Khuluma October 2017

HISTORY'S RISKIEST FIXER-UPPERS HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY

Alcohol-soaked towels FOR LOOKS’ SAKE
are placed over problem
areas and set alight. In Burma, the Kayan tribe have since
long ago worn heavy metal coils
Pictures: Supplied, Africa Studio/shutterstock.com, Evru/shutterstock.com leeches to detoxify her blood and give her hydroquinone to bleach their skins. Will we around their necks to lower their
a lovely fresh complexion. But humour never learn? shoulders and extend their necks,
these very rich ladies; it’s their choice after giving them the look of bling-ringed
all, and their treatments don’t really affect Another high-risk fixer-upper that’s flamingos without the pink plumage.
anyone (apart from the poor bees and hot in China right now is the Huo Liao Also bone-changing and ancient is the
the leeches). treatment. It involves placing alcohol- Japanese tradition of foot-binding to
soaked towels over problem areas and produce (apparently) very appealing,
A rather more extreme treatment is for setting them alight. The flames are tiny feet – plus the mincing steps
‘toe-besity’ – the surgical transformation supposedly extinguished before the heat necessary because of mangled,
of chubby toes and wide, hobbit-like feet. becomes too intense. It’s a cure for various twisted toes...but let’s not be overly
Find the right plastic surgeon and you ills including sagging skin and wrinkles, critical of a time-honoured practice.
too can have your toes split open and the indigestion, infertility, cancer and stress.
bones ground down to give you slinky, The obvious side effects are burns, singed Another painful and time-honoured
slender, sandal-suitable toes. Or even, for hair and hyperpigmentation. practice is ceremonial scarring, which
the brave, have a toe or two completely many African tribes perform on both
removed. Just a snip snip here... Personally, I’m keen to try some of the men and women. Intricate patterns
more genteel fads on trend right now, are carved into the skin using thorns
Sadly, some outlawed facial treatments including immersion in tubs of wine and and a razor if available. Ash and
are still readily available. As in Elizabethan beer – honey and milk are so yesterday. organic sap are rubbed into the
England, pale faces are in. So women in But I’ll skip the writhing-snakes-on-my- wounds to produce raised scars.
Africa and the East are using potentially back massage that’s so popular at that
harmful creams with ridiculously high trendy spa in Israel. A quick mention here of people
levels of toxic ingredients such as around the world who extend lips
mercury and the EU-banned substance and earlobes with increasingly larger
discs to produce hugely distended
pictures: xxxxxxx mouths and ears like those of an
elephant, and let us not forget that
in the 16th century, some deranged
fashionista thought that women
would look nice if they had waists
like wasps, and came up with the
concept of the corset. Over the next
few centuries women were strapped,
hooked, laced and whaleboned into
distorting garments that crushed
their insides and led to extreme pain.
But how pretty they looked...

kulula.com OCTOBER 2017 101





FASHION & DESIGN CATWALK QUEEN

aTHnEti-fashionista
She first sent shockwaves through the local fashion industry
in 1976 when she staged a show using only black models – a
revolutionary moment! She has never relented, swimming
against the tide and always challenging the status quo.
Trevor Crighton goes behind the scenes at the studio of one of
South Africa’s most formidable designers and discovers that fashion
is as much about teamwork as it is about the shimmering
final product.

104 OCTOBER 2017 kulula.com

CATWALK QUEEN FASHION & DESIGN

M arianne Fassler, the blue-
dreadlocked grande dame of
South African fashion, has
done as much to create the industry here
as she has to sustain it. Name a prominent,
glamorous personality, and she’s dressed
them. Pick a trend, and she inevitably had
a hand in shaping it. Preaching the gospel
of ‘individuality, identity, craftsmanship,
sustainability and diversity’, Fassler and
her team at Leopard Frock have been at
the gleaming scissor tip of South Africa’s
fashion industry for almost four decades.

‘Getting a dress designed is as much
about how it makes a client feel, as how
it makes them look,’ says Leopard Frock
Creative Director Lezanne Viviers. ‘There’s
a lot of EQ – emotional intelligence –
involved in designing an outfit.'

