Craig Port shares his IT items for summer 2010/11

We chat to Craig Port about the Word Cup, this season’s IT items and how to make it in the local fashion industry

Craig Port is a Capetonian fashion designer whose collections have graced catwalks as far as Acapulco and Stockholm. He finds inspiration in travel as well as his home town of Cape Town. Craig designs two labels, PORT for men and MISS PORT for women, together with his Creative Director Kim Kovaar. Always a firm favourite on the Cape Town Fashion Week line-up, we caught up with the man behind the label ahead of the 2010 showcase.

CTMag: What are you wearing today?

Craig: Black, black and more black

CTMag: You have travelled a lot. How did it feel having the world in Cape Town for a change during the 2010 World Cup?

Craig: It was exhilarating. Cape Town was at its most superb and it was truly one of those months that will be remembered for a lifetime.

CTMag: Do you think that the football publicity has helped in any way to give the South African fashion industry a boost?

Craig: Not at all but I think it definitely gives us a creative boost.

CTMag: What inspired your latest collection?

Craig: Paris and the YSL. Retrospective at the Petit Palais.

CTMag: What can we expect to see from the Port labels at Cape Town Fashion Week 2010?

Craig: Sexy, fun, glamour, that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’.

CTMag: Your favourite colours and textures for the season ahead?

Craig: White with the palest of grey for men and the nudes and blacks for women.

CTMag: What are the IT items for summer 2010/11?

Craig: The draped neck tee shirt, the pea coat, the Bermuda.

CTMag: You have recently launched a shoe collection and underwear line. Tell us more.

Craig: It is the classics, the brogue, the loafer, and the sandal in the colours and leathers of the season in a new updated modern sleek silhouette.

CTMag: How does Kim Kovaar, your Creative Director, influence your designs and business decisions?

Craig: We bounce all our ideas off each other, we travelled to Paris this year and we both came back equally and differently inspired to create a beautiful collection.

CTMag: What advice do you have for young South African designers who are trying to break into the industry?

Craig: I believe that it must truly be one’s passion and that there will be hard times but the inspired incredible moments will overshadow all those.

By Lize de Kock

For more about Cape Town's fashionistas, visit our Fashion Section. Or find out more about AFI Cape Town Fashion Week.