Charlene Dunbar: African Fashion Designer

 

Charlene Dunbar is a well known African fashion designer who has their own brand of clothing called Suakoko Betty. The name of her brand fits well with her theme of clothing and her African heritage as Suakoko is the name of a place in Liberia. As a child she lived in her hometown Monrovia, Liberia before moving to Atlanta where she still currently lives.

 

http://suakoko-betty.myshopify.com/collections/dresses/products/cece-jumpsuit-rust?variant=21889120711

 

Her brand Suakoko Betty was founded in 2007 and since then has been a success. Suakoko means place of new beginnings and Betty represents the western connection, this is how she was inspired to create this brand name. With her traditional African styled and African influenced clothing she has stuck to creating beautiful garments that stick true to were she is from. A lot of her clothing has very bold recognisable African prints on them as a lot of her fabrics that she used are hand dyed in Liberia. Her collection has outstanding colourful patterns that really stand out as statement pieces and her designs and style of clothing is very adventurous and fun.

 

http://suakoko-betty.myshopify.com/collections/dresses/products/makeba-dress-cocktail-periwinkle?variant=30767817290

 

Charlene's specialty in clothing is dresses and a lot of her collection is made up of them which gives her pieces a spring/summer theme to them showing that they are made to be worn specifically for these seasons. All of her clothing is hand crafted and most of the fabrics are made in Ghana although a lot of her pieces are made in the USA. Because of this she have a very limited quantity to make sure that each garment that is made is unique so not everyone can by one.

 

http://suakoko-betty.myshopify.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/bae-shirt-checker?variant=31552243210

 

She also has her own website: http://www.suakokobetty.com/



PFW: Rick Owens s/s 2017 Review

 

Rick Owen wowed people this year with wrapped 3D fabrics, textures and faux fur detail. He used layers upon layers of chiffon fabrics bulking and shaping it into dresses and skirts. He didn't use a variety of colours but the plain and basic colours he did use complemented each other well making the pieces come more to life. The only bright colour he did use was yellow and that stood out on the runway the most, with long maxi dresses in full colour people were fascinated by them.
This year he took a risk and it payed off, he chose to think outside the box and be unique which worked in his favour. All of his pieces were very similar in the sense the he used a lot of fabric in the collection and all the pieces of clothing were big. Everything was oversized and loose fitted apart from the skirts but even then chiffon draped off of them.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#4

 

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#7

 

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#19
Jackets were an item of clothing that stood out in his range as they were oversized with large high necks and large sleeves. The jackets fitted well as a pieces with the long skirts that dragged along the floor. His collection was clearly not revealing as all of his pieces cover the models pretty well. Not a lot of skin was showing unless the models were wearing skirts or short dresses with short sleeves.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#24


http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#38

Detail on some of the pieces were so stunning and intricate with small embroidery and others had feather and fur which was beautiful and very different. His collection this year wasn't the same as others but everyone loved it.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rick-owens/slideshow/collection#42
 



MFW: Salvatore Ferragamo s/s 2017 Review

Salvatore Ferragamo showed us a range of textures on the runway this year with knitted/ribbed pieces and pin-tucked ruched designs. Along with the most common recurring design of the puffy shoulder and sleeves, that also branched out into shaping curvier areas of the clothing. During the show people saw similar designs throughout which meant people weren't blown away with the collection.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#2

 

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#12

However there were some beautiful floral prints/patterns and lots of colour tones used throughout whether that be all bright pieces or dark toned. The flower designs and bright colours were mainly used on dresses or skirts giving them the summer spring vibe which you expect.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#24

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#25

The classic trouser and blazer/ trench coat combination was my favourite out of the collections and it seemed to be others as well. Also a favourite design piece out of the collection that was popular was the see through patterned outfits which were stunning. The clothing really shaped a silhouette of the models wearing them and this stood out during the show.

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#26

http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/salvatore-ferragamo/slideshow/collection#32

Unfortunately the Salvatore Ferragamo catwalk show didn't live up to the expectations of many as people agreed that he played it safe this year when it came to the clothes. What was most talked and raved about was the shoes as they were a statement that he is very well known for and his bags were what stood out the most.