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Dear Frocksters
It’s been two years since Sarah and I took over this blog from Jacquie Myburgh-Chemaly and what a wonderful journey it has been. Jacquie, who is now the editor of VISI, started this blog with current Marie Claire editor Aspasia Karras at a time when not a lot of people were even paying attention to fashion blogging. I remember when we had just started how much people we ran into at events would congratulate us and simultaneously warn that we had very big shoes to fill. I opted to look at them as beautiful rather than ‘big’. Who doesn’t want their foot in a beautiful shoe after all? I believe I speak for both Sarah and I when I say what an honour it has been serving as your Frock Reporters. While the time for us to wave The Frock Report good-bye has come, it doesn’t mean the end for your favourite fashion blog. You will soon be introduced to the wonderful Andrea Nagel, whose name I am pretty sure you are familiar with from the pages of The Times.
On behalf of Sarah and myself…
It’s been a great pleasure.
Cheers to you all.
x
Swapping clothes became a bit of a trend after the global economic downturn of 2008/9 with lovers of fashion the world over getting together for clothes swapping parties. It’s a novel and wallet friendly way of getting new clothes in one’s closet. If you are in Johannesburg on the 8th of September you can also join in on the fun as Skip brings this concept to town. The detergents brand is hosting a ‘fashion exchange’ at the Hyatt Regency in Rosebank where Noni Gasa- whom we’ve named among our best dressed South Africans many times- will be giving a talk . A pop-up fashion exchange will be set-up and refreshments served.
Noni Gasa will be giving a talk at the Skip Fashion Exchange
It’s a day event, starting at 12pm, and if you are looking to join the party- along with your old but clean clothes, that you want to swap- R120 plus three items of clothing gets you in.Visit the Skip website or call Tshia Aphiri on 0113006700 for more details.
*Please note that this is an advertorial
Sportswear brand PUMA will be opening a new store in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, this Saturday. The design if the new store gives a nod to Johannesburg’s mining history by featuring mining elements- footwear shelves made to look like mine elevators, for instance. The brand is also rolling out its international Retail 2.0 store design, which has already been seen in Cape Town’s Canal Walk, where a social area and DJ mixing station are part of the set-up.
The shop is located on the corner of De Korte and Melle Streets and will be open on a Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and on a Sunday from 9am to 1pm.
My eyes are green with envy!
PARIS VOGUE SEPTEMBER 2012
Paris Vogue, commonly referred to as French Vogue, has appointed blogger Garance Dore as its newest columnist as the magazine launches its new look with this year’s September Issue. WWD.com quotes editor Emmanuelle Alt as saying; ‘All the other Vogues carry a country name. Vogue Paris is the only one to carry the name of a city. Everyone fantasizes about Paris. It’s the concept of the “Parisienne.” The “Parisienne” is a girl who makes people dream worldwide, rightly or wrongly, a girl who represents a particular style, a taste, an allure.”
Garance Dore is certainly that girl for me. Just wish I also had a magazine like Vogue thinking I deserve a page of my own… juuuuust for control!
The Frock Report is excited to report that South Africa’s Drama King of Fashion has scored a standalone slot on the New York Fashion Week schedule. The show will take place at 7.30pm (NY time) on the 9th of September at a venue called THE BOX, just after Zac Posen’s show. Other designers showcasing on the same day include Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karran and Yohji Yamamoto.
It is the first time that a South African designer has been included in the main schedule of the New York shows. Previously, local designers who have been to the Big Apple, including Tlale, have only been able to showcase as part of a collective or on the fringes of the main event.
We congratulate Tlale and look forward to the reviews of the show from one of the world’s four fashion capitals. We can now truly say South African fashion has arrived on the World Stage!!!
Says the celebrated designer himself; ‘I’m so excited to be showcasing at New York Fashion Week on the calendar as David Tlale the brand. I believe this is the time and moment that God has been preparing us as a brand for. This is the beginning of the journey.’
And we will be with you all the way!
Congratulations indeed!
‘Nkoana-Mashabane’s orange outfit gave us serious pangs of envy for that skirt, and Dlamini-Zuma’s white-and-black ensemble is just chic, chic, chic.’ So says the Huffington Post.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MINISTER MAITE NKOANA-MASHABANE SHARING A LAUGH WITH HILLARY CLINTON
HILLARY CLINTON WITH AU CHAIR NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA (PICS: AFP)
I’ve always been the first to dismiss our ministers as sartorially challenged beings. All one has to do is to tune in to the annual opening of parliament to get a dose of the disastrous state of style in the upper echelons of state power. I have to say, though, I agree with the folk over at Huff Post. The skirt our International Relations minister is rocking and that jacket on the newly appointed African Union chairperson is downright chic! I’m not too convinced about Nkoana-Mashabane’s frilly, peplumy orange blouse vibe though. But as one fellow journo once put it; South Africans do tend to want to wear their entire closets all in one go (LOL). Both our ministers (unless I’ve missed a bit of news, Dlamini-Zuma remains Home Affairs Minister still) are pictured here with US Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a multi-state tour of Africa.
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.
