Different faces of fashion

Two of the top designers at the SA Fashion Week later this week, Gert-Johan Coetzee and Ephraim Molingoana, have taken their collections in vastly different directions.

While Coetzee is again pushing the envelope , Molingoana is taking menswear "back to basics" for SA Fashion Week Winter 2012.

Speaking from his studios in Marshalltown, Johannesburg yesterday, Molingoana said there were still designs in his collection to suit his "fashion-conscious" followers.

Slim-fitting black and grey formal suits are still there, but have been pimped with polka-dotted waistcoats, embroidered corduroy jackets and bright tangerine and blue pocket squares.

"I don't stereotype because our men are very diverse," he said, justifying the more than 140 different pieces in his collection.

Molingoana added that he was 70% through his collection by yesterday, and hopes to showcase between 30 and 40 designs when he closes the fashion week on Sunday, using Premier Soccer League players from Supersport United as models.

"I'm bringing a different feel . fresher colours and silk shirts, which are perfect for both winter and summer. We're not going too European because our winter can be pretty mild, so it's not heavy," he said.

Coetzee's collection is guaranteed to raise eyebrows.

Against the use of fur, he has opted for human hair to create the fringe effect on dresses and jackets, a risk he thinks will either come off brilliantly or "make me look really stupid".

He unveils his new work on Saturday.

Coetzee said yesterday at his studio in Greenside, Johannesburg: "The big trend [for winter 2012] is fur, but I'm not a fur supporter so we're using human hair and fringing, tassels and lots of texture as a substitute for the fur."

Though the obsession with leopard print in the fashion world in South Africa will probably survive another winter, Coetzee said that he was not going that route again.

Instead, he had decided to try hound's tooth - a two-tone textile pattern characterised by abstract four-pointed shapes - as seen in a jacket he will showcase.

And he has pulled out all the stops, roping in celebrities including models Christina Storm and Jenna Dover, and singers Thembi Seete and Lira to model many of his new designs.

SA Fashion Week begins on Thursday and designers such as Amanda Laird Cherry, Clive Rundle, Black Coffee, Suzaan Heyns and Tiaan Nagel will show collections.