fashionably educated to annoy

a friend of mine, Nicole Furter Haze (http://nibbleatlife.blogspot.com/) brought this to my attention . . . and I want to air my opinion too :) this article is taken off the iFashion site
it's a lot of reading, but it's worth having an opinion on it . . .

 { ☮ } { ☮ }  { ☮ } { ☮ }  { ☮ } { ☮ }

f a s h i o n a b l y   e d u c a t e d?

Written by Sandiso Ngubane

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

South African fashion schools: how to choose and when the choice is made, how do you know they'll educate to expectation. Sandiso Ngubane investigates. When Cleo Droomer presented his winning collection at SA Fashion Week’s ELLE New Designer Competition in October 2010, tongues were set wagging at the young designer’s craftsmanship. His collection- dominated by digital prints on spandex, body hugging silhouettes and the memorable blue PVC jacket with an exaggerated shape- was a display of craft and creativity that was unparalleled by his fellow competitors. Droomer, who studied at the Cape College of Fashion Design, has previously said he didn’t know what to do after matric, but fell in love once he began his fashion studies. One guesses that his college education must have steered him in a good design direction. A few weeks ago when I attended a fashion seminar organized by African Fashion International, one of the students present stood up and shared his experiences between two fashion education institutions. The college he had gone to in his first year of tertiary- North West University of Technology- had been good in terms of teaching them how to construct a garment. Not wishing to be a seamstress, however, the student in question- I didn’t get his name- decided to give LISOF in Rosebank a try, in the hope that there he would find an all-encompassing curriculum that offers both the practicality of design and theory geared towards fashion as a business. When he arrived there, he said, he was greeted with praise from his fellow students who could not believe his skills in making garments. They, he added, knew all about sketches and very little about bringing those sketches to life in a quality finished product. LISOF has, over the years, produced some of the most successful fashion industry practitioners. From designers to fashion editors, these include Tiaan Nagel, former ifashion editor Angie Hattingh, ELLE Fashion Editor Kirstey Stoltz and Suzaan Heyns amongst others.  “We are committed to ensuring quality at LISOF and that will filter through everything we do,” says Shana Rosenthal, the college’s Chief Executive Officer. “From engineering innovative ways in which students learn and lecturers teach, to the actual combinations of complex courses that are unique to the LISOF curricula.” LISOF has had some of the best industry practitioners for lecturers, too. These include former ELLE Magazine editor and Times Newspaper fashion columnist Jacquie Myburgh, who lectured fashion media. At the Durban University of Technology’s Fashion and Textile’s Department, Sandile Dladla who graduated last year, says this is a privilege they do not have. Durban designer Terence Bray lectures there but Dladla said he did not recall a lecture- guest or otherwise- by any of the college’s former graduates who include Dion Chang, designers Amanda Laird-Cherry, Colleen Eitzen and Craig Native, amongst others. “We give students a very wide, but basic knowledge of fashion,” department head George Forster says, “We provide them with practical as well as business skills.” Dladla confirmed this, but said he would have preferred the experiential learning program- which was three weeks- to be longer. “Students are expected to find their own place to do this experiential learning, but the school does advise you around it,” he says, “I, for instance, was told I couldn’t go to a firm I had arranged myself and was sent to Holmes Brothers by the school.” Dladla has since established himself as a designer in Durban with a label called “Gregory Code”, currently retailing at a store he runs with a partner. At LISOF, the gap between college and workplace is also bridged by an experiential learning program. The college has also established an in-house recruitment division which seeks to help graduates in finding work. The division, which started operating in 2010, has since placed over 60 graduates, as Shana Rosenthal explains. “The industry has become so vast and varied that there are so many more opportunities,” she adds. Rosenthal’s college is often billed as the country’s premiere fashion college. While many see it this way, students at the college and others who have left (as graduates or drop-outs) complain at the scarcity of resources. “There’s always an excuse and an answer to everything,” said one who is currently at the college, “Why do we have so few computers to share amongst many students? They’ll tell us to wait for renovations. When that happened the number of computers still remained the same.” Bursary students, who have since left the college, said they were made to feel “different” from other students. “Winning a bursary to study