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Three AFI Cape Town Fashion Week shows not to miss

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This year’s African Fashion International (AFI) Cape Town Fashion Week will not only focus on its main attraction –the runway – but fuse fashion, art and design. With the invitation extended to designers from Accra, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Kinshasa, Lagos, Nairobi, Port Elizabeth and Joburg, there’ll be ranges for all seasons. Here are three shows that should not be missed:

LEIGH SCHUBERT

Date: Friday, March 23

Venue: Salt River Film Studios

Leigh Schubert’s signature womenswear includes garments that are sexy yet elegant, timeless but still fresh, uncomplicated and interesting. “Being a born and bred Durban girl, the need for warmth wasn’t well understood in my original winter seasonal offerings. Being now in my fifth year of living in Cape Town, I have a much better understanding of layering and the importance of coats and jackets. I have become known for my coat dresses – and now sell them successfully all year round, nationally.” About her runway show in Cape Town, she says her inspiration this time was African wildlife, the Great Gatsby and Japanese kimonos.

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KAHINDO MATEENE

Date: Friday, March 23

Venue: Salt River Film Studios

American and Congolese designer Kahindo Mateene has created a vibrant woman’s ready-to-wear label that pairs mid-century American silhouettes with traditional Congolese influences. The result? Garments that empower women in all their femininity. “My collection, called Colours of Goma, is inspired by my childhood memories of growing up in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Before the war, before the volcano erupted and before the refugees. Goma was blue skies over a tranquil Lake Kivu, cows grazing on the lush green farms of Masisi, the yellow of jerry cans and bananas and the rainbow of colours from Mount Nyiragongo. This collection is about evoking the colours of home.”

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MAXHOSA BY LADUMA

Date: Friday, March 23

Venue: Salt River Film Studios

South African textile and knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo is best known for his men’s knitwear range, inspired by traditional Xhosa beadwork. He says his latest collection is inspired by optical art. “It takes on new and inventive ways of translating patterns towards a 3D look and feel. I played with 3D patterns and fused the Maxhosa signature to the op-art inspired designs. With this collection, the statement is us moving to the luxury market. We have evolved like the culture we have been inspired by, which marks this entire collection as a luxury collection.”

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