South Africa's premier platform for local fashion design, notched up a first for the local industry earlier this year when it aligned its' bi-annual collections shows with the South African retail cycle to capitalize on the growing appetite for local design. The new timing also now means that local consumers can get their first views of the next fashion season almost six months before it hits the shelves.
To be held from 16 - 19 September at the Sandton Convention Centre, the SSAFW 2010 Winter Collections line-up will include runway shows by 2009 Mercedes Benz Art Award winners, Black Coffee, exciting Durban-based designer Gideon, Tiaan Nagel, Lisa Jaffe, whose show will incorporate a live musical performance by Fonda, Abigail Betz and exciting menswear designers Andrew Martin for Life and Ephraim Molingoana for Ephymol.
Running alongside the collections, will be the annual SSAFW Designer Exhibition which will offer a fantastic designer retail experience of 120 fashion, accessory and shoe stalls where the public will be able to buy limited edition items for summer directly from the designers.
The Designer Exhibition will also include a public runway featuring a program of young designer shows as well as the Department of Arts and Culture pavilion which will offer the full range of fashion products designed by local crafters and designers as part of the Fashion Fusion project. An exciting new component will be the first-ever inclusion of the country's biggest annual bridal show, Bridal Africa which will exhibit a comprehensive array of local and international wedding suppliers.
The South African celebration of the fiftieth birthday of Barbara Millicent Roberts, better known as Barbie, one the world's iconic dolls, will be a notable highlight of the four-day event. The Barbie Collection will feature a line-up of thirteen designers including Craig Port, David Tlale, Stoned Cherrie, Terrence Bray and Thula Sindi and will include jewellery from the De Beers Southern Africa Shining Light collection.
The daily entrance fee to the designer exhibition and public runway shows is R60.00. The designer collection shows are R150 per show. Tickets are available from Computicket outlet or at www.computicket.co.za.
The key sponsors for the event are Sanlam, Department of Arts and Culture, ETV, Redken, Jameson and Long Mountain wines. For more information go to www.sanlamsafashionweek.co.za
