The Snow Leopard

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

F/W23

This season Vanessa Gounden has used her new collection as a canvas for expressing her solidarity, with raising awareness for mental health. Raising and celebrating this awareness was a personal cause for Vanessa and her team.
How you feel and how you deal with your emotions is becoming more prevalent in a world full distraction.

Growing up in a more traditional and conservative society, Vanessa experienced how not having support, not being open about how you feel and feeling safe to do so, has had adverse consequences on the society she grew up in but also us as a modern society, post the pandemic. This is a deeply personal collection for her and her team because it speaks to the most personal parts of their and our lives.

This collection is a power salute and celebration about open communication, not being afraid to express yourself, feeling secure in your thoughts and most importantly to tell you the audience, that you are important. We believe in having open dialogues and not shying away from the areas of mental health, such as depression, anxiety, and other conditions that do not discriminate. For it affects both men, women, and children alike.

Not shying away by the weight of this topic, the design team framed the entire collection with an emerald- green tone, the official color of Mental Health Awareness. Ivory, charcoal, beige, and turquoise pantones solidify the collection and creates a strong tonal theme. The team also added more couture silhouettes to this season with sleek ballgowns, large cuffs, leather, and their favorite element, feathers. The feather and lace elements add a feminine and playful edge to this bold assembly.

This collection also features tailored sequence suits, our signature print for this season and a special selection of trench coats. All garments were expertly hand crafted at the VG Atelier, in Cape Town. This collection will be available from 4 November 2022, in store and online.

The Vanessa Gounden team hopes that this celebration of openness and communication, gives you the viewer, the belief that you can speak up about how you feel. We believe that if more people spoke more openly about mental health, the world will be a better place for it.

You are seen, you are heard, and you are loved.

#SpeakUp