I’ve made peace with the fact that South African celebrities don’t take the red carpet seriously, and that’s okay.
This past weekend our favourite TV and film creatives were honoured at the 17th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).
“The awards honour, celebrate and promote the creativity, quality and excellence of South African film and television talent and productions, and serve to encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new talent within the industry,” the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) said.
The actors that attended this prestigious event are the ones we usually see on TV, styled by the wardrobe stylist of whichever show they are in to fit the character they are portraying.
However, Saturday was the time for them to step out of character and show us their sense of style.
Let’s start with the hosts first. Zozibini Tunzi is the next big thing (in terms of hosting big events), and there’s no stopping her.
Hosting alongside Lawrence Maleka, the former Miss Universe 2019 looked jaw-dropping in the three gowns she wore. The first, a black velvet dress with dramatic white sleeves, was designed by Willet Designs Couture.
Her second look was Nao Serati’s groundbreaking “florals for spring” dress. Lastly, she donned another Willet Designs Couture number. This time, it was a sheer blue gown with a high slit.
Deli Malinga
I hope the rumours about Malinga aka MaMzobe leaving “Umkhokha” are not true. There’s no doubt that she’s the star.
She is “Umkhokha” and without her the show will be doomed, in my opinion. Besides winning an award for Best Supporting Actress in a Telenovela for her role in “Redemption”, Malinga looked gorgeous.
She wore a black dress, an African-print kimono with a matching belt and is’cholo (Zulu traditional hat).
Sindi Dlathu
It’s unfortunate that she didn’t win this time, but there is no denying that Dlathu is talented. Not only can she act, she’s a great singer, too, and we all witnessed that when she performed “The River’s” soundtrack.
For her performance, she donned the Antherline Couture gown that she wore for her wedding to Bangizwe in “The River”, where she plays Lindiwe Dlamini.
Thando Thabethe
Red has become Thabethe’s go-to colour because she knows she can never go wrong with it. House of Sass did things with that red princess gown. It made Thabethe look like the winner she is.
Hellen Motsuki
On screen and off, Motsuki, who plays Melita in “Skeem Saam”, is about fabulousity. The actress looked sexy in an orange Otiz Seflo gown with dramatic shoulder detail that gave the illusion of a blossoming flower.
Many people were well-dressed this year. However, as with any event, there will always be a few who will miss the point, and unfortunately, it was the award-winning actresses who couldn’t get the fashion part right.
Noxolo Dlamini
We congratulate Dlamini on her award for Best Actress in a Feature Film but that dress was not cute. Maybe if it was plain it would’ve worked better because those orange arrows butchered her look.
Lerato Mvelase
She is one of the best actresses in Mzansi, and that Best Actress in a TV drama Award was well-deserved. She has an amazing body but that outfit was a miss. It’s not about the nudity, it’s the execution.
Instead of a two-piece, she was supposed to wear a one-piece dress, preferably with black shoes, because the way she wore that skirt, it was giving sarong vibes and definitely not red-carpet ready.
Check out all the Saftas 2023 winners here.