Monday, 27 July 2015

DESIGNER PROFILE, DANIELLE MARGAUX

It is in the shadow of the old Oak trees in the heart of the historical village of Stellenbosch where I find  myself in conversation with the talented Danielle Margaux, a South African Fashion Designer of note. She strikes me as  a remarkably promising and versatile designer, especially having regard to the fact that she served many of our other local designers who have  achieved significant fame and success. With a brief stint (just over 4 years) at designers like Kluk CGDT, Errol Arendz and Rosenwerth, she no doubt gained extensive exposure in various styles and pattern making, and with a particular interest in pattern design and making, she mastered the art of creating form flowing designs that indeed fit your body like a glove, cut and designed to your body type and measurements. She aspires to create garments that fit perfectly, and will soon release an online range with this object in mind. Her designs are distinctly different from any other designer and when asked about her particular style, I was told that it was both timeless, classic and with the client's personality in mind. 

Her crisp, classic  White shirts are an absolute essential ingredient for the capsule wardrobe, and having seen her previous two collections at Fashion Week, I understand why a White shirt from her label would become the quintessential capsule item. It is the harem pants worn with her classic big bow White shirt that caught my initial attention, the very White shirt which left me smitten with her timeless style and led me straight to Montegrey House at 6 Bird Street, Stellenbosch where she consults her clients to form an idea about your personality before she embarks on her talented mission of designing the perfect fit. Her policy on sustainable fashion resonates very well with clients, as she strives to maintain good staff relationships, having happy and well cared for employees whose welfare always remains on the forefront, thus contributing towards empowering  women and creating local employment.  

Although she initially pursued  studies in the medical field, she chose another direction and only embarked into a career sporting her own label after having done numerous other related jobs, including styling models on fashion shoots. She has a fondness for natural fabrics, in particular the tactile feel of Silks, which she no doubt has a great flair for. It is with glee that I  slip into my gorgeous Red Silk gown that was skilfully designed and fitted to my measurements, draping to the floor and gently gliding over my voluptuous figure with great elegance.

Being a designer with a penchant for classic style, she hardly ever works in printed fabric, in keeping with the concept of timeless style. She mentioned that she often indulged in the pages of glossy European fashion magazines as a child, only to discover that the gorgeous frocks were in real existence when she found herself working at Selfridges in London, where she spent lunch hours glancing through high end designs like a bookworm would scale a library.

It is the Protea flower that inspired the colour scheme of her next collection which will be shown during Cape Town Fashion Week next week, which she subtly revealed will show a little more vibrancy (using line as detail and black as a contrast).She's an ambitious women, and having already established herself in the industry as a designer of note, she will no doubt succeed in achieving her next goal by launching an online range in the next year, and if all goes well, turning the label into a brand of distinction…..

She exudes enthusiasm and waxes lyrical about fine fabric,  and with her exceptional talent to produce a garment which fits perfectly, no doubt the next collection will take the runway by storm during Fashion Week in Cape Town next week.

Her showstopper is appropriately named That's It, and the collection can be seen at 16h00 on Saturday the 1st August 2015 at the Watershed, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town. Rush to web tickets if you want to get a glimpse of what this phenomenal designer has created for the next Spring Summer season. 


 




 

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