Get to know the designer at Audi Joburg Fashion Week : Part 1 - Thula Sindi

Following on the post about the Audi Joburg Fashion Week published yesterday, we decided to feature profiles of some of the talented designers that will be showcasing their latest collections next week, from 21 to 24 January 2008. The first profile is that of critically acclaimed and successful young designer, Thula Sindi. I witnessed his creativity and flair for fashion when I attended one of his shows at a Fashion Week event last year. Get to know him and his achievements a little bit more.

Thula Sindi matriculated (2001) from the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg and studied at LISOF (London International School of Fashion). His debut was as head designer at Dutch textile company Vlisco - the day after he graduated. He introduced Vlicso's fashion line with a show at South African Fashion Week in 2005, along with fellow designers Malcom Kluk and Palesa Mokubong.

In February 2006 Thula started developing his own range, which hit the runway at SAFW 2006 (a year in which he earned a semi-finalist spot at the Nederburg Rare Fashion Finds Contest). He was also nominated as a finalist in the Marie Claire emerging designer contest in 2007 and 2008.

Thula went on to show a successful collection during Couture Fashion Week in Paris with the assistance of SA Tourism and Dr Precious Moloi- Motsepe. This was followed up with a showing at both the Cape Town and Joburg Fashion Weeks. In November he was nominated as top 10 emerging designers in the FIMA: Afrque est la mode pan African fashion contest which was held in Niamey, Niger.

Thula's Winter 08 collection showcased at Audi Fashion Week in March to much critical acclaim and saw him taking the collection to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzong in early April of 2008 in association with the Department of Arts and Culture.

Thula showcased his recent collection in Luanda, Angola and in Lagos, Nigeria during the Nigeria's Next Super Model search in September.

Thula has created a special collection in association with Vlisco which was recently shown in Cotonou, Benin on 8 November 2008.

Thula also participated in Mozambique Fashion Week in December 08 and showed his collection in Addis Ababa in January 09.

Thula now produces his effortlessly elegant women's wear from his Rosebank Studio in JHB as well as designing at Gavin Rajah in Cape Town on a freelance basis. His ready to year collection is available from Gavin Rajah store in Cavendish, Cape Town.

The 25 year old designer dresses women on the move like Caprice, Noni Gasa, Busi Lurayi, Penny Lebyane, Bridget Masinga and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe.

Contact Details

TEL: +27 828476137
EMAIL: thulasindi@gmail.com

Be sure not to miss out on his collections for next week at the Audi Joburg Fashion Week, where he'll be showing us what threads are hot for the season.

Win with Transporter 3

Jason Statham is back with the 3rd instalment of his thriller blockbuster Transporter movie series. Transporter 3 opens at cinemas nationwide this coming Friday, 16 January 2008, but we had a pleasure of attending an advanced screening last week. Please click HERE to see our review of the movie and to get clues to the questions below.

To make more exciting your big screen experience of the successful franchise, United International Pictures (UIP) and YEAHBO.DOT.NET are giving away 5 hampers consisting of the following movie memorabilia:

• 5 Transporter 3 Black t-shirts with the title treatment on the front.

• 5 Transporter 3 Black caps, alos with the title treatment on the front.

To walk away with a hamper, just answer the following easy questions:

1) What is the actor's name that plays the villain in Transporter 3?
2) Which European country is Jason Statham from?

Together with your answers, please send to yeahbo@yeahbo.net, the following details :

Name and surname;
Contact number;
E-mail address;
Your age;
The city where you live; and
Tell us how you learnt about YEAHBO.DOT.NET or yeahbodotnet.blogspot.com.

Good luck!

Designers display innovation and excellence at Audi Joburg Fashion Week 2009

Fashionistas throughout the world, that time has come again! Choosing to eschew a predictable path in the line-up for the third annual Audi Joburg Fashion Week, the premier autumn/winter collections are set to be the most exciting seen on a South African runway to date.

Some of the highest quality established designers, including Thula Sindi and Fabiani, are showing their autumn/winter collections this year. However, many of the collections are from the edgier and developing designers, ensuring that innovation and surprise is also firmly on the agenda.

Suzaan Heyns, Heni, Abigail Keats, Chimera and Stefania Morland have all established reputations for the unconventional and beautiful. David Tlale is seldom shy of drama as well as exquisite detailing. Artistic Soul is capable of redefining urban men’s wear. And of the debut collections, Tarien Malherbe has already developed quite a following among the fashion forward crowd, having tapped into trends well ahead of the usual curve.

