Best & worst dressed celebs at the 2019 Durban July

Somizi during the Vodacom Durban July at Greyville Racecourse on July 06 2019 in Durban, South Africa.
Somizi during the Vodacom Durban July at Greyville Racecourse on July 06 2019 in Durban, South Africa.
Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images

While the rest of South Africa was freezing their tooshies off, every celebutante and their godmother headed down to sunny KwaZulu-Natal for the Durban July.

While some, like Somizi, flew in by helicopter, the trek was long and arduous for others — a broken-down bus left some angry racegoers stranded on the side of the highway on Friday.

Lest we forget that this hoity-toity event isn't only an opportunity for the bold and the beautiful to swan around in extremely OTT fascinators sipping on bubbly, the Durban July is a horse racing event that started way back in 1897. 

A sleek horse, fittingly named Do It Again, won the race for the second year in a row. Here's which two-legged clothes horses were winners when it came to their fashion choices, and who stumbled out of the gate.

BEST DRESSED

BOITY

A star is born — or has always been there, depending on your opinion of the rapper's previous red carpet looks.

It seems many of our celebs took inspiration from the Kardashian/Jenner clan for the Durban July. From the colour to the crystals to the feathers, Boity's look reminded us of Kylie Jenner's Met Gala outfit. While the band around her waist gave us Kim K corset vibes.

This outfit is a little over-embellished but either go big or go home, we guess. 

Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner at the 2019 Met Gala.
Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner at the 2019 Met Gala.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic

MOOZLIE

Barbie has entered the building! The rapper's look is pure Sass. Giving the finger to the OTT prom dresses that proliferated race day, our girl Moozlie delivered that extra bit of personality that seemed to be lacking this year.

It's refreshing, and truthfully quite brave, to wear something that could be considered a little 'underdressed' for the July and still end up on our best-dressed list — because we're the shadiest of them all.

UNATHI NKAYI

The Idols SA judge stole the show in an outfit that was as surprising as it was stunning. Dare we say she may have even blown Beyonce out the water with this Formation-esque look?

There's nothing we can fault — Unathi’s ensemble was perfect for this year's 'Stars of Africa' theme, perfect for the weather and perfectly styled.

SOMIZI 

Just in case there weren't enough tents at the Durban July this year, Somzi brought his own in the form of a 6m train; it's this kind of thoughtfulness puts him on our best-dressed list. 

Jokes, you've got to love this man for bringing some of the theatre of the Met Gala to our little corner of the world — he's SA's answer to Billy Porter. (Read all about SomGaga's grand entrance here.)

His vibrant emerald green suit dazzling in the Durban sun gave us the feels.

CASSPER NYOVEST

Shout out to Cassper for looking classically dapper with a millennial twist. The colour, the gold-chain, the sunnies ... everything about this outfit shouts African brilliance. Some people just have that X-factor, and the rapper is one of them.

WORST DRESSED

MINNIE DLAMINI

Once a red carpet slay queen, Mrs Jones seems to have lost her fashion mojo. This look is confusing: is she auditioning to play a jazz singer in 50's SA? Attending a Spanish-themed dress-up party? Or perhaps competing in a ballroom competition? 

LERATO KGANYAGO

How one wears an outfit is as important as the outfit itself. In this case, the wearer, didn't look amused. We believe the TV personality's scowl and uptight posture is her (subconscious) way of telling us she made a mess of her wardrobe choice — and we agree.

There was just too much going on here; we didn't know where to look first, Lerato's expression or her random crystal-ball bellybutton. 

ZODWA WABANTU

The reality TV star's look is rather hard to critique because, in order for one to critique someone's outfit, that person actually has to be wearing one. As you can see, there's nothing here but a couple of tiny pieces of cloth and 4,000-non-Swarovski-crystals. She was wearing less than the horses.

We applaud any lady who confidently shows off what her mama gave her, but we're tired of seeing Zodwa's behind — show us something else! It's the races for goodness sake, a revoltingly large fascinator might have been the cherry on top of a rather naked cake.

DJ SHIMZA

This look is just so underwhelming, and those brown shoes and black shirt are a hate crime to fashionistas all over the world. We know we're being extreme, but nothing bothers us more than a lack of effort. Show us something ugly before you show us an outfit like this.

Despite the 2019 Vodacom Durban July being threatened by retrenchment negotiations, Africa's biggest horseracing event on July 6 2019 was a success.


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