Jerry Purfz"s (Blogger) contact details.

I get a lot of feedback, positive feedback from readers around the globe about this blog. I realized many of you have questions you would like to directly ask me and some have business to discuss. Please interact directly with me on: Twitter/Instagram: @jerrypurfz 
                             Email: jerrypurfz@gmail.com 

I look forward to it!
Cheers!

Sylvester Falata: The Drive, Passion and Fashion!

Finding one self’s purpose in life is as good as trying to piece a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle under the candle light. But for Sylvester Falata, one of South Africa’s brightest stars in the fashion business, the exercise was like a coin toss. A shift from wanting to become a lawyer to being a fashion designer is, was quite drastic. @jerrypurfz went to investigate.

 JERRYPURFZ: *We first got a glimpse of you on Selimatunzi a few years back: How did that come

                            about? And where did it all started?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *It was in the early stages of my career and I was  commissioned by the   

                                         producers to design a wedding dress for a bride to be. Who had written a letter  

                                         to the show (Selimathunzi). They'd recently seen some of my work and

                                         took a liking to it. And the process was filmed and aired on three separate

                                         episodes. And we had a beaming bride, so it was a triumph. 

                                         My career in Fashion began In 2005. I studied at the North West School of  

                                         Design. And in my first year, I was a finalist in the Vukani young designer

                                         search competition. 

                                         I was then approached by Anna Getaneh of African Mosaique. She mentored

                                         me. I subsequently became an in house designer, working

                                         alongside Paris based designer, Eric Raisina. I later on worked with other

                                         established South African labels. Until I started my label.

JERRYPURFZ: *How would you define your style of fashion?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Classic with an edge. I want women to feel beautiful, elegant and confident in

                                         my clothes. After all it is about the woman in the dress.  And I'd love to create

                                         timeless garments that never go out of fashion. I love seeing them being worn

                                         and enjoyed. It's very fulfilling. 

JERRYPURFZ: *When did you realize you wanted to become a fashion designer

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Fate decided the course for me. My intention was to study law… and in a very

                                         interesting twist I found myself at a design school a week before I was meant to

                                         start law school. I fell in love with the design school and that's where it all began.

                                         And I've never looked back ever since. I'm very passionate about it. 

JERRYPURFZ: *You make clothes for both Male and Female. How does designing for men differ    

                            from designing for the women?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *At the moment I only design for women. We recently restructured the company

                                         and decided to only focus on womenswear for now, grow that and go into retail.

                                         Which is what we're busy with now with the Ready-to-Wear range. But we will

                                         return to doing menswear back in the in the near future. 

JERRYPURFZ:  There's a cliché that men don't really buy designer clothes. Has your experience

                            Confirmed this? Is that why you decided to focus more on women?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *No!. It's actually changing a lot. With men paying more attention to how they

                                         look. More men are buying great designer pieces. That carries them from

                                         season to season. 

JERRYPURFZ:  *What are some of your accomplishments as a designer?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *The first one is definitely showcasing at SAFW in 2010. It was such an

                                         incredible experience. I learned so much from the experience.

                                         Dressing Lira for the SAMA's in 2009. In the bottle green one shoulder dress.

                                         She was the Belle of the Ball. She was on every best dresses list. That's where

                                         it all really began. And being in the Destiny Man's Power of 40 List (a list of 40

                                         men under 40 making a mark in their respective fields)

JERRYPURFZ:  *Who are some of your favorite designers: Mention two, Locally and

                            internationally?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Tough on: locally, it's Thula Sindi and Marianne Fassler.

                                          Internationally it's Valentino and Tom Ford. That's the easy one. They've

                                          always been my favorite. Valentino being my all time favorite of course.

JERRYPURFZ: *What do you believe makes a quality item of clothing? The material or the design?

                      Why?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *I think it's a combination. The trick is getting the balance right. Because a bad

                                         design can make expensive fabric look very cheap. And the other way round. 

JERRYPURFZ:  *You are well known for dressing Lira, and recently to BET 2012. Has that helped

                             you grow your client base, even internationally? 

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *It's definitely introduced me to a new audience internationally, and locally. to

                                         people who were not aware of SYLVESTER FALATA. And that was another big

                                         accomplishment too.

JERRYPURFZ: *What's your favorite part about creating a garment?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *It's definitely seeing my clients in the garment. And seeing them fall in love with

                                         what they're wearing and feeling... Powerful, regal and beautiful. It's almost like

                                         they're about to take over the world. I just Love it! It's very rewarding to watch.  

