the way down the runway.

One of our favorites from August was this super cute plaid shirt dress and mesh leggings combo. Chique and trendy, with a hint of sex appeal, this one is guaranteed to be a definite winner this season.

Lalesso exhibited there usual fun and funky styles which were also as popular as usual! One of our favourites was this casual Kaftan style outfit – great style without trying hard.

Michelle Ludek’s signature soft, feminine and neutral style was showcased, and this grey dress with low V neck detail and flattering empire waist looked the epitome of class meets comfort as it graced the runway.

A great time was had by all and we look forward to many more entertaining evenings, fashion shows, shopping extravaganzas, meet and greets, and all round good times to come!