During any fashion week, you hope for, cross your fingers for, those fashion moments that lift things up and inspire, energise and stimulate the whole week. When this jumpsuit from KIKI Clothing appeared on the runway on the last day of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa 2012, this is exactly what we got. We ALL sat up and took notice.

The mad scramble afterwards between US Vanity Fair editor-at-large Michael Roberts, and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, queen of the fashion week, as to who would get to take the jumpsuit was as funny as it was cool. A garment that can inspire these two to blows is a GREAT garment.

It doesn't take anything away from the rest of the collection either. I mean, it was a surprisingly good collection that was somewhat subtle in the buildup and totally underestimated by almost all the media and buyers present. Not any more.

The designer, Titi Ademola, is Ghanaian, but has half Nigerian parenthood. Both of these nations traditions have an influence on this 100% made in Ghana label. And yet it was the Japanese input that was most exciting about this specific collection. By pulling this Asian feel into the mix, made this collection truly contemporary. It is African, but it lives in a world of European trends and Asian power. There is literally nothing more representative of what is 'now'.

I really liked the show. It surprised me. Which says more about my limited understanding of the cool designers on the broader African continent, than it does about the label. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I am not going to forget about it. I am excited to see what KIKI Clothing does next.
All photos courtesy of SDRPhoto