Edgars new winter culture encompasses elements of sportswear, hip hop, punk, street fashion and haute couture.
The Edgars winter seasonal fashion show, in collaboration with E! Entertainment, featured fresh off the rail fashion and accessories from a number of cutting-edge brands locally and across the globe depicting a sophisticated urban street lifestyle.
This year, Edgars turned their winter fashion line on its head with a range filled with private brands that stepped outside their boundaries.
The show was rumoured for weeks, with little to no concrete information about what the audience could expect. To bring the new winter line to life, Edgars at Sandton City was transformed into a grand catwalk for a night of spectacular elegance. The entire middle floor of the store was mobbed with celebrities, fashionistas, bloggers and designers hungry for something different.
Mike Elliot, Edgars CEO, described the show as a ‘medley of breakout fashion’, with plenty of surprising reveals and adventurous designs. The show featured leading fashion labels like Guess, Calvin Klein, Sissy Boy, Levi’s, Soviet, jXchange, Kelso, Free2bu, Signature and Stone Harbour. The paramount requirement behind the choice of brands were that the designs were truly functional as street wear while inextricably intertwined with high-end fashion.
The models were a mixture of local entities, and the show also displayed Edgars foray into men’s accessories with the inclusion of peak and postal caps, hats and beanies, and funky dress socks. The new winter collection featured eye-catching and wearable chunky and lightweight knits, trim tracksuits, both collar and collarless jackets and trendy hoodies, as well as a variety of Denim.
It should come as little surprise, that a series of futuristic sneaker designs transcended the glitz and glamour of the show and formed the ideal counterpart for Edgars vision of on trend leisurewear, with monochrome colour ways, zippered closure and metallic accents. The crown jewel of the new winter line was arguably a mid-height white ladies boot sporting a sexy side zip.
A selection of entertainment wowed guests in between sets – including DJ Arch – the youngest DJ in the world – and live performances from the epic South African rapper and poet Sho Madjozi. Combining hip-hop dancers, and a rousing projected rendition of Huku and Idhom, it was quite the experience. A jazz saxophone player dressed in a classic suit added to the all-encompassing experience.
Joining E! presenters, Kat Sinivasan and Roxy Burger on the Red Carpet were some of SA’s hottest influencers, media personalities and fashion designers, including the likes of MTV VJ and model Kim Jayde, The Bachelor SA contestant Gina Myers, Project Runway SA host Lerato Kganyago, award winning South African actress Jessica Nkosi, Kelso Curves ambassador Siphokazi Veti and contemporary genius, Thokozani Mbatha were in attendance.
“The Edgars winter line – especially the men’s range – hit the nail on the head when it comes to fashion trends for the winter season,” said Thokozani Mbatha. “Today’s man is not afraid of colour and today’s woman is not afraid of wearing stretchy, body-hugging fabrics that give much-needed ease, drape, comfort and fitting. Yellow is a huge winter comeback – all shades and hues from mustard, to flaxen, to amber – because yellow instantly brightens your complexion and makes you feel confident and sexy.”
Gina Myers also raved about the new Edgars winter collection. “Fashion is a mood. While you can have a particular style, your mood depicts whether you feel edgy and sexy, or classic and elegant. Today I had my ears pierced and I felt a little rebellious, so I decided to wear leather to this event. That’s the beauty of fashion. Your mood comes to life through the clothes you wear. Edgars definitely introduced some massive colour trends into their collection. Mustard and olive green are huge favourites of mine at the moment, and I believe they are this winters season staples. Bright, bold colours like red also never go out of fashion.”
Kim Jayde said one of her favourite brands to shop for at Edgars is Sissy-Boy because the range is broad, unique and affordable. “I hate conformity in all regards but especially when it comes to clothing. I love wearing outfits that compliment my personality. My personal style is always sexy with a touch of glam. Clothing should always be a celebration of uniqueness and individuality.”
The range, said Edgars Mike Elliot, was perfectly aligned to the retailer’s tagline – ‘Own The Look’ – vibrant, real, diverse, beautiful and proud. “We have certainly freshened up our line and put the focus back onto private labels. Over the last 18 months we have developed a clear understanding of who the customer is for each brand. This year’s trends have seen a fashion explosion, especially in functional active wear. People are walking around in sweat pants and chic shirts, in cycle shorts with designer trainers, in hoodies and tailored pants, like they’ve never done before – mixing leisure wear with formal attire and completely pulling off the trend. Part of tonight’s show was to showcase what Edgars is doing in the world of fashion. We have transformed and taken on a new shape over the last five years and we are back in the fashion business with a vengeance. We are more fashion-forward and fearless than ever, bringing consumers winter fashion all the influencers, editors, models and more are wearing off the runway.”
