What our style experts REALLY thought about SA Fashion Week

As the last local fashion week of the year, the energy at South African Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2018 was at an all time high.

Watching the new season shows unfold on the runway reaffirmed my belief that young designers and menswear designers are the true heroes of the AW18 season — and the year as a whole. They continually step up to the plate with collections worthy of international audiences.

This season Thebe Magugu and Rich Mnisi held their spot as two of my favourite young designers with their vibrant and playful, yet wearable collections.

Floyd Avenue, De Mil and d.o.p.e also didn't disappoint, showing us that menswear designers have a lot to offer to the growing local fashion industry.

Woolworths Style by SA remained a highlight of SA Fashion Week, more so this season with the addition of Droomer and Sindiso Khumalo to the lineup.

With a staff of 16 in the workroom, every style is created for a purpose. Pointing to a sample on a workroom table, it will go through up to 10 incarnations before she is happy with the result. Her bags must be both functional and good looking.

Coming from a family of dentists and doctors, Wong has just signed a deal to get her bags into their 32nd Australasian store -Yu Mei sells in Hamilton's Harper Inc, Good as Gold and Ena in Wellington and Auckland, and Ballantynes in Christchurch. Not bad for a gutsy designer who has shown at three New Zealand fashion weeks, the first just a couple of months after she launched Yu Mei in 2015.

You may not have heard his name, but Alexandr Rogov is a big deal in Russia, with a successful career as a stylist and his very own TV show. Now, he’s trying his hand as a designer. Following a favorably reviewed catwalk collection last season, he’s back with a more finely-tuned and wearable sensibility. It was a quirky mix of athleisure separates (sweatshirts, tracksuit-inspired trousers), and feminine styles (mini skirts with ruffles, silk dresses, prim blazers) in a pink, teal and purple palette that felt particularly of the moment. No surprise, Rogov had fun with the styling, adding stretchy logo-ed bands to waists, hems and heads. While at times the show felt a little derivative (those logo-ed bands owe a little something to Dior, the ruffles to Saint Laurent), Rogov’s items will have undeniable appeal in stores - which is no small thing for an emerging designer with an eye on solvency. Particularly cool - and destined to sell out - were the sweatshirts and T-shirt emblazoned with the word "hate" in glitter, and the matching denim jacket and trousers stitched with sequins

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