JERRYPURFZ:  Is the Fashion Industry really about "Glitz, Glamour and Fortune” perhaps?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *That's the biggest lie! Well... at least in my experience. It's hours and hours of  

                                          work, sleepless nights and commitment. It is rewarding in the end though. 

JERRYPURFZ:  *What advice do you have for aspiring fashion designers?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Stay true to who you are. Know what you want and give it your best all the time.

                                          Someone will notice, if not everyone. And be authentic in everything you do.

JERRYPURFZ:  * You've done quite a lot of traveling in recent times: was this for personal or

                              business? Anything major in the pipeline for your label?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *It was a bit of both. But mostly business. With the introduction of the Ready-to-

                                         wear range. We've been exploring a lot of different ways to grow it and get it out

                                         there. Especially reaching new markets, growing and establishing the label.

JERRYPURFZ:  *Many great designers fall short at dressing themselves. How would you define

                             your personal style?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *OH Wow! My style is very easy. I want to be comfortable all the time.

                                        But I do make an effort. Otherwise how's anyone going to trust me to make them

                                        good if I'm a mess? Ha ha ha!

JERRYPURFZ:  *Will we see your creations in some of the famous department stores or you prefer

                             exclusivity?

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Oh definitely! That's my dream. Saks, Harrods you name them. I think it's written in the sky. It'll obviously happen at the right time. 

JERRYPURFZ:   Where can readers buy your clothes/ How can they 

SYLVESTER  FALATA: *Our range is available at 

Bello Couture 

Shop No H117 High Street

Melrose Arch

011 070 7996

And 

Maponya Mall 

Shop No 331 Entrance 1

011 070 7718

And we also have a gowns to hire at the the Couture Closet at the Lifestyle Studio

Cnr Corlett Drive  and Atholl Oaklands

011 051 9267

PASTEL COLOR FOR SUMMER - SPRING 2013

GET AN UPGRADE FROM YOUR TEDIOUS COLOR BLOCKING AND SPRING INTO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE FRESH YET SO SUBTLE… AND THE WORD? PASTEL HUES OR PASTEL COLORS IF YOU WILL!

Simply put, pastel hues is just the pale side of your favourite bright colors –Think candy pink, lavender, sky blue and mint green - many call it “ice cream colors”. To make things simple I have classified my analogy into both his and hers perspective.

The pastel rule is: to mix and match pastel colors with striking bright colors. So your bright and aggressive color blocking themed clothes may not be completely a thing of a past… Add a few colorful items to complement your pastel colors. You’ll also be forgiven to add a dash of Neon color to your repertoire. The idea is to make it look like a palette of colors with varying degrees from top to bottom. And yes, top to bottom must be the sequence – Start with your pastel colors from head and finish your look with a striking bright or neon colors: see images below for a hint.

Jerry-Purfz-Pastel-Color-Styling

Jerry-Purfz-Pastel-Color-Styling

Jerry-Purfz-Pastel-Color-Styling

Looking at these ladies, you’ll realize they began their look with pastel hues and ended with a punch of a striking bright color with their shoes. You’ll also see they broke the pastel hue by accessorizing with bold-colored handbags. This is the safest sequence to follow unless you are a non-conformist like me, and you are not shy to spot a concoction of color variants with no order like the examples below:

Jerry-Purfz-Styling-Tips

Carefully selected pastel hues can also work well single-handedly – Meaning you don’t always have to throw in a dash of a striking color item to finish your pastel look. Examples shows you can still get away with looking “pale” all-round, whether it’s skimpy or long summer dress, shots and peplum top, a light weather shirt and chinos and may shots for men, it’s all doable. See examples below.

POUR HOMME… 

Accessorizing with pastel colors: Bags, shades, belts, colorful jewelry beats etc.  Bright neon colors or not? Well let’s take this into perspective. As I have indicated before, whether you are rocking a palette of colors or just spotting plain pastel hue look, choosing your accessories must be a careful exercise to avoid ruining the whole outfit.  The rule is very simple; if it’s a complete pastel look, break away with a colorful headgear, darker shades, man’s bag and even colorful pair of shoes "pour homme" (For Him). Ladies have abundance of items to compliment the look, from make-up, neon bright manicure, handbags, waist belts, earrings you name it!

Now, shrug off that whole color blocking craze and wow your friends with pastel colors.

Yours in fashion

Jerry Purfz

MEGGINS (LEGGINGS FOR MEN)... A YAY OR A NAY?

