Daily Digest: AFI Cape Town Fashion Week & Design Indaba MBOISA 2018

Mercedes-Benz South Africa Cut Ties with AFI Fashion Week Franchise

African Fashion International (AFI) announces that what used to be Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town has now rebranded to AFI Cape Town Fashion Week and AFI Joburg Fashion Week after the termination of their principal sponsor deal with Mercedes-Benz South Africa. AFI Cape Town Fashion will take place at the iconic Salt River Film Studios on the 23rd and 24th of March. The theme for this year’s Cape Town Fashion Week is ‘I am Africa’. Some of the designers who will be showcasing are, Morocco’s Salima Abdel-Wahab, Maxhosa by Laduma and Adele Dejak whose jewellery range is inspired by her Kenyan homeland. After years not showing at any Fashion Weeks, the menswear designer Skorzch by Zano will be making his runway comeback; it should be interesting to see what he has to offer after his fashion hiatus. Designers showing for the first time are Salima Abdel (Morocco), Kahindo Mateene (Ghana), Tongoro by Sarah Diouf (Senegal), Adele Dejak (Kenya), Diane Paris (South Africa) and Lumiere Couture (Ghana). The shows will be directed by Jan Malan the newly appointed Production Director for AFI Cape Town Fashion Week.

Thabisa Mjo’s Tutu 2.0 light Wins Design Indaba 2018′ Most Beautiful Object in South Africa

Design Indaba’s annual endeavour to find the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa (MBOISA) manifests as a competition open to public votes and an exhibition. The competition has been running consecutively for the last 11 years. This year there were 10 nominees, however, it was Thabiso Mjo’s Tutu 2.0 light that got voted in as the winner. Mjo’s functional lamp is a reimagining of the ballerina tutu, says the designer, who drew inspiration from both Western and African fashion styles to make this unique chandelier. It was nominated by entrepreneur Thato Kgatlhanye for Most Beautiful Object in South Africa. It’s called the Tutu 2.0 Pendant Light because according to the designer, it is an evolution of the iconic ballet outfit mingled with hallmarks of an African counterpart, the Xibelani skirt. Often worn by Tsonga women, the Xibelani skirt is known for its structural, tiered layers and colourful vertical pleats. Mjo’s team created the Tutu 2.0 Pendant Light using thin steel rods as a frame, reinforced with tightly woven strands of wool and hundreds of red and black beads. The designer is no stranger to cross-pollinating over a number of creative industries. With experience in production design from AFDA and architectural drawing from Inscape Design School, Mjo sees herself as a storyteller rather than a designer. She is interested in evoking meaningful responses from the people whose traditions and fashions are reflected in the interior design products she creates. “My primary target market is always those whose cultures are represented in my designs. It’s always so incredible when someone recognises themselves in one of my objects.”