Celebrity favorite South African fashion designer Gavin Rajah opened the ongoing segment of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa 2013 with his latest Spring/Summer 2014 collection. Titled as ‘From Behind the Veil’, the line was inspired from the roles played by veiled women during wars, as depicted in Arthurian Legends. With a strong focus on intricate detailing and clear cut precision, the collection, which was dedicated to the designer’s muse Gretha Scholtz-Tholstrup, was made from soft sensuous fabrics like silk and organza. Based on masculine silhouettes, the pieces include jackets with oversized pockets, serpentine print skirts and dresses with concealed pleats, silver metallic shorts and pants, and floor-length gowns with metal embellishments. Gavin was followed by Samsung Amaze Africa show; a collaborative effort combining fashion, technology and nature. The brand brought together fourteen leading fashion and accessory designers from across Africa, paired them up to present four exclusive looks that define a futuristic vision for Africa. The first of its kind, the Samsung Amaze Africa initiative draw inspiration from the mother continent. According to Ghanaian designer Nana Brenu, who collaborated with Kenyan based Nigerian accessory and jewelry desigher Adéle Dejak,"As designers, we tend to design in a vacuum so collaborating with others opens up a world of experience, knowledge, techniques, skills and different approaches to design."

Some of the designers who were paired included South African Marianne Fassler created a brightly colored and multi-textured range to complement Quamta - the luxury accessories label's masterfully designed palm-size packages with exotic skin finishes. Mismatching observable detail was a common theme in the designs, especially in the collaboration between Anisa Mpungwe of Loin Cloth and Ashes and her Tanzania-based partner, Doreen Mashika. Their collaboration featured small-sized carriages complementing garments with tailored finishes in metallic hues and skilfully layered see-though fabrics. New York-based milliner Albertus Swanepoel joined forces with Black Coffee to stretch their avialae (the extinct ancestors of birds) reference, combining a variety of feather-detailed headgear with the label's high-end designs.Kenya's Rift Valley Leather expertly crafted a collection of messenger-style sling bags made out of a blend of fine leather and wax print fabrics. These were showcased with flamboyant menswear suits designed by Projecto Mental from Angola. LaurenceAirline and Missibaba -A few of the paired designer brands opted for a less eccentric approach, aiming for the type of client whose sartorial preferences centres on classical tailoring and fit, accentuated with unusual but complementary accessories. LaurenceAirline from the Ivory Coast designed a menswear collection with a signature A-line coat that was perfectly complemented by Cape Town-based Missibaba's jumbo-sized folder with woven leather in a geometric finish. Ghanaian Nana Brenu of the 1981 label created fluidly tailored garments to walk down the runway accompanied by the East African handmade accessories brand, Adéle Dejak. They sourced inspiration from coleopteran creatures (a class of hard-winged beetles) and created a contrasting balance between hard-edged elements and a simple color palette. Designer from Mozambique, Taibo Bacar took his design in a different new direction with an updated range of majestic shift dresses tailored to perfection and paraded on the runway styled with beautiful tailored bags and purses by Katherine-Mary Pichulik’s eponymous accessories label.

Another favorite was the collection by Mustafa Hassanali who had two major prints and fabrics that the designer transformed into beautiful dresses with the models adorned with cultural accessories. The title of the collection Afro, a short name for African and Afroture a short word for the French word Couture and English word Future, was all about celebrating the bright future of African fashion. His collection depicts the usage of East African cotton fabric Kitenge; turning them into signature Mustafa Hassanali evening gowns. This collection embodies the spirit, elegance and glamour of the true statuesque beauty of Africa which has, will and always be in vogue. Coming up after the fabulous show from Mustafa was South Africa’s own Bongiwe Walaza. With hues of blue, dark brown green and orange, the designer borrowed the essence of nature to create a collection that portrayed seasons, properties and the earth. After the brand’s highly acclaimed show of last year’s event, she was one of the many that audience members were eager to see and after the designs graced the runway, it was more than expected, thus reaching a new level of acclaim.