means that you have worked hard and presented yourself in such a way that a certain company was willing to support you in financing your studies,” a former bursary recipient says, “LISOF was different. Getting a bursary meant ‘if it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t be here, therefore you had to work harder to show gratitude.” “I had to stay behind after classes to cut out patterns that the school needed. If they needed someone to work at the library, they’d get a bursary student. This is on top of all the school work you still had to get done.” The former student, who wished to remain anonymous, added that this was not a written rule, but one could not refuse or avoid being treated this way as there was a constant reminder of “how ungrateful you are”. Malcolm Kluk of Kluk CDGT went to the acclaimed Central Saint Martin’s College of Arts and Design in London. Some of the global fashion industry’s most celebrated figures- from Hamish Bowles, Gareth Pugh, Zac Posen to John Galliano- graduated there. “At the beginning of each week we would get a brief and have a meeting with our tutor. The rest of the time was spent working or interning at wherever we could get a job,” Malcolm says, “I was lucky enough to get a placement at John Galliano and spent most of my time there as a general assistant. I made patterns, worked in the press office, drove the truck; anything I was needed for.” “The fact that I was at St Martin’s helped get that position as there is a network of people who all started there.” Malcolm says he believes it is important for young designers to get a grounding education in design. Thereafter, he advises that an apprenticeship is worth more than a Masters degree. “To work in another designer’s studio and gain knowledge is everything,” he adds, “The fashion industry is incredibly competitive. So many graduates want to work in fashion as they think it is easy, fun and glamorous. It is none of these and the further you get in the industry the less easy it becomes. But it can be rewarding!” Students in South African colleges interviewed for this feature mostly expressed disappointment at their placements for experiential learning. “At my school they don’t give you a chance to choose for yourself. They do it for you,” one of them said, “I was very disappointed with my placement. I wanted to go to designers I thought would benefit me in terms of my design style.” This student was instead placed with a designer who made him, and other interns, tidy up the studio and to help the seamstresses with small tasks like unpicking. “I learnt nothing,” he says. Jessica Sutherland who graduated from LISOF says she was also initially disappointed with where the college placed her, but was later pleased as she learnt a lot from the team at Flux Trends. “I wanted to go somewhere that I would learn the practical application of fashion design, but I learnt so much in the two weeks that I was with Dion Chang. He and the team are a wealth of information and I soaked up as much as I could. It continues to play a part in the way I do things.” Jessica also expressed disappointment at the shortness of the experiential learning program. “You learn a lot from your lecturers,” she adds, “but you do need to take initiative and also learn from people who are already doing it.” *A questionnaire sent to Cape Town College of Fashion was not responded to, as promised, by the time of publishing  { ☮ } { ☮ }  { ☮ } { ☮ }  { ☮ } { ☮ } this article sparked a few thoughts in my head, not necessarily linked to the article. Now, I know I'm spoilt in going to fedisa, but doesn't all of this seem like a lot of extra work just to get a job? I'm not boasting, but I feel so safe in my university that I know I am learning all the right stuff . . . that nonsense of "Not wishing to be a seamstresss" is utter crap. How can you be a designer if you cannot sew yourself? and if you are wanting to learn the "business side of fashion" do a damn BCom and shut up. Do your learning at a non-practical university and the go into industry because it's people like them, who don't "wish to be a seamstresss" who fill the positions in the crowded class rooms all over the country. when people like me crave knowledge of the techniques behind the world of fashion. Soooo . . .  stop bitching and get your BCom bums out of my damn BA chairs. We are encouraged throughout our degrees to find work in the industry, with a compulsory month period in final third year for internship in industry. Why are these people relying on their colleges to place them in a job? doesn't seem very adult, does it? when a college gives you a bursary to learn there - often for your full course and supplies . . . don't you do as much as you can for the college? I know that even when I pay for my own studies (as in not a bursary) If my lecturer asked me to cut a pattern, I would do it? Not sure what that is about. Seems obvious. post comments and views in the comment box beeeeelllllllowwww  { peace & & love }

first term. over

wow. holidays already.

what a term.

over 35 briefs and assignments received and completed . . .

