Zenoyise Madikwa

Zenoyise Madikwa

It's been a sort of topsy-turvy Sanlam Fashion Week at the Sandton Convention Centre where many designers did the unexpected - sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

Though the event started on a high note with Anisa Mpungwe winning the Elle New Talent Competition, the event was saturated with many disappointments.

The first was the House of Ole. Though the designs were beautiful, people left feeling the House of Ole could have done better.

Lebo Mash also impressed, but there was still room for improvement. Khensani Manganyi's Stoned Cherry was fine - not bad and not good either.

Black Coffee was too African for its own good. They changed from their signature look and used too many African prints. Thunderstorm by Thabo was emh ... a bit too Michael Jacksonish.

Some clothes can be worn only by 3Sum.

I'm not the first to say this but I was disappointed with Uyanda Mbuli and Gert Coetzee's Diamond Face Couture.

Though the designs were beautiful, the ramp was saturated with bad and unprofessional models who gossip and assassinate other people's characters.

Fancy Kuli Roberts prancing around as if in a trance. Walking as if in a catatonic state, she looked like an astronaut whose oxygen cylinder exploded on the moon.

Her often discussed limited height was visible among the tall and leggy models. It made her look like a dwarf in a giants' den.

One thing that I will never get over about this particular show are the jiggly bums and the glittering cellulite on the thighs that looked like they had jumped so many fences in their lives.

A morning gown could have looked better but not on the many unprofessional models that Mbuli used.

Mbuli's choice of models killed her show.

She should have stuck to the tried and tested formula of young and innocent models.

Ruby was another disappointment. The underwear collection looked as if it was picked at the Oriental Plaza and taken straight to the ramp. No inspiration whatsoever.

There were also some Nigerian fashion designers but their idiotic designs were an eyesore. They looked like they were crafted on a fast train in Lagos. You could see so many threads that I thought some of the models would trip on them.

Nhlanhla Nciza had a couple of interesting pieces. She had Basetsana Khumalo to carry some of her beautiful creations and it worked.

My favourite looks came from Ephymol who put a spark in the fashion week with amazing colours and wearable clothes.

But it was Julian who really excited me. The collection made a big splash as one of the most exhilarating of the entire event. The creations communicated gorgeousness and showed that you can be poor and still look rich.

Mantsho also did well. The neckline, the silhouette and the fabric was amazing and Terrence Bray's experience shined.