The New Year has just begun, and a new matric dance season has already hit the runway. And this year, said Pretoria designer Gerrit Pienaar, dresses are going to be bold, beautiful and somewhat daring. While certain staples of what everyone would expect from a matric dance dress remain, Pienaar said what matriculants asked for before design is changing.
“They still ask for slits in the lower back. That has been the norm. But now, since last year, they are looking for drama.
They want creativity from designers that interpret current trends and, a big one, they want to look different,” he said. Interestingly, he said young women were not copying celebrities. “They use other matric dances as inspiration.
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They are not so hectic on celebrities. TikTok influence, on the other hand, is huge,” he said. Another noticeable change,Pienaarsaid, is how involved parents have become in the process.
“There are more mothers contacting me about certain styles than the kids themselves. They do the homework and are paving the way for the matric dance dress designs for their daughters.” In many cases, he added, mothers arrive with references and ideas before the daughter has even decided on a silhouette. Sometimes though, he said, it’s about wearability more than theatre.
To balance impact and practicality, he often builds flexibility into his designs. “I do a lot of detachable, like a detachable aspect to a dress like a train or a shawl,” he said. “The dress itself is plainer and more wearable, and the dramatic element is almost like a prop to have the impact when they arrive,” he said. That’s because the arrival moment is almost the night’s highlight and the detachable part can be discarded later.
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