I have honestly not had the time to blog, which makes me sad really because I really used to enjoy it. But when I have finished a full day at college and worked at my homework for at least three hours a day - I really don't feel like pictures being taken of me . . . buttttt I have ten days of holiday in which to do my 9 storyboards, so hopefully I will find some time to do a what I'm wearing post.

now we start with our collections. storyboards being finished up and patterns being thought about. It's all a little scary.

don't have much energy at the moment . . . just recovery a small bout of flu, which knocked me back a little. Have to deal with this nonsense. grrrr

found this beeeeeautiful picture online, googgling my face off.

lovely lovely design, and better photography.

very excited because after creating my collection, I have to photograph it :) eeeek.

lank cool lank cool is not the word . . . superbly awesome :)

so. off to enjoy my last night of lying in front of the tv, before I have to return to reality of the collection. seriously, I have rewatched the full 10 seasons of friends. best show ever.

whaaaatttsupppp with yoooou?

please comment, tell me what's going on with you, your collections, your seasonal favourites your weather annnnything :(

{peace and love}

Geisha: the Ancient city of Gion, Japan

We had to do our second part of our history dissertation this past month . . . I chose the incredable world of the giesha . . . enjoy

INTRODUCTION

The classic appearance of the Geisha dates back thousands of year, before the Western world invaded the tradition and classic charm of the Untouched World of Gion in Kyoto, Japan. There is the mistake most people make regarding Geishas – they are not high end courtesans or prostitutes. It was quoted in Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, “Geisha are not courtesans, and we are not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word 'geisha' means artist, and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.” They are well trained, talented and educated performing entertainers. They are skilled in the arts, such as classical music and dance. The word Geisha literally means “art” being gei and sha “doer” or “person”. The women refer to themselves as geiko, women of art, but for the purpose of this dissertation I shall remain calling them geisha, or the likes.

Most people do not relate the Geisha as a form of drastic body modification, although this is incorrect. This modification is a lifestyle choice, like extreme tight lacing corsetry or body building is. Women are brought up to live this life style from a young, as young as the age of five, and almost always live with this choice for the rest of their lives. For some, they were born into it with their mothers having been a geisha herself, though it was not uncommon for women, in the past and in modern times, to choose this path. During the Second World War, many women, having only ever lived as Geisha battled in the real world outside the walls of Gion, and ended up leaving Kyoto or became prostitutes, as they knew little else.

In 1813, Gion was the first hanamachi, community, in Kyoto. It is split into two districts – Gion-Higashi and Gion-Kobu. This city was built to accommodate weary travellers who had travelled far and wide to come to see the magnificence of the Yasaka Shrine, a statue shrine of Imperial patronage. The houses that are built right up against the street sides are in the form of town houses, and are called machiya. They are an old style of house, with many rooms, a big kitchen and often had a zen courtyard in the centre. When the geisha’s started needing places to stay, the guest houses took them in, and soon they took over the buildings, making them private, with only a few houses left open to the public.

The lifestyle of a Geisha is hard. Only women may be invited to join the community and it was very uncommon to find a man who lived in an assigned Geisha area. History tells us that at the beginning of this ancient tradition, men owned the women and paid for them to entertain them in any which way the pleased. This is how the common misconception that the women were prostitutes came to be. As the years went on, “Mother” Geisha’s were able to own their own houses, like hostels, to house their workers and the need for men to own the women decreased. It became popular to have a man who looked after you, called a danna. Sexual relationships outside of marriage were allowed, though the meetings were arranged by a third-party, and had to abide by certain guidelines.

TYPES OF MODIFICATION PRACTISED

The make-up aesthetic that is seems as the ‘traditional’ Japanese look, is in fact that of the apprentices’. A thick white pasty mask of rice powder, that is worn almost every waking moment, hides the natural beauty of the girl, until she reaches maturity, when the make-up simplifies. This application of the makeup is quite an elaborate procedure and is very time consuming. A waxy, oil substance called bintsuke-abra, is applied all over the face, chest and neck. Until recently, the solid white paste was made with lead and zinc, but the women soon realised, after years of using, that the lead severely damaged their skin and the zinc aged them drastically. Since that discovery in the late thirties, it has become popular for the ladies to use a fine rice powder. The white rice powder was is mixed with warm water, sometimes hot water depending on the thickness required. This is painted on the face in an upwards fashion, covering the face, neck and chest. At the nape of the neck, which is the dip where the back meets the spine, a W or V is left without paint. This can be done by hand, but s stencil is often used. Traditionally, this is said to be the most erogenous  spot for men on a woman’s body. Practically though, it was to create the illusion that the lady was wearing a mask. The lipstick amount changed with regard to the level of which the geisha was at. The maiko would start by wearing a simple dot of red on their lower lip, and this progress to a full lip covering of red.

