Anuj Sharma - Button Masala

I was invited to fashion designer Anuj Sharma's Button Masala workshop on Friday and found it as a huge inspiration for young upcoming designers. I even went home and made myself a couple of garments with his work as inspiration.

He explained to us how to apply the buttons to the fabrics and that's also how we saw the fabric change into a  garment and pattern by itself. He quoted himself as "a lazy designer" but told us that he learned something from his laziness. "Just like seams connect two garments together, so does buttons."

He uses this technique by placing the button underneath the fabric on the position you want it and then securing it with an elastic which immediately causes gathers and adds detail to a boring garment. 

One - hour trial

Here are some of the students in his clothes and us experimenting a bit.

South African Identity

Finding South African Identity  was an art movement in the early 1800's. In South African history people from the west brought their influence to Africa and it made a huge impact on South African artists and designers.

Western art styles included expressionism, cubism and impressionism. African artists combined these styles with their own African styles which created a whole new movement and creation for art. Influences like climate, culture, myths, rituals, colour, texture and landscape from the Wests and South Africa was combined and incorporated into art and new designs.
Alexis Preller was an artist from this movement and he was mostly inspired by the Ndebele tribes.

Alexis Preller
Three Women 1952

Alexis Preller
Grand Mapogga ||| 

During the South African Fashion Week 2010 a fashion designer called Ntokoza Kunene revived the Ndebele pattern in one of her collections.

SAFW 2010
Ntokozo Kunene's revival of Ndebele pattern

Kunene was also in the Designers Collections for Elle New Talent.

Elle New Talent Designers Collections
Ntokozo Kunene 

There is definitely a resemblance between Preller's art and Kunene's fashion. The Ndebele tribe had an influence on these artists and combining a western feel to it wasn't such a bad idea.