Stoned Cherrie

Her collection was a Cape to Cairo look at Africa, particularly the cultures - drawing out the similarities and - almost in an exaggerated manner - highlighted the use of beads in almost all tribes in Africa. With intra-collection themes like the Masai Zulu, Egyptian Tsonga and West African Xhosa - it was really an eye fest! A wonderful celebration of the ten years that the brand has been around... Kudus for that by the way!

For whatever reason Stoned Cherrie did not show at Africa Fashion Week, I think it was a good idea because this collection would've seemed rather superfluous with all the other African designers (with similar design aesthetics) but under the Cape Town Fashion Week umbrella, it served as a Freche reminder of the continents talent and though this comment may come across as being quite negative, it's really a compliment because it shows that the brand has become more global and, more importantly, establishes an African identity - always good to see.

With that said though, and I really hate to be a stick in the mud, I did not like her overuse of beads for tasseling - it somewhat killed the overall aesthetic of the outfit (a little less would've been nice... suggestions of Africa are good in a design, not a blatant display of it) beading overkill! with a beautiful silhouette as this one - are the (thigh) bead tassels necessary? or an overkill? the latter in my opinion! (although this dress translates very well on still shots... mmm...)

Thread: (cute) feathered headpieces/alicebands

Comment: the collection was a beautiful marriage of African tribes and cultures and how we have a common currency: beads. The de-beaded garments are versatile and can easily fit into any girls wardrobe (and I use the term girl loosely, the tees are very unisex looking). The fabrics used were also very representative of the cultures that were displayed: Raw Silk for Egypt, Ankara/Ashoke for West Africa, Waxed Bakote Fabric for the Tsonga... so there was also excellent use of Fabric throughout her show

This outfit was my personal favourite! It is a typical Tsonga dress (worn by women during traditional Tsonga dances - let's just say, I would like to see Shakira in this one - much like the reed dances that take place in Swaziland) but with an urban twist in the way it's assembled and finished. Really refreshing!

I particularly liked, as this was a retrospective collection, how her trademark "Drum cover" T-shirts resurfaced...

Good one!

pics by Simon Deiner