The hair of a geisha is one of the wonders of the modern modification world. As with the make-up, that hair style is a lengthily process, and must be done at a salon or by a professional stylish. Warm water is used while the stylish scraped the scalp free of all dryness as dandruff is very unattractive in a geisha, as it is in the modern world. The think, black hair is then combed out, free of all knots and bunches. Camellia oil is used to keep the hair shiny, full of natural looking sheen, and it is used as a lubricant or conditioner. A bar of wax is then melted into a hot liquid form and combed through the wet hair, until the hair is crisp. The hair is divided into two sections – a forelock and the rest that will be scraped into the bun, using two or more waves. The forelock is brushed forward, into a fine wave, then when dry is combed back, away from the face. The rest is combed into a large knotted bun, known as a Split Peach or a Pincushion. Hair Decorations are a popular item of adornment in Gion and are exchanged as gifts between sister, friends and often given by dannas.

This bun is known as a pincushion for its’ obvious resemblance from the back. The other name, the split peach, derives from the style looking like two halves of a peach, stuck together. It was held together by wrapping a piece of fabric around the lock of hair. Under the bun, a piece of the fabric would be showing, this colour changed with the level of geisha you were at. it was said that this hairstyle was sexually enticing, and was provocative for men, as it was said to have resembled the female genitalia.

Kimonos are a scared emblem of the womans’ calling and the embodiment of her beauty. ^{(Gender and Technology Spring 2009 - The Technology of Geisha; Anne Dalke and Laura Blankenship)} . These kimonos were made out of the finest materials, imported from all over Asia, and were the symbols of financial status, family background and personality. Okiya’s owned hundreds of kimono, and would store them in warehouses and often in storerooms on their property. The body was almost fully covered from head to toe, and was weighed down by as much as 18 kilograms, over and above their own body weight.

Another common misconception regarding geisha is that they bind their feet. This is false as foot binding is an ancient Chinese tradition. The women of Kyoto do not bind their feet. The geisha simply wear six inch high, lacquered sandals called zori, which are worn with split-toe socks. These are shaped, and angled so as to be narrower at the toe.

MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE MODIFICATION

This lifestyle was almost always not the women’s choice, as they were too young to decide for themselves. Many families couldn’t afford to care for their children and the little girls, often as young as five years old would be sold. The parents were told that the children will have a better life, but this was often not the case, such as if the child could not be taught the talents she needed to continue. These women were sold into a life of servitude ^{(Arthur Golden: Memoires of a Geisha:1997)} This would cause them to be shikomi, chore doer, forever. However, there were women who chose this as a profession because they were drawn to the tradition and the respect the geisha had.

RITES , RITUALS AND COMING OF AGE

A girl is contracted to an okiya, which is the housing system she will live in until she has repaid her debt to the okiya and can afford to live on her own.  The okiya would change the girls name from her birth name to one that related her to the house, with her surname becoming that of the houses’ name.

Training to become a geisha is a hard process, with several steps. The first stage is the chore doer, shikomi. They attend classes and practises, and help the maiko get dressed. This stage is important as it reinforces discipline and commitment . The next stage, after passing tests and being donned acceptable, is to become a minarai, which is the last step to learning the workings of society. After that, the woman becomes a maiko. She learns everything she needs to know by visiting teahouses with her sisters and other geisha. After as little as a year, if her okiya agrees with her sister and danna, she will become a fully fledged geisha. The Turning of the Collar ceremony signifies the transformation from a maiko apprentice to an adult geiko. The upper collar changes from white to red, signifying maturity.