Understanding that people look
good when they feel good is something
everyone on her team understands
implicitly. That word, ‘team’, keeps coming
up, no matter who at Fassler’s Saxonwold
studio you talk to – almost as often as
the key phrase ‘anti-fashion’. Neither of
those seems to point towards a winning
recipe for a successful clothing label – in
the mind, at least, of someone who is
unaffected by trends and passing fads.

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FASHION & DESIGN CATWALK QUEEN

Fassler’s workshop and studio occupy after designers for those
an extension of her home, and there’s a seeking creative expression
lot of her anti-status quo personality in through form and function
evidence. The workspace is a hybrid of in fabric. Forget the image of
creative hub, production line, collaborative flighty fashionistas flouncing
space, shop window, fitting room, office about in flowing robes and colluding to
– and, occasionally, psychologist’s couch. conjure increasingly ridiculous trends –
‘People bring all their baggage when they this is a serious business for a group of
come for a fitting, and we need to make people whose livelihoods depend on their
sure their outfits put them in the frame ability to make their clients look and feel
of mind they need to be in,’ says Viviers. ‘If good. Creative expression is evident in
you have a big event you need to dress up everything from the studio’s front gate to
for, the anxiety over your outfit and how the whimsical stick figures drawn on the
you look in it can spoil it for you completely office noticeboard by a new staff member
– so we’re here to make sure our clients struggling to put names to faces – but the
look and feel as good as they possibly can, bills must be paid.
so they can enjoy themselves,’ she says.
While Fassler and Viviers delicately
The Leopard Frock team’s ability to drape an implausibly willowy client in a
multitask is actually what makes Fassler’s variety of skirts and dresses and vote for
designs work. It’s the way everyone juggles or veto the result, couturier John Hockey is
their roles to run a business that’s made all precision scissor-work and attention to
her one of the continent’s most sought- detail at the oversize desk adjacent

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CATWALK QUEEN FASHION & DESIGN

to the fitting area. ‘I was at college
with Marianne,’ is the ‘I dare you to
ask me for a number’ response to a
question about how long he’s known
the grande dame herself. While
Fassler oversees the brand and
Viviers is responsible for, amongst
other things, seasonal collections
for fashion shows like AFI, Hockey
is responsible for bringing to life the
brand’s sensational one-off creations,
including their signature wedding
gowns and evening wear.

Muttering under his breath for cutting
a length of velvet the wrong way earlier
(apparently there’s a wrong way) and
having to delay the construction process
of an evening gown to go out and buy
a second length of matching material,
Hockey sighs deeply in response to the
question: ‘what do you wish people knew
about fashion?’

‘How long it takes to get made once
it’s designed,’ is the response. Generally,
a client comes in with an idea in their
mind of the kind of bespoke outfit they’d
like. The team consults to try to balance
perception, reality, time and cost to deliver
a product that measures up to the brand’s
reputation and delivers on the client’s
expectations. It’s Hockey’s job to take the
product from sketch to reality. ‘I get joy
from interpreting an idea – sometimes
just a thought or a line or two on a piece
of paper – into a finished garment and
watching a client’s mood change instantly
when they see the way they look in the
mirror,’ he says. ‘Sometimes you have to
call a spade a spade, though – if a client

doesn’t look good, it’s my job to tell
them. I won’t make a garment I’m
not happy with.’
In another room – as
visible to visiting clients as
the rest of the operation

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FASHION & DESIGN CATWALK QUEEN

