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In Paris recently, Africa Fair presented their Fall/Winter 2005/06 collection, which showcased some new designers as well as built on their more popular lines. The overriding theme was rich colour and texture, which was combined to create stylish items with a quirky, unique yet ethnically-inspired aesthetic. Designers drew inspiration from the traditional crafts of South Africa with each item uniquely handcrafted.
The very popular Get Wired line is now available in a wintry copper wire with complementary winter shades of dusky pink, frosted browns, bronze, silvered gold, ruby reds and petrol blue.
Designers have also been inspired by locally farmed mohair, which has been used in scarves, bags and jewellery. Hand dyed mohair in snow, dusky pink, burnt orange, fatigue greens and touches of lively rain turquoise have been hand knitted into scarves by Snug and woven with wire by Get Wired to form bags and cuff bracelets. Wool in snow, dusky pink and dark chocolate has been felted by Nuno Felt to create scarves and handbags for day and night use.
Philippa Green has a highly innovative line of jewellery combining perspex, nylon, silver and rubber. The collection presents a wide range of her signature perspex cuffs including those with floral motifs in nylon stitching or silver studs. These pieces will add dramatic interest to a winter wardrobe.
Beverley Price's work captures everyday brands and images in enamelled miniatures and combines these to make funky jewellery to add a lively touch to an outfit. Her work is suited to museum stores that can commission her to make wearable jewellery using images from their collections.
The popular Mielie free-spirited hooked rug handbag line has been extended with new designs and colour combinations to capture the underworld spirit of winter 2005. Smaller accessory items such as make-up bags have been added to the line.
The Africa Fair Collection is available in stores in Paris and New York, as well as other locations across Europe and the USA. For a full list of stockists, please visit www.africafair.com.