VIVIERS celebrated their 5th Anniversary with their Trans-Seasonal Collection, ‘IN OUR ELEMENT(AL)’, at SAFW, as 2023 alumni of the Fashion Bridges Program, alongside Andrea Adamo. Having emerged on the SAFW scene through the Fashion Bridges Program in April 2023, VIVIERS returned for the third consecutive season to SAFW, reinforcing their dedication to the local fashion industry and their aspiration to create a thriving African fashion community.
The show commemorated VIVIERS's fifth anniversary with a runway segment as part of the Fashion Bridges show at South African Fashion Week. VIVIERS presented their collection as a graduate from the 2023 program, next to Andrea Adamo, in association with @italyinsouthafrica. On the Johannesburg catwalk, they showcased the SAFW edit of the ‘IN OUR ELEMENT(AL)’ AW24 collection, first released in February as part of the official Milan Fashion Week Calendar.
“In the spirit of Ubuntu, VIVIERS is proud and honored to continue showing at SAFW in our home city, Johannesburg. The continued support of our community of artisans, tailors, makers, sponsors, and clients, who have all contributed in some way to the creation of VIVIERS, is deeply appreciated and acknowledged. This April, VIVIERS celebrates our ‘Coming of Age,’ our 5th anniversary, with our runway show at SAFW,” said Lezanne Viviers, the creative director and founder of VIVIERS.
The show marks a further step in sustaining VIVIERS's collective and creative hybrid space called ‘Hub-of-The-Hand’ where the brand collaborates with numerous South African Artisans. They use South African raw materials like Cape Wools, South African Mohair, ostrich products, gold and diamonds, and South African leather, with the idea of further promoting the South African clothing, textile, and luxury industry, as well as preserving South Africa's heritage of craftsmanship.
Lezanne Viviers's aim is once again to contribute and establish South Africa as an Eco-Hub or destination for supreme craftsmanship in luxury manufacturing; a country that leads with its slow and conscious approach. Complementing showcases within a global platform such as Milan with a show within SAFW in Johannesburg is a pivotal element of VIVIERS's commitment to the South African community and its fabric and craftsmanship excellence. It offers an opportunity to revisit the season with a more resort, trans-seasonal perspective to connect with the South African audience.
The collection, originally debuted in Milan in February 2024 as part of the AW24 calendar, was reworked to showcase its versatility and trans-seasonality. VIVIERS aimed to demonstrate how the same collection could be adapted for both the South African and European markets. For SAFW, the brand partnered with local stylist Sahil Harilal from luxury jeweller, Charles Greig, to combine VIVIERS's signature jewellery with classic fine jewellery. This showcased how treasured family heirlooms could be mixed with contemporary jewellery in everyday dressing.
The release also included different style hats from long-time collaborator, Crystal Birch; hats that are more summery and less nostalgic than those in Milan. The overall VIVIERS look was in itself Exaggerated Juxtaposition; traditional and contemporary, Winter and Summer, Masculine and Feminine, all combined to show individual style and preference.
The presentation incorporated more ready-to-wear pieces to highlight the everyday wearability of the collection and to show its commercial potential as explored in this season's wholesale. Additional Wool/Mohair knitwear was added in a composition of 80/20 Wool/Mohair, a tribute to their ongoing partnership with Cape Wools and Mohair South Africa. The new knitted racer dress and top, as well as the knitted tailored suit, explored some Signature VIVIERS styles, in trans-seasonal knitted form, in anticipation of the next collection.
The runway show featured a short conceptual video created in-house with original music written and produced by Alessandro Gigli, specifically produced to enhance the concept of the collection. The video depicts a shift in humanity's consciousness and ends in the blossoming of a white Lotus flower, the heart symbol of VIVIERS.
The show opened with this short conceptual video, further exploring our inner duality: light and shadow, masculine and feminine. Using UV lights, the video highlighted jewellery and clothing details specially styled to be enhanced by this effect. All models gathered on the stage in complete darkness, where the UV lights continued to illuminate the styled elements, setting the scene for the runway presentation.
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