– a team of ladies industriously sews, for a mindset. I’d like to think people come Pictures: Simon Deiner/SDR, Trevor Stuurman, Supplied
stitches and steams the brand’s ‘ready here for the clothes and vibe, but I think
to wear’ range. More ‘clockwork’ than really it’s the added value where we can
‘rote work’, the hum of sewing machines make changes on the spot – whether they
and hiss of steam irons counterbalance
Hockey’s staccato snipping and don’t want to show their arms, would
Fassler and Viviers’ near-telepathic prefer a different lining or crave an
verbal shorthand as they style extra layer of detail. ‘Our signature
another client while her mother is totally intuitive, really great,
looks on. ‘I have some clients handmade clothing,’ says Viviers,
who’ve been buying my fingering the felt shapes on the
clothing since the '80s, and dress, having sent mother and
now their daughters and daughter clients home, happy.
granddaughters are ‘Material is expensive, so
coming in and still loving we don’t throw anything
the clothes,’ Fassler tells away – we’d rather test
me later. ‘What we create ourselves and see how we
is not for an age group – it’s can reconstitute the offcuts
and turn them into something
'I have some clients who’ve been buying beautiful and unique. This has
my clothing since the ‘80s, and now their become part of the handwriting
daughters and granddaughters are coming of the brand: delivering a unique
in and still loving the clothes.' item from something that
might have been thrown away.’
‘We’re basically architects
working to a set form,’ chimes
in Hockey. ‘We work with
human bodies of all sizes, but
the basic form of the canvas
is generally the same.’ Viviers
agrees: ‘Design is problem
solving – people bring their bodies
and their baggage and you have to
find solutions that make them look
and feel amazing.’
So since they’re fundamentally

creating one-off pieces of wearable design
and art, how do they know how to price
things? ‘We’re an artisanal brand and all
our work is handmade, so we need to price
things according to how much
time it takes to craft something, factor in
the cost of all the fabric and then balance
that with what someone will be
prepared to pay,’
says Viviers.

110 OCTOBER 2017 kulula.com







War ts AND
ALL

114 OCTOBER 2017 kulula.com

THE UGLY TRUCKLINGS ROAD TRIP

FIAT MULTIPLA

Fiat’s dilemma? How to get six people
into two rows. Witness the box-shaped
solution. It’s wide and ultimately does
the job, but at the expense, no doubt, of
having other road-users stare in disbelief,
wondering if what they’re seeing is a
car or some weird mobile experiment.
On the other hand, if you’re a fan of the
offbeat, its bulbous, alien nose is certainly
entertaining – even if you find yourself
wondering why the strange little thing is
staring at you with all those eyes.

In making our selection of some of MERCEDES-BENZ CLA
the ‘ugliest’ cars produced, we are
reminded of the words of Benjamin Yes, an ugly Merc! Sure, it set new
aerodynamic-efficiency standards and won
Franklin, who in 1741, wrote: a Red Dot award along with being voted
‘beauty, like supreme dominion is Germany's most beautiful new car for 2013
by the readers of (the German) Auto Bild
but supported by opinion’. magazine, but you couldn't shake the sense
that something wasn't right whenever one
kulula.com rolled by. Blame the sagging side crease
line that begins above the front wheel arch
then tumbles towards the rear wheel. This,
allied to an equally drooping window sill
line and a shrinking-violet boot, gives the
impression of a dog scratching its butt on
a carpet. It’s a rear-end design that only
works from higher angles and with massive
wheels. Sadly, not Benz's finest hour.

115

ROAD TRIP THE UGLY TRUCKLINGS

TOYOTA ETIOS CROSS CHRYSLER
PT CRUISER
Etios Cross? Well, we’d also be pretty
upset if we were hampered with such

unfortunate looks. As if the regular Etios It comes as quite a relief that

wasn’t peculiar-looking enough, Toyota certain brands have never totally taken off in

went and plastered this one with a raft of South Africa. Take this American beauty – in some territories, it’s given the model

aesthetic details (read: blemishes) aimed name ‘Dream Cruiser’ as if to accentuate the notion that this is some kind of circus

at making it appear gutsier and tougher – side show nightmare. Anyone in their right minds, though, can see that what we

sadly, the toughest thing about this car will have here is a sad, awkward, unhappy retro-futuristic experiment gone profoundly

be trying to sell it on Gumtree. The plastic awry. The kind of freak show automobile driven by the The Joker on his way to

cladding, the roof racks and those beefier mess with Batman – it’s not quite meant to exist in reality, is it?

sills? Nope. They just don’t work. There

are surely more tasteful ways to ‘soup

up’ the visual attributes of an

already not-so-pretty- BMW E65 7 SERIES

looking car. The infamous Chris Bangle-designed ‘Bangle Butt’ that Erik Venter writes about on the

first page of this magazine ultimately became the butt of so many jokes and so much

criticism laid at the feet of the erstwhile car designer

that it eventually led to his ‘retirement’. And

yet many proclaim that the very bulbous,

bulging deck lid on his E65’s trunk might

in fact have been an aesthetic detail that

was simply far ahead of its time. Which

might explain why the 7 Series has proven

its worth in terms of sales and garnered

some kind of bizarre cult status.

