It is a masterful designer that allows his audience to see the collection in three different ways at a show. In this particular case, two masterful magicians of fashion, KLuK CGDT. At their Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa showcase on Saturday afternoon, we were greeted with an installation. All the models were draped around the venue, set up to evoke a Japanese colonial salon.

This commentary on colonialism at an African presentation was confident. They assumed intelligence in their audience. They assumed that we would get it. As usual the hint of humour was just below the surface, masked only by the sublime beauty of the presentation.

Then the installation was removed and we were greeted by a giant cinema screen, and the boys greeting us and welcoming us to their show. A fashion movie ensued, and colour me surprised that we were treated to a montage of our emerging local model of the moment, Katryn Kruger, swanning about another colonial set up at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town. So pretty. So useful to see all the garments shown off to their best. So sweet. The doors closed on the film and I had a burning lump in my throat at the loveliness of it all.

And then the real-life models reappeared, slowly walking the runway, allowing us yet another opportunity to see all the detail, all the finess, all the complexity of the collection. We got to recognise that cobalt blue and coral orange were off-set against the cream neutrals for vibrancy and to capture the fashion moment this season. We got to see the modernity in this retro moment. We got to reflect on the collection and enjoy it for what it was — so very beautiful.

And yet, I was troubled. My friend Chris Viljoen said it best when he asked me, "are we so used to seeing beauty from the boys that we stop seeing how special it really is?" And I think he is right. We hold KLuK CGDT to a higher standard than other designers here in SA. As the creme de la creme of designers in our country, we expect so much more. An ordinary designer can show a collection of jolly nice dresses and I will think it very exciting. The KLuK CGDT boys can't do that. They need to excel. They need to cause a sensation. They need to exceed incredibly high expectations every single time. Which of course is nearly impossible.

But I am not going to apologise for wanting this from them. I absolutely will continue to hold them to this higher standard. There is no doubt they are capable of taking our breath away with their creations. So that's what we expect. It may not be fair. It may place unreasonable pressure on them. But it is what we ask of them. And so often get. So thank you.
Photos all courtesy of SDRPhoto
Video by Mark Cameron and Dillon Buirski