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With yesterday’s reports flooding in and the twittersphere buzzing with questions we decided as The Frock Report not to entertain the excitement- which we admit we felt- but to try and confirm whether or not this was indeed happening. Yes. Topshop is coming to South Africa this summer, with a planned store opening in Johannesburg’s Sandton City at the end of November- just in time to look good on holiday!
More standalone stores of both TOPSHOP and TOPMAN are earmarked for Durban’s Gateway Theatre of Shopping and other major cities. These will be complimented by smaller ‘shop-in-shops’ that will be exclusive to key Edgars stores.
Topshop promises to house all its latest key trends across both women’s and menswear. Says the brand’s managing director Mary Homer; ‘We’ve wanted to offer our full TOPSHOP retail experience to the fashion conscious South African customer for a long time and now with two fantastic sites we will be able to offer great fashion that is a first to the market.’
According to David Sheperd who is TOPSHOP’s CEO for Trade & Managing Director for TOPMAN the local fashion scene’s growth and vibrancy make us a ‘natural and relevant next step’ for TOPSHOP!
Some weeks ago it was reported that the ‘Y’ in ‘YSL’ would be dropped as the brand’s new creative director Hedi Slimane seeks to redefine the fashion house started by the late Yves Saint Laurent. The new name is Saint Laurent Paris and a new logo has recently been unveiled. I don’t think it is a particularly bad logo, but Facebook fans of the brand have reportedly posted less than flattering comments after a picture featuring the new logo appeared on the YSL Facebook page on Monday.
A SNAPSHOT OF THE MR P-ONLINE WEB LAYOUT DISPLAYED ON A SCREEN
Mr Price will be open 24 hours starting Monday 30 July when the clothing retailer’s online store opens to the public. Members of the fashion media were recently taken to Mr Price HQ in Durban to test drive the e-commerce site that is set to take South African online retail industry by storm. A new study by internet research firm World Wide Worx found that most South Africans access the internet via mobile phone. They point out that 59% of the people they sampled in the study had any internet access at all. Of these only 5% access the web on a PC. The genius of Mr Price’s online offering is that it allows users to shop whether they are on a PC, tablet or mobile phone. This will definitely give the retailer a wider reach. Secondly, the fact that non-credit card holders are not discriminated against can only be a plus for Mr Price. Payment options include credit card, debit card, EFT, gift vouchers, store card and even cash-on-delivery should you decide to pick your order up at a branch near you. There’s also a social element to the e-commerce site with users being allowed to share, like and pin their favourite items and wishlists. The site will also feature video content and information about the various trends that one can buy.
MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL FASHION MEDIA WERE ON HAND TO TEST DRIVE THE NEW MR PRICE ONLINE STORE
Having experienced the online store first hand, I can honestly say Mr Price are on to something. My delivery was made less than 24 hours from the time I placed my order. While no mistakes were made in terms of my sizes, colour preferences, etc, it is also comforting to know that one has 30 days within which to return any merchandise via post office, courier or the nearest Mr Price outlet.
mrp.co.za goes live on Monday 30 July
Gender-bending model Andrej Pejic is set to become a reality TV show star, Italian Vogue reports. The show will follow the model who took global runways by storm- walking in both menswear and womenswear shows- as he embarks on a variety of job assignments. Shooting is currently underway in New York City.
Guess Inc has collaborated with Swedish fashion blogger Elin Kling on a new collection under its label Guess by Marciano. The collab follows another one she did last year with retailer H&M and Fairchild Fashion Media’s recent acquisition of a blog portal she co-founded with Christian Remrod. The acquisition set off a media controversy with bloggers featured on the portal- Bryan Boy and Rumi Neely to be precise- complaining that they were not informed about it.
Kling posted some behind the scenes shots of the campaign shoot for the Guess collab on her blog earlier today.
ELIN KLING ON THE SET OF HER GUESS CAMPAIGN SHOOT
According to WWD, the collection will launch at more than 100 Guess stores worldwide and several other outlets. There is as yet no indication that it will be coming to South Africa.
It is absolutely no secret that a lot of people who go to the Vodacom Durban July are really not there for the horses. The annual event is so inextricably linked to fashion that it is arguably one of the biggest on the South African fashion calendar. Yours truly got to judge the fashion competition for a second consecutive year.
ONE OF THE MORE PLAYFUL COUTURE LOOKS IN THE FASHION CHALLENGE
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE THEME RESULTED IN VARIED INTERPRETATIONS OF 'MATERIAL WORLD'
MISS SOUTH AFRICA MELINDA BAM AND HER 1ST PRINCESS REMONA MOODLEY
After the fashion show, I headed over to the marquees and the main Vodacom hospitality area where I bumped into many well known faces including Zuraida Jardine, Metro FM DJ Azania, SABC 1′s Live co-presenter Luthando, Bridget Masinga, Jessica Motaung and Shaka Sisulu, among others. Claire Mawisa was also there wearing a voluminous red tulle skirt that formed part of a look put together by designer and fellow former TV presenter Felicity Shiba. The two beauties were inseparable at the event.
ZURAIDA JARDINE AND HUBBY JOSH LINDBERG
BRIDGET MASINGA
FOOTBALL TEAM KAIZER CHIEFS HEIRESS APPARENT JESSICA MOTAUNG
Later on I found myself at the MTV Base/Lifestyle Oasis village. Many said they did not enjoy the village set-up, where there was even a VIP hierarchy with guests separated into different marquees with different offerings. This year was my second at the Lifestyle Oasis village and I have absolutely no problem with this set-up. I just wish I was allowed to pop into all the tents to take pictures of attendees.
I have to say, on the fashion front, there was nothing I saw that was exceptional at this year’s Vodacom Durban July. The theme itself- Material World- was a tough one to interpret without looking like a pile of rubbish like a lot who took it too literally did. With that said, I do have a selection for best dressed. Azania Ndoro, Claire Mawisa, Jeannie D and Noni Gasa were my favourites. Didn’t get to shoot them, but I’ve trolled the net to see if I can find pics of them. Hope the guys over at Just Curious will not murder me for borrowing from them (I’m a good cyber-neighbour, I promise).
NONI GASA
AZANIA NDORO
CLAIRE MAWISA
