Last week I attended the Spree Lookboard event which showcased the leading online fashion retailer's summer showstoppers featuring designs by Shana Morland, Gert-Johan Coetzee, Ruff Tung, Thula Sindi, Adam & Eve and Ilan, just to name a few.  

The prints were gorgeous and the brights were stunning. My personal favourites were the pastel statement dress by Ruff Tung and the art-inspired Bold Strokes look as seen on the model with the Paul's Boutique coral handbag. Wow! Can the stylist responsible for that please stand up? I'm guessing it was Spree's Fashion Director, Chris Viljoen. Listen, I wouldn't mind being BFFs, just saying. 

Spree also launched Spree Boutique which is an online collection of garments by top South African designers. I really do love the initiative Spree takes with supporting our local talent, it's now super easy to shop SA fashion. 

Thanks to Spree as well as the lovely ladies pictured above; Jasna, Tegan and Fatima. I had a great time checking out what's in store for summer. You can shop Spree at spree.co.za

Marianne Fassler




Craig Port




Shana




Stefania Morland


Lazuli




Lo




Gavin Rajah

Here's a look at some of the collections from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town 2014. I absolutely loved the Marianne Fassler bodysuit with a sheer pink triangle-print overlay. Those white chain sunnies are the perfect accessory - that look is everything! Craig Port's ladieswear was light, sweet and a little bit 20s featuring Neapolitan ice cream skirts, flower crowns and piled-on pearls. I'm really loving the dusty pink colour ways this season.

Shana brought us some glitzy pieces fit for parties with a generous helping of sparkles and quirky multicoloured spiked hair bands which I would have saved up for at Space Station circa early 2000s. Stefania Morland took us to Tokyo while keeping her signature dressy aesthetic and Lazuli kept things fresh with a sportswear-luxe attitude; they're shaping up to be a brand I love to look out for. Lo was interesting with scalloped dresses and helpings of texture here and there. Now we get to a little bit of controversy...

Gavin Rajah gets a lot of hate but he puts on a beautiful show. I recognised some of the designs as being similar to international collections but that didn't stop me from enjoying the show, I don't think it stopped many people actually - at one point, the entire room was so fixated and hushed that you could hear the models walking. The girls behind me were certainly enraptured.

'Copying' is a more difficult topic than you'd think and there's a hell of a lot to talk about before picking up a pitchfork while wearing a knock-off you might be unaware you've purchased. In a nutshell, I find it humorous that people profess to be on one side of an argument when they are courting the blurred lines themselves. Of course there are differences between wearing something from Zara and designers sending identical dresses down the runway but there's still a bit to discuss. If anyone wants to read more about what I think of fashion copyrights, let me know and I'll share my thoughts. For now, what I can say with confidence is that the technical work that goes into Rajah's outfits is astounding so he's definitely doing something right.

Wow. FEDISA's done it again. I was absolutely blown away by the Graduate Collection Show on Saturday. Year after year, the creative collaboration collections by the 1st and 2nd years provide a plethora of fascination and while this year was no exception, I have to say that the graduates were absolutely enthralling. I don't know what they're putting in the water at that new campus but can I get a sip? 

The 2013 graduate collections thrilled me more than frequently than I had been during the entire span of fashion week so I implore this talented crop to please continue designing and showing. I think South African runways need a heavy dose of FEDISA. A few standouts for me were Lauren Goncalves' epic Fossilisation of Self, Carolyn Andrews' charming Tales of Grimm, Zahn Van Heerden's amazing Skinwalkers, Bianca Langeveld's exciting Supersonic and Elizma Ferreira's mesmerizing Fallen Hawk. The textures and embellishments presented in Shelia-Madge Bakker's Life Aquatic were a marine dream and Lara Dreyer's Mistral gave us cool-girl chic with brilliant fringed kimonos and velvet bellbottoms. There's actually too many designers to mention, I almost can't handle this much inspiration!

In previous years, FEDISA proved that their graduates were well-equipped to produce commercial ranges but I believe 2013 is the year we've seen their students deliver high-concept dreamworlds. The craftsmanship, editing and cohesion were a triumph. What a fascinating spectacle. Congratulations to FEDISA and its students. Bravo!