RELIANT REGAL

You’ll have to time-travel back to the LAMBORGHINI VENENO Words: Aaron Borrill, Keith Bain; Images: Jane Kelly/shutterstock.com, Supplied
1950s to see the very first of this

breed hitting the streets. The three- Well, well, well…maybe money can’t buy had, stuffed into one overpriced show

wheel British utility car is legally everything. After its public unveiling at car.’ It wasn’t ever produced to cater to

considered to be a tricycle and can the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, this sporty, the market, though – a mere nine were

be driven with a motorcycle licence. futuristic number was resoundingly manufactured and went for a hair-raising

Certainly, this lightweight little thing damned by critics. One called it ‘the worst $4.1 million each. Which is why the

was nimble and manoeuvrable and thing out of Italy since fascism’ and wrote remote-controlled toy version (in a dashing

did the job of getting from A to B. that it represented ‘every supercar cliché shade of fire-truck red) is ultimately a

None of which says anything about and every bad idea Lamborghini ever better buy.

the way the thing looks – except

perhaps that there was a time when

function really was more of an issue

than aesthetics.

116 OCTOBER 2017 kulula.com



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BEST-MADE PLANS MONEY MATTERS

on paper ?PRETTY
So you’ve saved up for your dream home and
want to buy something new? Although it requires
a little more guts, buying property off plan may
just make sense, says Katherine Graham.

W e’ve all heard the horror save 7-11% of the property value by not today’s value, but you only start paying
stories – somebody you having to pay transfer fees,’ comments Rob for it once the development is complete,
know bought into a property Stefanutto, group MD of Dogon Property thereby getting capital appreciation on
scheme, only to have it turn belly-up Group. Bear in mind, though, that if your the property while it is being built,’ says
before it was completed. Or perhaps, in property is valued at R900 000 or less, you Jonathan Kohler, CEO of Landsdowne
reality, the final apartment turned out to won’t need to pay transfer duty anyway, so Investment Properties.
be less flashy than the brochure promised this may not represent such a big saving.
it would be. So why would anyone take And, of course, there’s the tingly
the risk of buying a property that hasn’t Another perk of buying off plan is that feeling of owning something brand-
even been built yet? the deposit you need to pay is usually spanking new. ‘You’ll be buying a
quite small, around R20 000. This is property in a new building with modern
THE PROS nothing compared to the 10% deposit features and new electrical and plumbing
on the purchasing price required to get a systems,’ says Bianca Arnsmeyer,
The most obvious advantage of buying home loan. sales manager for Berman Brothers
property off plan is that you don’t have Properties. Which means, with any luck,
to pay transfer duty. ‘The purchaser can ‘The largest benefit of buying off plan you won’t be spending a fortune on
is that you are purchasing a property at