One of the most important rituals in a geishas’ life is the wedding ceremony between a maiko imoutosan, a younger sister, and an older sister, a sansun who is a full geisha. The ceremony is simple, like a wedding. The sansun drink a cup of sake in three sips, and then the imoutsan does the same. This is repeated three times, each with increasingly bigger cups. This ritual ties the girls together in a unbreakable bond.

The mizuage of a women is a sacred ritual, between the maiko and her danna. This ancient ritual is the lead up to a women losing her virginity. There is a common miss conception that the virginity of an apprentice maiko or fully fledged geisha is auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is not true, as the man with the highest offering price will become her patron and will be supple his geisha everything she needs in her career to come. This is not a talked about event, as it is private. Only the house and the two involved know about the happenings.

HEALTH AND HYGIENE

Japanese Geisha facials have become very popular in the Western World. The faeces of a Bush Warbier-Uguisu No Fun Nightingale  is warmed and spread over the face. This is an ancient technique that is said to make the face softer and brighter.

Diet played a major part of geishas lifestyle. What women ate was closely monitored by the house ‘Mother’. The ladies ate small portions of fish, gohan rice, citrus fruits, soy beans and no cholesterol as far as possible. They drank green tea as it is high in anti-oxidants.  

The Split Peach hairstyle would stay in for days at a time, if it was correctly looked after. This often caused the hair to have a bad smell, because they were not washing the hair at all from style to style. The hair had to be perfumed in the morning to keep the smell at bay.

 

CONCLUSION

According to a census done in the last few years, the numbers of geisha has dwindled down from over 25 000 in the 1900’s and 80 000 in the late 1930’s to less than 10 000 in 2000. It is rare to find a true geisha now a days.

These women that live the life of the geisha fight through a sheltered world, to make a name from themselves. The modifications that the maiko and geiko make to themselves, are to seem beautiful to men, and put on a costume to entertain. They become somebody else behind this mask, and are able to become the ideal female companion to Japanese men. To local and international men that find this form of adornment incredible arousing, and women all over the world aspire to reflect the beauty the geisha do.

As body modifications come, this one seems easy and simple. It may be reversible, aesthetically, but the life these women have endured is not.

{peace and love}

in the name of love

I do always love a jam packed Wednesday, full of CAD and drapery assignments . . .

though life is always made easier when you have an equal partner, who is good and is aesthetically satisfied by the same things you are.

My partner for the emotion creative drapery assignment was my destiny desky, Robyn le Sueur . . . she is a new blogger, having started her blog for the fedisa assignment in February. So go have a look . . . always nice to hear others opinions :)

la mode l'amour

something ridiculous like 7 assignments due for the next 10 days . . . so let's hop to it, ladies.

{peace and love}

fabric fantasy. finally.

I have got my fabric choices sorted. I am so excited! Just want to start sewing now! I am now set in my ways for my Graduate Collection of

{s o u t h e r n  c o m f o r t} by J E N N A   M A R E E - K I P L I N G

at fedisa 2011.

Yesterday, I spent ages trawling the hundreds of racks of beautiful fabrics and materials at the Wynberg Fabric World. Unlike almost every other time I have been to a fabric shop, I actually enjoyed my hour and a half there. At other places, such as Fabric City in Sir Lowery Road, Cape Town, Lynn's Fabric in the Arcade in Fish Hoek Main Road and Global Textiles in Wynberg, I always feel like they are rushing me, trying to get my out of the shop as soon as they can, and most of the 'cutters' are rude and short tempered with students. My experience yesterday was the most pleasant time I have ever ever had at a material shop, including my lovely little shop on Fish Hoek Main Road, Global Textiles.

Blaise, my cutter, was so patient, giving me advise on the quality of the fabric I had chosen and making sure I knew the prices of them too. He wondered around the massive store with me from the moment I walked in, till I took all my stuff to the purchasing counter.

This picture is my lovely cutter rolling up my 24 meters of the fabulous gauzy Indian Cotton, after unrolling it to count. With a smile. UNHEARD of for a fabric shop on a Saturday Morning.

