http://www.expressoshow.com/articles/Celebrity---Gavin-Rajah-–-Fashion-Designer?articleID=448
Couturier and avid humanitarian activist, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Gavin Rajah is one of South Africa’s leading women’s wear designers making him a household name. He started his own fashion house ten years ago. He is a co-founder of Cape Town Fashion Week and was the first South African ever to be invited to show his collection at the Paris Fashion Week , and now he is facing a whole new challenge all together, menswear.
As a brand he is one with discerning style. He designs eclectic creations of gilded glamour with a cutting edge style. They pay special attention to silhouette and are distinct in flow and texture. His work has featured in international publications such as L’Officiel, Vogue, Milnao Finanza, Harper’s & Queen and the Los Angeles Times. He has organized an exhibition on Traditional Art and Crafts in the US for Steven Spielberg and received worldwide coverage for the various empowerment groups that displayed their work. His interests range from esoteric psychology to socio-political theory. He has dressed many celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Beyonce, Jodie Kidd, Paris Hilton, Celine Dion, Cameron Diaz, Tyra Banks, Tina Turner, Tom Cruise, Mark Shuttleworth, Graca Machel and last but not least, our very own former president Nelson Mandela.
His collection is available at some of the most fashionable stores in the world such as Colette, Dieci Corso Come, Vila Moda and Browns, and he is represented in 11 countries. Amongst his projects include designing jewellery collections for The Tanzanite Foundation and De Beers, he also designed a jewellery collection for Rosy Blue in Belgium and for Nagahori in Japan. He is featured as a designer/judge in “America’s Next Top Model” by Tyra Banks, in the US and in Jodie Kidd’s reality program, “Fashion Avenue” in the UK. He is also a judge in “Holland’s Next Top Model”.
This South African designer is no stranger to events like the J&B Met. With clients that include Shashi Naidoo, Tatum Keshwar, Basetsana Kumalo and Michelle McLean it is no surprise that Gavin Rajah’s clothes are the first choice of the cream of South Africa’s celebrity crop. He is known for his beautifully feminine clothing.
“One of the things I don’t want to do is interpret the theme literally,” Gavin Rajah said when being asked about the 2011 J&B Met Larger than Life theme. “I don’t like to dress clients like they’re going to a costume party “Well for me, larger than life is a celebration of the spirit of life, I’ll be going short and ultra-sexy,” he said. “I want to create fashion-forward styles that sometimes use lingerie as outer garments.” The theme in his opinion was more about colour than volume, with a prediction that many people would be totally bold and out there at this year’s races.
When he was asked which J&B Met outfits was his favourite, he said, “, “This year I’d have to say Lee-Ann Liebenberg’s dress.
The dress is a gorgeously feminine design and has been made using fabric imported from France”. The fabric is an abstract interpretation of leopard-print, it combines yellows, golds and browns giving it that ultra-chic look. It is sure to have many people double taking. This is not to say that the other dresses are average, as a designer who has had runway shows across the world, he always delivers.
Each of his garments has his signature style but combined with the influence of the person he is dressing, being the reason why his work is so sought after. Rajah likes colours, giving his pieces a unique energy. He also likes to experiment with colours of the same shades or to contrast them equally. Gavin Rajah likes to see his garments worn than seeing them displayed in a museum and he works for women who like to dress elegantly and yet casually.
His suits would attract any modern metro sexual business man, he gave suits a really cool fashion forward look, by making use of other materials such as the semi shiny one on the left, its subtle making it still very appropriate for any event from office to gala dinner.
He also said, when being asked about his new men’s collection that the target market he is going for is a style that is not overly flashy, the men they want to dress are engaged in business and appreciate the fine things in life. Part of the inspiration process was affected by the movie “American Gigolo”. Giving his market exactly what they want this collection is more about exceptionally formal styling and tailoring.
http://www.hautefashionafrica.com/features/fall-08-trend-report/
I really love Gavin Rajah’s work because it has a classically elegant style, tailoring that make any women look and feel incredible. His work is very classy using fabrics that make the clothes look luxurious, I think he is doing South African fashion designers a great favour, attracting more attention to our talents and what we have to offer, giving South Africans a chance to prove ourselves. His work is beautifully bold, using vibrant colours in his work but also classically neutrals and black.
