One of the most coveted invites on the schedule, The OPPO Collections set the tone for the new season through the lens of three of the country’s top fashion luminaries
26 April 2023, Johannesburg – As a leading global smartphone brand, OPPO devices capture the world from ultra-wide angles to long focus ranges with images that remain vivid, detailed, and spectacularly clear.
The image is crucial to the fashion experience – it is the conduit for designers to communicate their vision to the world. And it is fitting that, as Essie Apparel, Black Coffee, and Rubicon showcased their vibrant views for the new season, their creations were captured by some of the country’s top influencers from their front-row seats at the OPPO Collections at SA Fashion Week on Friday evening.
Rapper and television presenter Nomuzi Mabena, actress and media personality Khanya Mkangisa, Metro FM breakfast host DJ Sabby, award-winning actor Wiseman Zitha and musical artist Kyle Deutsch led the star-studded guest list attending the showing which solidified OPPO’s position in the fashion firmament after successfully partnering with SA Fashion Week over five glamorous seasons.
“SA Fashion Week has been a pivotal platform for us to touch and engage with a fashion passionate audience who value our passion for elevating life through technology. It has been gratifying to witness how much our local design talent and fashion lovers have embraced us, and our devices, as we stay true to creating dynamic devices which delight users. Culminating our partnership by providing a platform for three phenomenal stars of the local fashion industry is a phenomenal way to say, ‘Thank you!'” said Avashnee Moodley, Head of Marketing at OPPO South Africa,
The OPPO Collections, which opened Day 2 of the SAFW programme at the Mall of Africa, Midrand, revealed a deep fascination with nature and history amongst the coveted labels which showed individual collections.
For Essie Apparel, under Enhle Mbali, the season continues its signature knack for unusual fabrication choices with exuberance, while Jacques van der Watt of Black Coffee’s deep fascination with structure and architectural shape was informed by the different phases of the moon.
Meanwhile, Rubicon, which celebrated 21 years as a style and cultural institution, paid homage to the lost kingdom of Mapungubwe through a re-imagined Myth of Origin story.
“With this romantic collection, I have designed garments to make the wearer feel emboldened, chic, and in touch with the essence of who she is. This is a return to her femininity,” explained Hangwani Nengovhela about the Rubicon collection, which marries Eastern and western influencers with African elegance.
Describing her collection, Enhle Mbali said it reflects Essie Apparel’s fascination with “mixing the African with the Eurocentric”.
“It is the little nuances which we use as designers – leather, beads – which makes it synonymous with our continent,” the designer explained.
For Jacques van der Watt, who sketched his collection on his OPPO device, the Black Coffee spring-summer collection marks a return to the roots he planted when he started the brand back in 1998. “Even though we move forward, there remains a connection to the past – that is the overall theme,” he said.
The OPPO Collections marks a South African high point for the world’s leading smart device manufacturer and innovator which considers technology as an art form. OPPO recently upped the style stakes through the introduction of the Find N2 Flip. This style statement phone, which lets you see more in a snap, has drawn the attention of creative path-finders, with ground breaking designer Rich Mnisi joining forces with the brand to celebrate the arrival of the luxurious premium foldable mobile device.
About OPPO
OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone – “Smiley Face” – in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS operating system and internet services like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO operates in more than 50 countries and regions with more than 40,000 of OPPO’s employees are dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.