Bah! humbug! to snow and mistletoe.
There’s no better place to be this festive season than basking by the pool with the chichi crowd, taking in South Africa’s top designers’ sartorial suggestions for what to pack for the holidays.
Flanked by Lion’s Head and the deep blue Atlantic, that’s exactly where I found myself last Saturday: on the newly refreshed pool deck of the President Hotel in Cape Town’s sparkling Bantry Bay, for the sixth showing of the Cape Town Resort Collections.
While traditional fashion weeks seem to have lost favour, this format works in our time-pressed world — an ensemble show where labels distil their collections into a tight capsule of 12-15 looks and dial down the click-bait theatrics. It also champions a “see now, buy now” approach, so you can quite literally shop from the comfort of your front-row seat.
In the hotel lobby, I’m welcomed by brand director Joanne Clayton, who urges me to pick a pair of shades and a straw hat (both essential in the blazing heat) from a selection laid out on a table, before introducing me to general manager Nikki Vardan.
“We’re proudly women-led,” says Nikki about the hotel, which is also four-legged-friendly and offers neurodivergent rooms designed with input from Autism South Africa.
Down the stairs I go, wondering what the original owners of Society House — the property first built here in 1766 as a retreat — would make of the magnificent terrace with its tropical greenery by landscape designer Josephine Noyce, its curvaceous lines, marble and limestone floor and shimmering, oval-shaped pool.
Under the shade of an umbrella (did I mention the white-hot heat?) is Basetsana Kumalo in flowing black and white silk chiffon.
“Gavin Rajah?” I ask, wondering whether Bassie’s friend, favourite designer and the founder of the event, is responsible for her dress.
“The last time I checked, the Pope was still Catholic,” Bassie giggles. Her eldest, Nkosinathi, had meanwhile been put to work at the event’s guest registration desk.
Shades of white seemed to be the preferred hue for locals, both long-standing — such as leggy model-turned-entrepreneur Mala Bryan — and recent semi-grators such as Vanessa Carreira-Coutroulis, who completed her look with a very chic boater hat.
Among the crowd, I also spotted stylish couple Elana Drago and Arie Fabian; Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages’ Priscilla Urquhart; actress Rami Chuene; South African Style Awards founder Jillian Grogor; blast-from-the-past Faye Peters (the former Generations actress now calls the Atlantic Seaboard home); and Pick ‘n Pay CEO Sean Summers (hear! hear! to his call to put a lid on advertising for online gambling companies, as is already the case in many places overseas).
On to the show. After a couple of speeches, we get to view the collections, beginning with emerging designer Kiav Mitoo (who added a dash of paint to some of his designs in the parking lot a few hours earlier), followed by ranges from, among others, Sandisiwe Mazibuko of House of Fabrosanz, Thula Sindi, Craig Port — celebrating both 30 years in the industry and a milestone birthday — and Gavin twice: once, a diffusion collection for a major retail sponsor, and again with his more avant-garde eponymous label.
Thebe Magugu — arguably our most successful fashion export — closed the ensemble show on a high. I particularly loved the playfulness of his knitted fringe dress.
Of course, one cannot survive on sun, cocktails and fashion alone. Sustenance arrived in the form of brioche rolls filled with either Wagyu beef or buttermilk friend chicken served with truffle fries, pizza slices with various toppings, and sweet treats such as vanilla-bean scones and raspberry-flavoured cake.
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