It's fashion, dahling!

While I love the pomp and ceremony of the FROW (front row at fashion shows), I sometimes wondered what I was doing sitting in the dark at Cape Town Fashion Week, eyes glazed, waiting for a model to teeter off her high heels for my amusement.

I couldn't help admire the crew of fashion writers, bloggers and stylists who make an effort to dress up - I always marvel over the ingenuity of their ensembles. The odder they look, the more paparazzi flashes they garner and the more likely the chances they'll appear on society pages. That, to me, is the most intriguing part of any fashion week.

Fashion weeks are not about seeing what the designers present, but watching and listening to the assembled fashion media gossiping about the event, eyeing the rich and wanna-be famous, hobnobbing with the politicians who have been convinced to sit in the dark, and occasionally to be wowed by the fact that some young creative can present an entirely new way to cover our bodies.

Last week's three-day Cape Town Fashion Week was mostly held in the International Convention Centre and did pretty much what it always does: present a range of shows, some mediocre, some brilliant, and some darn-right bad. But here are some of the indisputable highlights from the event.

The length of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille's speech at the opening gala. It lasted about three minutes, no more, yet she managed to say all the right things, like: ''Fashion overcomes the legacy of our past and brings us closer together. It's a measure of our presentation of ourselves to the world, a representation of how we choose to express our identity, as unique South Africans. But it is also a business working at a level of human development with a role to play in our economy."

The UCT orchestra got Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, executive chairperson: Africa Fashion International, and guests boogying at the opening gala dinner. The doctor got down with Mayor de Lille, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and First Lady Bongekile Ngema Zuma, who partied in a group, while delighted paparazzi snapped away.

Newcomer Lara Klawikowski's show was a stand-out for its conceptual approach to beautiful clothing. She had the FROW gasping and applauding for more. I overheard one fashion editor planning to book her entire sample range, calling it ''wearable art". (See below)

Bunking out of the sterile Cape Town International Convention Centre halls to grab a drink and a bite at one of Cape Town's trendiest hipster venues, The Power and the Glory, where folkster country music reigns.

The ultimate highlight was David Tlale's spectacular menswear show that took place on the city's unfinished highway with Table Mountain as its backdrop. Though there were grumbles that water wasn't provided for guests while they waited in the sun for the show to start, all was forgiven and forgotten when Tlale pulled the rabbit out of the hat and showed a gorgeous, unique, expressive collection of immaculately made garments, converting naysayers.