10 key trends seen at South African Menswear Week - AW23

Simon Deiner spearheads the shows and exceeds expectations every year. It’s to no surprise that the famous Wonderland Film Studios was packed to capacity and was the perfect venue for an equally extravagant lineup of expert designers such as Gavin Rajah, Kluk CGdT, Leigh Schubert, Jacques La Grange and many more.

Gavin Rajah opened fashion week with his collection of ladieswear at Cabo Beach Club.

Entrepreneur, ex miss South Africa and Miss Universe 1st runner up Basetsana Kumalo introduced her collection as a depiction of ‘Love and Light’.

Fabrics utilised included beautiful plush velour’s, crochet, satins, georgettes and burnouts in 70’s silhouettes such as halter maxi dresses, dungarees, pleated sheer skirts, trench coats, tiered skirts, denims, and finished off with fringing, piping, feather edging, etc.

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The ambience of the coastal wind and waves set the perfect backdrop for his range of occasionwear.

The rest of the weekend continued at the Wonderland Fil Studios and some of the top trends included:

1. Patched

We saw a continuation of the utility trend carried on from Summer 23 with a more sophisticated adaptation in ladieswear with simple satin cargo pants whereas menswear explored more statement pockets as chest details on tops and soft suiting on jackets, as shown by CxG Zanzibar, Dujaxco, Lazy Stacks and Flux.

Lazy Stacks. Image by Simon Deiner

Flux. Image by Simon Deiner

2. Print explosion

Prints are seen in all different formations and variations, be it clashed, or allover prints, it is well considered in terms of matching hues, or finished off with matching borders. Shown by Ezokheto, Masa Mara, Dollhouse, Imprint, Leigh Schubert, Influhks, Bigtynsonly, etc.

Bigtynsonly. Image by Simon Deiner

Masa Mara. Image by Simon Deiner

3. Wrapped up

Ties and knots are exaggerated and achieved in self fabric as shown by Imprint, Bash, Beverley Hollard.

Imprint. Image by Simon Deiner

Image by Simon Deiner

4. Imbalanced

A continuation from the Summer 22 Assymetric wraps in blazers and skirts as shown by: Imprint, Neo Serati, XHVNTI.

XHVNTI. Image by Simon Deiner

Neo Serati. Image by Simon Deiner

5. Textured

The character of the fabric is key and interest and pile fabrics such as velours, corduroy, boucle, even laces are important: Signature by Des, Ruald Rheeder, Wepner and Bigtynsonly.

6. Lucid luxury

High shine fabrics – satins, foiles, lurex even allover sequins in deep colours are key as shown by Bigtynsonly, Shana, Emilia, Kate Jordan, Signature by Des and Marquin.

Marquin. Image by Simon Deiner

Signature by Des. Image by Simon Deiner

7. Vivid tones

This season, designers proved to be dauntless with hues as every colour in the spectrum could be seen, from rich jewel tones to primary hues, even bright colour. As seen by Bigtynsonly, Emilia, Influhks, Stefania Morland, Leigh Schubert, XHVNTI.

Ruald Rheeder. Image by Simon Deiner

Wepner. Image by Simon Deiner

8. Enchanting ease (tunic)

East meets West as Indian and West African inspired styling and print is important and includes mandarin collars, tunics shapes, draping, and layered longer length silhouettes as shown by Wepner, Beverley Hollard, Dollhouse, Kluk CGdT and Masa Mara.

Bigtynsonly. Image by Simon Deiner

Masa Mara. Image by Simon Deiner

9. Dazzling dusks

Moving away from previous years ‘Matrix’ interpretations, black is restored to its lavish origins, and showcased in satins, furs, delicate laces, velours, and trimmed with beautiful fringing and jewels as shown by XHVNTI, Bash, Habits, Jacque La Grange, Ruald Rheeder, and Maze Collective.

10. Placement prints

Statement prints and logos especially cartoon, animal characters, symbols, art print effects and brand logos etc. With interesting placements, placements were shown by Wepner, Bigtynsonly, Daniel Dujaxco, Influhks, King on Horses, etc.

King on Horses. Image by Simon Deiner

Influhks. Image by Simon Deiner

With the variety of garments showcased, guests were free to shop their favourites at the pop up shows after the event.

We look forward to SA Menswear Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023/24 collections, and cannot wait to see what the designers have in store.