In addition to the earlier noted S/S shows happening in Copenhagen, Cape Town is also having its fashion week—a proposition that, for the most part, sounds more interesting than it looks. Cities outside the main capitals of the industry seem understandably less interested in taking risks, and the global world of fashion is less expectant that they be taking things in any strong direction. Which sucks, really. This internationalizing seems like it’s making everything more homogenous, rather than letting each country/community incubate its own distinctiveness. Then again, count me as thrilled that I can peruse every look from every fashion week around the globe. I’m not a designer, after all, but if I were I think I’d refrain from peeking at the shows, for the most part, and see what my own brain came up with without any subliminal (or not so) influences. Originality is poised as a particularly important quality these days, with designers letting their lawyers loose on places like Forever 21 for producing copies of their designs, and lobbying for copyright protections. (What a can of worms deciphering what constitutes a copy… hmm, a classic camel trench? A black top? Who owns the rights to those?) And actually, if designers press the issue, then it would stand to reason that they would need to defend the originality of their own designs, too. Perhaps that would eradicate $700 price tags on items like tank tops that are deemed valuable simply because of the name on the tag. I mean, could Hanes or whoever then sue a big design house for including a wife beater in their collection? It’s an interesting discussion, and one that runs through my head every time I’m looking through the reams of fashion week photos looking for things that really grab me. Here are a couple from Cape Town that I like, but you should check them out for yourself.

(Kluk CGDT)

(Kobus Dippenaar Atelier)