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INLSA<\/p>\n
PMB 20022012The 2012 opening of the KZN Legislature, Royal Showgroungs, PMB.PICTURE: Jacques Naude<\/p>\n
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Evening dress \u2013 complete with satin, sequins and diamante \u2013 worn in the daytime are a fashion faux pas at the best of times. But this appears to be a regular feature of the annual opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. <\/p>\n
It was no different at the Royal Show Grounds in Pietermaritzburg yesterday when the two constants \u2013 roasting hot weather and inappropriate attire \u2013 inevitably materialised. <\/p>\n
While two-piece suits with hats and heels, like those worn by MECs Ina Cronje and Weziwe Thusi, are spot-on for an event of this nature, there is a clear argument for an African approach to attire and several guests this year demonstrated the unique fashion sense that springs from being part of the \u201crainbow nation\u201d. <\/p>\n
Nomthandazo Mthembu, of the Mthembu royal family, wore an outfit she had put together herself. It had the formality of a western silhouette but the collar was made from impala, in keeping with a traditional African feel. <\/p>\n
Animal motifs also added detail to the jacket and Mthembu jazzed up the look with a classic hat and fashionable platform shoes \u2013 all sold separately but styled to her individual taste. <\/p>\n
Young Princess Busisiwe Thabethe was strapped into an eye-catching number by designer Lindiwe Khuzwayo, which had the same African aesthetic. <\/p>\n
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PMB 20022012The 2012 opening of the KZN Legislature, Royal Showgroungs, PMB.PICTURE: Jacques Naude<\/p>\n
INLSA<\/span><\/p>\n Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs portfolio committee chairwoman Nonzwakazi Swartbooi also wore a garment with both western and African references. <\/p>\n It was refreshing to see people step outside of their culture parameters, experimenting with the traditional garb of other groups. <\/p>\n Princess Lindi Zulu stood out among the women, clad as she was in traditional Zulu red, paired with a bright blue Venda wrap. <\/p>\n For a grand entrance, however, few could beat the Zulu monarch <\/p>\n King Goodwill Zwelithini. His chair arrived before him; his praises were sung; and then in he walked, with his leopard skin-clad queens in tow. <\/p>\n The royals were not the only ones who dressed to impress. More than 1 500 VIP guests were at the opening of the KZN legislature \u2013 including relatives of former presidents \u2013 and several socialites were also in attendance. <\/p>\n Among these were \u201cit\u201d couple Zanele Mbokazi and Bishop Mpendulo Nkambule, former Ukhozi FM manager Welcome Nzimande and many well-known politicians, such as KZN\u2019s first premier, Frank Mdlalose. <\/p>\n If your eye wasn\u2019t on the fashion, a trend you would not have missed was the odd young girl \u2013 usually quite stunning and in the brightest, shortest, tightest of dresses \u2013 on the arm of a man who could have been her father. <\/p>\n Or maybe it was her daddy? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INLSA PMB 20022012The 2012 opening of the KZN Legislature, Royal Showgroungs, PMB.PICTURE: Jacques Naude Evening dress \u2013 complete with satin, sequins and diamante \u2013 worn in the daytime are a fashion faux pas at the best of times. But this appears to be a regular feature of the annual opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[8275,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-8169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}