Salasai at FW '09 - review

Salasai designer Kirscha Whitcher is one clever girl and a truly lovely one at that.  Talking to her last night at Zambesi she told us how much she liked supporting other designers and enjoyed getting to other shows. That’s pretty laid back for the night before her own. Backstage today that relaxed attitude still prevailed, and Whitcher admitted to being “pretty organised and chilled”.  She told me she felt going out the night before had been a great idea.


Great ideas is obviously something this designer has no shortage of, as this collection was one of the most anticipated on the schedule and didn’t disappoint. Salasai’s tailored pants are some of most beautiful I have seen hit the runway this year – the simple pleat above each of the rear pockets, the zip pocket in the front, the slim cut and cuff all add up to one flattering pair of pants. These graced the catwalk in cream, grey and black fine wool. The pant gave way to a cleverly structured cream wool hooded dress with a zip front and dolman sleeve, which draped sublimely through the side seam, an elegant yet easy to wear piece.

With the presence of cleverly gathered lace dresses, soft velvet skirts and bow fronted blouses it might seem that Salasai were taking a more ladylike tangent this year, but these pieces merged seamlessly into the more androgynous vibe that the label is known for. Large oversized knits were present in scarves, waistcoats and in tunic dresses and these were either a solid cream or dip dyed in shades of orange through to violet, or cream to grey.


The Salasai winter 2010 signature print is in shades of cobalt, black and blue with a newspaper style text running through it. This has been worked into wrap tops with great shoulder detail, tunics, shirt dresses and maxi dresses.

Straight after the Salasai show last year I raced back to my studio and googled the stockist list. After seeing this years show “Blu Colla Lovers” for winter 2010, I think my credit card might actually have been dancing in my wallet.

View the runway pics here.

- Jackie O'Fee

Photography c/- Hilary Johnston