Eye on the ramp: Unfashionable faux pas

12 March 2015 - 02:25 By Sylvia McKeown
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
STRIKING FABRIC: Models in David Tlale designs before his Fashion Week show at Constitution Hill on Saturday
STRIKING FABRIC: Models in David Tlale designs before his Fashion Week show at Constitution Hill on Saturday
Image: MARISKA VAN DEN BRINK

Some say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and in a world where we are so connected, it's hard not to find oneself drawing from the same pool of inspiration.

In fashion you can see the overlap of one designer's idea imprinted on another designer's creation from a kilometre away.

It even has a fancy name: "trend". Last week's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Johannesburg was no different.

First, we may as well get last week's most glaring overlap out of the way: Gavin Rajah's now infamous white lacy dress. The king of feminine fancy is once again under fire for having a dress that looks eerily similar to one made by another designer overseas.

Rajah doesn't want to talk about it, and the other designer, Han Chong, the founder of Self Portrait, apparently doesn't care. Why?

Because if he was honest he didn't really come up with the design either - the Spanish did centuries ago. It's not as though it's a ground-breaking design that hasn't been replicated and reinterpreted by an entire empire. Then came the hippies with their love of lace and long dresses.

Taking the long and varied history of the white lace dress into account, Rajah should be left alone by the fashion police.

He showed several Spanish-style white lace dresses from his collection, and one of them was bound to look like someone else's Spanish-style lacy dress. His only blunder was using the overwrought and overused design in the first place.

The "overlap" that should get tongues in the fashion world wagging is the one that no one seems to be mentioning.

David Tlale's newest collection of clean designs with rich brown, wood grain-like prints graced the offsite venue, Constitution Hill, on Saturday. But it was not the first time this print had been featured on a MBFW catwalk. It was used last season by AFI Fast Track winner Rich Mnisi.

Ask any South African designer and they'll be sure to point out that we don't have access to the widest range of fabric and prints locally, and the same prints showing up in multiple collections is inevitable.

Tlale is one of Africa's proudest sons of fashion and he may have missed the collection of one of our country's brightest rising stars. It's a simple mistake. But if local designers are not paying attention to their peers, especially those who show at the same fashion week, why should the public be expected to care?

Last week MBFWJ showcased winter trends. If you want to be in with those who know, grab some fringing, keep a look out for blues, reds, whites and browns and snap up some surreal digital prints.

And next time, we hope the designers watch all the shows to avoid the most unfashionable trend of all - overlap.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now