Luke Radloff made an auspicious entry into the world of high fashion by winning the award for Best Graduating Range at the London International School of Fashion, where he completed his studies in 2006. This promising start has so far proven to be quite prophetic.

He has since produced prodigiously for the Black Coffee label, was selected for the Elle New Talent Competition at SA Fashion Week (2007) and featured as the subject of numerous magazine editorials.

Luke’s creations never fail to surprise as he flirts with the many faces of fashion - from geometrically futuristic to airy Mediterranean and even an eerie fusion of Victorian frills with primeval powers.

He also indulges his creativity with the fabrics and other materials from which his creations are made, as attested to by what he did with (synthetic!) hair for the Nike BE TRUE Exhibition.

See his flickr gallery here and his YouTube video here.

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Fashion authorities have described Lisa Jaffe, and her Guillotine brand, as ‘on the ball’, ‘edgy’ and ‘very cool’. And we have to concur …

Although she claims to go for ‘fuzzy, happy pajama-like’ fabrics and her creations are said to offer comfort as well as style, her contribution to the Nike Gallery on 4th Fashion Show had a distinctly uncomfortable undercurrent. The homogeneous blond models, dressed for success strutting confidently down the ramp, made for uneasy irony in juxtaposition with Alon Skuy’s background photos of the sidelined members of society. Yet both these groups are wearing the same shoes … walking the same sidewalks, trying to survive in the same city streets.

See her flickr gallery here and Alon’s photos here or go to YouTube for more footage on the show.

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During her, as yet, short career in fashion, Petro Steyn has had first hand exposure to almost every aspect of the fashion industry – from pattern cutter to costume designer to lecturer.

This broad experience base is attested to by her unmistakable technical expertise which allows her to give physical form to the wondrous creatures inhabiting her imagination. She likes to “live in a world where I can create my own reality; a world of make-believe made real.” And she readily admits to “giving in completely to my imagination and the impossible.”

This approach seems to work as her signature fantasy creatures, mutants and hybrids and her innovative use of materials such as neoprene and paper are earning her a reputation as a uniquely talented and creative designer. Click here to see the flickr gallery of her work.

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During the past few years Joh Del’s idiosyncratic illustrations have been surreptitiously infiltrating the minds of South Africans. Last week in China a few of the locals got a taste of his whimsical ways in the form of a pair of Dunks, custom illustrated for the occasion by Joh himself and hand-delivered by our representative in China. Here’s what they got:

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They came from far and near, the glitzy, the glam and their glorious gear. They came for inspiration, relaxation and a bit of lubrication for the imagination. They did not leave disappointed.

See Warren van Rensburg’s other beautiful photos of who was there, here.

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