REVIEW: Malondié at Cape Town Fashion Week
Malondié presents their latest collection at Cape Town Fashion Week
Malondié brings a balance of wistful, feminine silhouettes and bold, contemporary suiting during their Cape Town Fashion Week showcase
Imagine a sci-fi princess Barbie, attending a ball, dressed in the meta verse inspired collection by Malondié? She would look the part.
Celebrating the high-powered feminine in African luxury, Malondié’s Cape Town Fashion Week debut was drama, romance, and roses, meets futuristic sci-fi in silver foil and sharp angles.
When it comes to flawless execution and consistent delivery of feminine charm, founder, and creative director, Londeka Buthelezi-Ndaba is no slouch- in fact, it is her specialty. Given that her industry presence has thus far carved a much-needed space for the stylish 30-something woman, it seems fitting that her progression into the high-fashion space would continue to push the gamut in this manner.
Malondié’s collection further exemplified the prowess of African designers in trend research, declaring the return of the shameless girly-girl, and the intergalactic, futuristic fantasy heralded by Beyoncé’s “Alien Superstar.”
Drama was concentrated in voluminous sleeves – some angular, some “leg-of-mutton”-shaped – sharply drawn-in waistlines and cascading hems. High-end luxury was brought back down to earth by a hot pink, silver, black, white, and brown colour scheme, punctuated with a logomania-esque use of the designer’s signature as a motif.
According to Buthelezi-Ndaba, this collection was dedicated to her customer base – those who want to be seen wearing and representing the brand’s footprint in luxury fashion and continue to inspire the designer. Notable pieces included a hot-pink gown with grand, braided sleeves and an asymmetrical cascading hemline, as well as a silver, leg-of-mutton-sleeved two piece with the name Malondié framing the wearer’s waist.
Embodying the fearless “Malondié Woman” to which the designer refers, models dauntlessly made their way down the runway in jet-black sunglasses to key songs from Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s “Renaissance” album. As expected, Malondié produced a high-octane show with quality garments.