Now that all the prep work for the collection is handed in, and nobody can change anything now - I can happily tell about mine :) We have had a long term, with another two weeks to go before we sent sail on creating our miracles . . . so here is my finalised choices of my graduate collection. I'm so excited to start sewing!

t h e   c o l o u r   c h o i c e s   f o r   {southern comfort}

crisp cloud white

stone wash

deep sky blue

cloudy sky blue

brown cow

turquoise

t h e   f a b r i c   c h o i c e s   f o r  {southern comfort}

crisp white cloud India cotton

crisp cloud white shirting

deep sky blue stretch denim

stone wash denim

deep sky blue denim

cloudy sky blue denim

brown cow leatherette, vinyl

brown cow poly cotton for lining

turquoise stone

r e f a b r i c a t i o n   f o r  {southern comfort}

at fedisa, they are BIG on this refabrication story. It's the application of additional elements to a piece of fabric, that 'up's the design quality' of the original bought  fabric.

I am using the deep sky blue original stretch denim that has a weft of white that forms a pin strip

and refabrication to transform the denim into {southern comfort} approved material :)

D E S T R E S S I N G

{front left to right, basic discriptions}

1. pot scourer, kitchen counter cleaner, ripped with a bread knife, spashed with salt and lemon juice and left in the sun

2. stone destressed, bashed between two pebble river stones

3. soaked in priapic and turmeric, then burned with a gas stove.

4. splashed with vodka and salt, then dripped candle wax on it, let it dry and ironed it off

5. grated with a rough side of a cheese grater

B L E A C H I N G

 

{left to right, basic descriptions . . . not going to tell you all of my secrets}

1. hth (clorine) pool clearer, with hot water

*note to self: do not pour kettle directly on to clorine tablet while standing over the sink.

2. full bleaching, with bleach and water - 5:1

3. tie dying, 7:1, in between washed with soap and hot water

Am very excited (so I have said three times) and just want to get started . . .

by the by, have you got any questions about fedisa or about my third year?

Always nice to have a lil interaction :)

have a fantastic week, cause trouble and have fun, take pictures and remember - let yourself be inspired by different sources :)

{peace & love}

you're a beach. really.

beach day. a brief. having to build sandcastles at clifton 4th for marks. seriously.

actually ended up being quiet fun, except for the useless bimbo who was hung over and did nothing but correct our faults - but whatever. just saying.

 Nicole Edwards and Robin-Lee Johnston

 Liz Stone and Kate Stanton

me && my Jo :) Joanna Chapman

So it came and went fairly quickly, was very hot and quiet a mission to get there. But I got my attendance, and pictures for proof. Best part of the day: I caught a tiny fish, my mistake, with a plastic bag :)

{peace && love}

beautiful in unfamiliar places

Creating a collection is hard. very hard. no sleep, hours of time wasted on drawing useless designs, hours redrawing useless designs, typing, printing, standing waiting in printing shops, waiting for computer technicians and bizhub technicians to arrive. All in all, a tough week.

I formed have a theory: which I shall call the unfamiliar inspiration theory

- designers inspired by the same media will result in an underlying theme of similarity.

If all the graduates get inspired by the same media and sources, surely all the collections are going to have the same under lying theme and will not be original, and unique?

So - me being me, I did a test. 2 days, from college home in the late afternoon (my favourite time of day) from the moment I left college to the moment I got home - I took pictures of everything that inspired me of that I thought was beautiful. Not may people have seen Cape Town from this angle, so might be a little ugly for you, but for me - this is my hometown, railways, streets and graffitti.

{these pictures are not necessarily in order}

I'm battling to find time to get some good ol' blogging done, so when I can, it's more than likely to be a colab of the past week. busy busy with {s o u t h e r n  c o m f o r t} collection stuff, designing and sourcing fabrics, so battling to relax and unwind. will try get some of my project garments up, asap.

{peace and love}

SHOWCASING SOUTH AFRICANS BEST

D E S I G N   I N D A B A   2 0 1 1

Sweltering heat. Ankle breaking heels. A vast array of designers in one room. Fashion and fashionable students around every corner. Yes, it's that time of year again. Last Friday was the CTICC's (the Cape Town Convention Centre's) Design Indaba, 2011.

For those who don't know, it's a collaboration of all the design aspects, mainly surface, film and media, interior, architecture and fashion. This Indaba is a showcase of local talent and creativity. The theme for the past few years has been to orchestrate a wave of sustainable living and change in mind set, leading towards eco friendly lifestyle. I decided to do this little event with a group of friends, making an outing of it. We arrived to a short queue, and paid our R40.00 student priced ticket, and entered.