Jerry Purfz, a South African Fashion Designer, Stylist and Blogger takes an “African Look” at a rather taboo fashion trend for men... Meggings – that’s leggings for men.

Being trendy and fashionable is fun, add that esteem boost as well it equals SEXY. But what if your guy (ladies) rock up at your high-school-reunion party spotting meggings? Yes, “Leggings” for men. Would you still introduce him as your one and only? Quite a daunting thought isn’t it? Well I have heard the worst, my girlfriend didn’t hide her feelings about this either, she vowed to immediately disown me.

While I think of this as cutting edge fashion, I am equally not compromising my stance about this trend of course, I would not be caught wearing meggings. Not even if I was promised a night out with Paris Hilton.

So how and when do you wear them? Well visibly nowhere in South Africa but only in the army, except that they prefer to call them “long johns”.

HOW: Meggings can be worn with form-fitted short trousers, or shorts that come from above the knee to the mid-thigh. No ‘short shorts’ are allowed. You cannot wear capris, culottes, or long pants with leggings. Keep the colours simple, Wear basic colors – nothing bright or gauche, and keep patterns simple and clean – this means no flowers, hearts, or horizontal stripes.

WHEN: Men wear them year-round as a fun way to practice layering, mix up everyday proportions, and stay warm. Apparently meggings have been pouring into the streets of New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo since 2007. All kinds of meggings have been popular on the men's runways for seasons. Because whatever women fall in love with, men will inevitably fall in love with some years later, like SKINNY JEANS or SHORT SHORTS, to name a few.

Interestingly enough, there are rather mixed feelings amongst men about the trend. "I’m a 23 year old metrosexual male. I personally think leggings are a wonderful concept at that! I think females need to stop whining and feeling awkward about men who want to wear leggings! Gender is nothing more than a physical construct, says Adam Kassur. Ricky Green, a homosexual contest, “as a gay man, I’d NEVER date a man wearing Meggings! It’s totally gross!”

My word is, if you are a straight guy, feeling bold enough to rock those leopard printed meggings, why not?

Jerry Purfz.

COLOR BLOCKING FOR EVE... AND STEVE.

COLOR BLOCKING FOR EVE... AND STEVE.

Summer is in full swing and bright colours are popping out everywhere. One hot trend that is making a mark in fashion is “Colour Block” trend. It has been a trend in the 80s and early 90s, well it is back in style, with a bang and can be seen everywhere, in clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.

Colour blocking is the easiest and most affordable way to jazz up your even existing wardrobe. It transforms simple clothes into unique and fresh new look for summer. This trend is a fun way to play with colour and create a fashionable look all on your own, yet it is just as easy to make blunders. The wonder about colour blocking is that it allows you to feature your assets especially for women, as well as downplaying your flaws.

Colour blocking is all in the placement of the panels. Whether you use many graphic blocks or a few downplayed stripes, there is an option that works for everyone. Using stripes to your advantage allows you to draw the right kind of attention where you want it. Horizontal stripes will widen areas such as small shoulders and lend curves to boyish frames. Vertical stripes will lengthen the body and give it a leaner appearance, especially if the panels on the outside are dark. Diagonal lines and shapes are the most universally flattering and easiest to wear of all clothing items. Use dark or neutral panels around the waistline or stomach to camouflage unwanted curves. The same applies for minimizing a large chest and other problem areas.

Colour blocking is a great way to create vertical lines in an outfit. Vertical blocking will make you look slimmer and taller, but horizontal lines come into play as well. Sometimes, they can be negative, making you look shorter and broader, but in other cases, they can be a plus. An example would be using a belt or colour to define the waist!

Seen below is Rihanna, amongst other models in trendy "colour block":

Men should not be left out in this latest craze well. It actually gets even easier for men, this because men spot fewer items than their female counterparts. Calvin Klein and the recent  Louis Vuitton men’s collection by Kim Jones... compliments this trend rather well. Sometimes accessories also play a role in this trend, women can be spotted with bright nail polish, waist belts, head ban, earrings bangles, etc. While men can easily spot a very bright summer scarf, shoes or even a manly bag. For a right colour block effect, choose right colour combination. The rule of thumb for colour blocking trend is “the brighter, the better.” Try to select bright and vibrant colours for maximum style.  

Jerry Purfz for  JERRY PURFZ

Those who are afraid of bold colours can wear colour blocked pieces by using basic colour combinations to attract attention and make a bold statement. It will definitely give your wardrobe an instant update.

[Jerry Purfz]