REVIEW: Kaylaamiel Creations at Cape Town Fashion Week
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Kaylaamiel Creations presents their latest collection at Cape Town Fashion Week
Kaylaamiel Creations is inspired by 1950s silhouettes at Cape Town Fashion Week
Kaylaamiel Creations’ second showing with African Fashion International at Cape Town Fashion Week, was a celebration of regal femininity. The brand brought a different dimension of femininity – chic, self-assured and sophisticated.
Against the crescendo of a dreamy, operatic soundtrack, the Botswana-based label celebrated the stylish femininity of our mothers and grandmothers – the original pioneers of African fashion and style.
Various elements work in unison towards a poignant objective in Kaylaamiel’s Creations collection. On the inspiration behind the collection, Botswana-born founder, and creative director of the brand, Seneo Moji, says that it pays homage to the previous generation of mothers and grandmothers and the Western styles that they have ingeniously reinterpreted throughout history.
Moji, whose previous use of prints on the runway at Joburg Fashion Week 2022, has garnered much acclaim, embraces a paisley-esque print, soft shades of sage green, natural beige, and cream, to celebrate women their work, their collective practice, and the culture that they have curated that has paved the way for African fashion to arrive at its current station.
While the collection references 1950s silhouettes, Moji’s use of soft hues imbues it with delicateness. According to Moji, this collection saw the label take “a more sensible approach to nature”, cognisant of consciously and sustainably produced fabrics, designs, and production methods.
Feminine charm was communicated in innovative ways, including the inverted Juliet sleeve of an ankle-length cream dress. Volume created at the forearms rather than the shoulders creates a more mobile silhouette, with shoulders relaxed and the waistline receding produce an elegant stature.
The absolute star of this collection, however, was a stately coat with a paisley-esque print and leg-o’-mutton sleeves producing emphatic shoulders. Broad panels of white were perfectly positioned at the collar, cuffs, and pockets to disrupt the paisley print, signalling the garment’s 1950s influence. With a unique rectangular collar folded together at the clavicle and secured with a golden brooch, and a white beret resting elegantly on the model’s head, this ensemble was the picture of 20th-century elegance.
Kaylaamiel Creations' AW2023 collection was a reminder of the calibre of African storytelling in fashion – its possibilities and the innovative avenues that it presents.