The first thing that caught my eye was a chicken pen, hay and all, with beaded wire chickens floating around. My first thought, "How original. Well, I am in Africa." But on closer inspection, it was actually an unemployment initiative, called Streetwise Social Upliftment. The organisation works that provides a sustainable employment and trains the team in wire and bead work. They empower the people, and recommend that they teach their new found skills to others, causing a ripple effect of upliftment through townships and communities. This made me all patriotic and emotional so I decided to moved on.

The first few stalls as we walked in looked as though they were all run by the same person. Some of the names I caught were Liesel Trautman, Zizamele Cermaics and Will Martin Projects. It was all fired clay pottery, painted in glazed neutral earthy tones of blues, greys and browns. The porcelain as being used for tea cups, tea pots, necklaces, brooches and hair clips. I had never seen such a delicate material used for jewellery before. I was intrigued to know the durability of the clay, and asked the manager of stall. He said that as long as the pendant  was against the body, and didn’t swing into anything, it would hold out.

The Salon Privè was said to be this the focusing point of South African Design, the crème de le crème, if you will. Though, after all the hype made outside, I was a little disappointed. There was ...XYZ Designs, Ardmore Design, Egg Design, Haldane Matin to name a few, called me what you will, but none of which I had heard of before. At the entrance to the Salon Privè, there was a very controversial display, by Amanda Laird Cherry, of rams, dressed in layered woven clothing.  It was quite dark and mysterious. The ladies next to me viewing the display were nattering on about how disgusted they were that the Indaba let ‘such vulgar rubbish’ to be shown. I was pleased. Good on you, Amanda. Another impressive display was that of Ronèl Jordaan. She is a textile designer, based in Johannesburg, is a recognised internationally for her creative uses in woollen textiles. Jordaan was showcasing her best pieces in dyed wool, and her ‘pebble mat’. I was happily impressed.

After having walked around for half an hour or so, a thought came across me - where are all the clothes? I had not seen so much as a scrap of fabric. I asked one of the stalls, and they headed me to the far back corner where I was pleasantly surprised - a ramp runway with a fashion show David West, nogal. There were about a hundred eager eyes watching the show in the stands and a couple dozen more standing on the raised stage floor. Beautiful designs, clean cut and crisp. At the end of the brief show, we were directed to David Wests' stall to purchase the items we had seen. Being menswear, I wasn't that interested. I had bigger fish to fry.

 I found this in the form of Woolworths. Eco fashion, reduce, reuse, recycle. Always a crowd pleaser. But this year I saw something different, something completely inspirational. A glass case box, with picture hanging off strings. A profile with an ordinary person and there views on freedom fighting. Each person’s words were so full of passion and beliefs, I could help but read all of the 20 profiles. I found myself left wanting more.

I eventually found some little local designers, tucked away, behind the main event arena. Coppelia by Kirsty Bannerman and Doreen Southwood. What a lovely, fresh take on woman’s modern fashion. I had actually heard about Doreen Southwood before, and am quite a fan of her unique style. She is the owner and founder of ME ME ME in Longstreet, and this was a new branch she has ventured on. It was clear to see her aesthetic was influenced by her moods and everything that embodies feminity.

 I found the Indaba's layout a little off putting this year as the floor plan was like a maze. There seemed to be only one entrance and only one exit, and they were separated by many dividing walls. So next year, hopefully, there will be better thought before the company crams in as many stalls as possible in to the room. Another thing I was most upset about, was the amount of animal product being used, in companies, like African Gameskin – FSP Collection, such as leather, hides, furs, pelts and horn. As a creative design initiative, The Indaba itself, I felt that they should discourage the harming of animals. I think that it is very unnecessary to be using the ‘real thing’ when there are so many alternatives these days.

All in, a good exhibition was held. Beautiful talent and lovely displays. I know I will definitely be back next year.

please excuse the terrible quality of the pctures, aggh, blackberry. My camera died 2 minutes in the door.

So, what did you think of the Indaba? Been to one before?

{peace and love}