Keeping the wrinkles and the cold at bay

● From a swish movie night out with Kendall Jenner and Liz Hurley’s fav night-time beauty potion, to the boisterous launch of a design collab that lets you snuggle up in style — that’s what was on the social scene this week.

This was Thursday evening, starting with a traffic-snarled trek to the Mall of Africa for a get-together put on by beauty brand Estée Lauder for one its most successful products, Advanced Night Repair.

Arriving at the sprawling shopping complex between Pretoria and Joburg, I make my way to the Crystal Court, where an enclosed salon-like lounge with a cinema-style screen has been set up.

Picking up a flute of sparkling wine, I head inside, where I greet yummy mummy Tansey Coetzee and pageant king Wayne Stafford, the national director of the Mr Supranational South Africa modelling competition.

In a nod to the “Every night is your runway” dress code, Tansey is wearing a luxe mesh zip-up by designer Shaldon Kopman’s Naked Ape label.

“I’m on the runway every day. Even at home,” quips the former Miss South Africa, sporting a striking ring on her right middle finger.

I also meet Estée Lauder South Africa marketer, Lwandile Luzipho, who explains that the night is about pampering guests, many of whom are loyal fans of the serum which features its “golden ingredient”, Tripeptide-32.

“It is 40 years since Mrs Lauder created Advanced Night Repair,” points out Lwandile, who tells me that to mark the milestone they would be screening every fashionista’s fav flick, The Devil Wears Prada.

The typical grub at a Mzansi movie do are bland spring rolls and rubbery chicken wings. Thankfully, beauty guys and gals prefer more tasteful gourmet snacks.

We helped ourselves to a display of bite-sized burgers, mini nachos portions and tacos in chicken, beef and vegan options, which suited calorie-counters without scrimping on taste.

And while I would have loved to rewatch Miranda and Andrea stiletto through Paris Fashion Week and the New York magazine world, when Lwandile gets up to welcome us and introduce the movie, it is time for me to slip out and head off to my second engagement for the evening.

Through the grimy parts of our city, which are no longer isolated pockets, we end up at Victoria Yards, a creatives’ colony-style oasis which was birthed from a derelict steam laundry in Lorentzville on the eastern edge of the Joburg CBD.

A warehouse-style shed is the location for the reveal of a stirring collaboration between the country’s oldest blanket manufacturer and a delightful textile whizz with African tribal motifs at its core.

The My Africa Designer Collection sees award-winning Pretoria designer Glorinah Khutso Mabaso partner with Aranda Textiles on a capsule of shawls and blankets inspired by the Himba people and the Namibian landscape.

Petite Glorinah, wearing a bold red dress finished with a gele head tie, comes up to thank me for coming. I meet Glorinah’s parents, understandably proud of her achievements, before up comes Palesa Tladi of Aranda.

Many of us have grown up snuggling in one of these blankets, which come in an assortment of patterns from florals to checks.

The story goes that Aranda was born after the industrious Magni brothers, whose textile plant was destroyed by the Germans in World War 2, arrived in South Africa. They settled in Randfontein, building a factory from scratch and producing the first Aranda blankets in 1953. Today the brand is ingrained in our society as the purveyor of traditional blankets from Basotho to Ndebele.

“Hundreds of thousands,” Palesa admits when I ask how many blankets the company sells in winter alone.

Palesa introduces me to Aranda brand ambassador Palo Mokoailane, the actor and radio host, and Kerri Poolman, Aranda’s product development manager who worked with Glorinah on developing this new range.

On to saying hello to media entrepreneur Olwethu Leshabane and Sandi Mazibuko, owner of fashion brand House of Fabrosanz, who turned up in a colourful ensemble finished with a matching bolero hat.

The official bits start with an energetic performance by cultural group Bapedi Kopanang before Palo heads to the stage to welcome us. We also hear from Aranda board member, Isaac Nkama, Kerri and Glorinah but it was a no-show from a Namibia high commission representative to mark the collab inspired by our neighbour’s culture and history.

Who else did turn up?

Brand guru Thebe Ikalafeng, media maven Laurice Taitz, and fashion sage Felipe Mazibuko, who cleverly showed me a gazillion ways to wear one of the My Africa shawls.

Foodwise, we tucked into a harvest table strong on home-grown fare including mince amagwinya and mogodu.