Commenting on the line-up for Audi Joburg Fashion Week, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, chairperson of African Fashion International remarked, “It is our aim to ensure that both the global and local interest and commitment to South African fashion is kept at an all-time high. By providing a schedule that is innovative, exciting and of the highest quality, we are able to showcase South African design talent, comparable to any in the world.”

Taking place at Sandton Convention Centre over four days from 21 – 24 January 2009, this is the first time Audi Joburg Fashion Week has been scheduled to ensure that designers are able to get their collections in store, and in fashion magazines, for South Africa’s winter season.

Tickets to Audi Joburg Fashion Week are available from Computicket. For more information, full show schedules and highlights from previous winter collections go to www.audijoburgfashionweek.com.

Bride Wars is fun and heartwarming

The newest chick flick on the big screen, Bride Wars, sees Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway explore the intricacies of friendship, in a playful way.

Liv and Emma, played by Kate and Anne respectively, begin a friendship at a wedding reception of one of both their mothers' friends. As their friendship grows stronger, they become unseparable despite their observably contrasting personalities. When they find love and ultimately get engaged to their respective boyfriends, their hidden true feelings about each other are revealed. It all begins with their wedding planner mistakenly scheduling their weddings on the same day.

As they compete to see which wedding will succeed with less mayhem, their friendship goes through tumultous trials. With the realisation that their relationship as best friends is more important than any other factors of their lives, they ultimately reconcile.

Bride Wars is a feel-good movie with lots of fun and lessons to be learnt about friendships and other relationships in life. It's heart-warming and provides a catalyst for the viewer to look back at their relationships and try to mend whatever may have been wrecked in theirs. To that end, the story was relatable, with a sense of cohesion that makes it a real and believable one. Kate and Anne displayed an amazing level of chemistry and played their parts awfully well. The humour they brought on screen also added to the credibility of their characters.

Overall, it was a fun movie. It will definitely sit well with the women audience. Not to say the male species will not enjoy it though, as it was a hilarious and also provided a lot of male perspectives to subjects tackled in the movie through the male characters. The end also hinted a possibility of a sequel. Without giving too much away, there is also another milestone in their progressive lives happening in their near future on the same day.

Bride Wars opens at Nu Metro cinemas nationwide on the 23rd of January 2009. Be sure to check it out.

Jason Statham continues to entertain on Transporter 3

Before I go on with my first post for 2009, Happy New Year to all the blog and YEAHBO.DOT.NET readers throughout the world. I hope your festive season and holidays were enjoyable and peaceful. I had a stupendous time down in Durban, frequenting the beaches in Ballito a few times because of the scorching hot weather.

Back to the task at hand, I had a pleasure of watching my first movie for 2009 yesterday afternoon, Transporter 3. Jason Statham returns in the third instalment of the hit blockbuster as the transporter or delivery man who delivers anything, anywhere, with no rules. When I viewed the trailer towards the end of last year, I was very mesmerized and anticipated to be entertained. Suffice to say, Jason Statham delivers the goods in that regard.

The story was an ordinary one with no unique elements. The stunts were sometimes totally unrealistic, defying all logic. However, this is thrown out of the window once you realise that it's just for the entertainment value. It is for this reason that Transporter 3 thrills you with the racy action. Being a fan of spycraft and espionage, it's always fascinating seeing such subjects tackled with such precision and eye-opening stances. The martial arts skills displayed on the fighting sequences just adds more energy and oomph to the movie. Perhaps it's the impeccable editing that plays a hand on that course.

The acting also makes Transporter 3 enjoyable, with Robert Knepper, known for his outstanding role as T-Bag on the hit series Prison Break, stealing the show as the villain. In addition, the fact that Jason Statham did his own stunts is very fascinating and adds some credibility. The only female on the cast, Natalya Rudakova, is not too bad in her role, also lightening the testesterone level as well as proving eye-candy for us guys. Whilst on the fairer-sex subject, Frank Martin falls in love this time, resulting in a love story roped in to the latest instalment of the blockbuster.

Although I enjoyed the previous instalment more, Trasporter 3 will certainly entertain you, whether you revel in stories about spycraft, or enjoy car-chases featuring hot rides, or even if you are a romantic at heart. Statham is once again in his element with his smart and sharp nature in his secret agent-like character. Come to think of it, I've never been disapponted with the British's performances, his role in The Bank Job taking the cake. Oh, and for the hop hop fans, I heard a dope Busta Rhymes track which I think is in the soundtrack, along with female rapper Eve also doing her thing.

Don't miss out on the action-packed thriller when it his cinemas on 16th of January 2009.