kulula.com OCTOBER 2017 119

MONEY MATTERS BEST-MADE PLANS

Don’t be duped by the scheme having a WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD
good estate agent: the thing to look out YOU ASK THE DEVELOPER?
for is a reputable developer.
What have you developed and
special levies for repairs and maintenance “plot and plan” sale is essentially where Pictures: ETIENjones/shutterstock.com, Montypeter/shutterstock.com, schab/shutterstock.com, Nikolaeva/shutterstock.com
in the near future. you take ownership of a plot and only 1 built previously?
then do they start building on it,’ he says. Who is the nancial institution
As well as having modern infrastructure, ‘A “turnkey” sale means you pay your
off-plan schemes are usually in highly deposit and guarantees and you only pay 2 or commercial bank, and who are
desirable areas, says Brian van Wijk from the balance when the property transfers
Just Property. ‘Usually such developments into your name.’ Most off-plan property the transferring attorneys?
are in newer, growing areas close to places developments favour the turnkey structure.
such as malls, hospitals and schools.’ 3 What level of presale is needed?
In addition to checking out other projects And is everything de ned in the
THE CONS the developer has built and how successful contract? is includes the size of the
they were, it’s worth finding out whether unit and rooms.
It may look good on paper, but be aware or not the transfer and occupation date
of the risks. ‘It’s crucial to check that the coincide, says Kohler. ‘If this is not the case, 4 What is the guaranteed
scheme is approved by the National you could be forced to take occupation on completion date, and what are the
Home Builders Registration Council the agreed date and pay occupational rent proposed levies and rates?
and that the developer has a good to the developer until the apartment is
track record,’ says Stefanutto. Equally transferred,’ he says. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR
important is to establish whether or not INVESTING IN OFF-PLAN
the developers do their own construction Don’t be duped by the scheme having DEVELOPMENTS?
or tender to a subcontractor, he adds. a good estate agent: the thing to look out
‘This will let you know who holds the for is a reputable developer. ‘A good estate According to Group 3 Properties,
guarantees on the property.’ agent does not equal a good developer,’ investing in property is the one hedge
emphasises Kohler, who adds that we have against in ation. Unlike other
Another thing to watch out for is some developers require 80-90% of the investment portfolios, property is a
how the scheme is structured, advises development sold before the bank tangible entity, and one which can
Mike Greeff, CEO of Greeff Properties. ‘A will release the first portion of the building be manipulated to your advantage.
finance. ‘If you are purchasing a property Capital Growth: you can achieve
believing that you will get occupation capital growth before you actually pay
when the developer says you will, and the for your property in full. Investing in
development doesn’t sell well, it might developments allows you to reap the
never materialise,’ he cautions.
nancial bene ts of the increase in
Buying off plan is a great option if market prices during the build period.
you’re in the market for something So, by the time you are ready to take
new, but be sure to compare the cost transfer of the property, your property
of buying an older property too. ‘Any is worth substantially more than what
agent who tells you that everything you are actually paying for it.
will be perfect on the last day, just sign, Sell Before Completion: the option
is very optimistic,’ warns Stefanutto. ‘The of ‘on-selling’ before the property is
secret is to check on the quality of the completed is also available to you.
developer you are dealing with.’
e time to ‘on-sell’ is governed by the
developer, but this would allow you to
sell your property before you pay for
it in full and reap the bene ts of the
increase in sale price.

120 OCTOBER 2017 kulula.com





SANTA EVITA KEEPSAKE

Sainted
H er full name was María still very much alive in the popular based on the Marxist revolutionary
Words: Keith Bain, Picture: Supplied Eva Duarte de Perón, and imagination today. She was a hugely Che Guevara. Evita has never really
although born into poverty active campaigner for social justice and gone out of fashion and when it
and determined to be an actress, she women’s suffrage, and her life and zeal returned to Broadway in 2012 after
fell in love with a politician and so – so dazzled Argentineans that her rags- a 29-year gap, it picked up 12 Tony
between 1946 and 1952 – was the First to-riches story inspired one of the 20th Award nominations. A brand new
Lady of Argentina. Given the nickname century’s best-loved musicals. staging of Evita, directed by Broadway
Evita, she was so adored and loved by legend, Hal Prince, opens at The Teatro
her people that prior to her death due The Broadway hit, Evita featuring at Montecasino on 14 October, and
to cervical cancer, Argentina’s Congress the famous scene in which Evita sings transfers to Cape Town’s Artscape
bestowed on her the official title ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ from Opera on 1 December.
‘Spiritual Leader of the Nation’. the balcony of the Casa Rosada, was
written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Playing Evita is Emma Kingston
Her state funeral in Buenos Aires Webber, and premiered on London’s (pictured here) and the cast includes
is believed to have been attended by West End in 1978. In 1996 it became Jonathan Roxmouth as Che and Robert
three million mourners and she is a film starring Madonna as Evita and Finlayson as Juan Perón.
widely regarded as a national saint, Antonio Banderas as Che, a character pietertoerien.co.za

kulula.com OCTOBER 2017 123



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