There wasn't much drama on the runway at SA Fashion Week last week as designers opted instead for clean lines and well-designed luxe ready-to-wear outfits in linens and prints. The usual heroes shone as brightly as always: Black Coffee delivered a collection inspired by the intersection of African and Japanese design; Gert-Johan Coetzee had over-the-top, flourishing bodices and a full-blown choir as his soundtrack; Clive Rundle showed layers of aqua, purple and gold textile; Erre had one multifunctioning dress; and House of Ole had paint dripping from plastic capes that were dragged across the runway.But the real surprise of the week came during the Marvel Collections show on Saturday night. It was packed with fun and showmanship. But far from being a quirky novelty event, it was a showcase of talent with clever interpretations of the theme.The event was created to promote the new Avengers movie, The Age of Ultron, that will hit our screens on April 24, and to celebrate local talent. Much of the photography for the film was shot in South Africa - the Hulk mashing up downtown Johannesburg, for example. To celebrate the movie, Disney South Africa and SA Fashion Week offered Avengers characters to six designers as inspiration.Capes! Hats with toys on them! Dresses with lightning bolts! Hoodies with zip-off shields! The show had it all and the designers all brought their ''A game".Rumbie by Rumbie's created amazing Iron Man-inspired dresses, M4S made galaxy robot prints, Ralfe designed superhero sportswear and Zambia's Kamanga Wear showed a print extravaganza. All of this was rounded off with the incredible hand-made creations of local menswear designer Roman Handt, who adorned his male models in long foamy fingers of colour that made them look spiked like porcupines, creating insane silhouettes fit for a super-villain.Spanish conceptual menswear and textile designer Amos Tranque successfully merged clever references from the movie and impeccably conceived design. He created the face of Iron Man from beautifully layered fabrics, paying homage also to Nick Fury's slinged arm (Fury is played by Samuel L Jackson in the film) and the arm lapels of Captain America. He also had just the right amount of greenish colour in his collection to suggest a nod to the Hulk.The collaboration between SAFW and Marvel breathed fun and inspiration into fashion week, which goes to show that a bit of styling, fanfare and vision can definitely save the day...