The brains behind all the beautiful dresses on our A-listers

Designer Ryan Keys of Keys Fashion in Hyde Park and Parkhurst has a beautiful way of making ladies look gorgeous. With his signature style focusing on opulence Keys dresses some of the A- list celebrities on daily. Working on his last big push for the year, one of the highlights was a breathtaking red number for influencer Mihlali Ndamase.

His intricate and delicate designs have graced the runways of South African Fashion Week for 10 seasons and this year was no different. “You know when I started in the industry it was sort of dresses that looked like they were tattooed onto the skin and over time my skills developed so we have incorporated a lot of corsets in our designs. I’m really loving doing that at the moment. The autumn/winter collection this year was all about that.”

Right now he is on his last big push and early next year we can look forward to another two to three brands. One of the brands will launch into one of the big chain stores at the end of February. There will also be some online clothing stores with some high-end pieces.

An extremely busy man, next year he celebrates 10 years of being in the fashion industry and one thing the journey has taught him is to take things slow. Learning and always developing in the industry Keys has noticed some fashion shifts and trends this year.

“Trends that have happened especially in the last few years, are linked to the economy – when there is an economic crash every business suffered.

“Even now there is a lot of uncertainty so what I have noticed is that when times get tough people want to be more elaborate, they want more opulence. When times are tough people want those luxury items. Over the past few years, I’ve also noticed that people do not want what everyone else has.”

The fashion industry has helped him give women confidence and understand their self-worth. “It gives me happy knowing that I can make someone look and feel like a million bucks.

“I’ve had the father of the bride come in and see his daughter in her wedding dress and he started crying. So it’s those little moments that actually make it worth it. When you see the look on someone’s face, that’s what I like.”

The Ryan Keys DNA hasn’t changed since the brand started. “It still is a woman who wants to stand out, doesn’t want to conform, she wants to be draped in

beautiful exquisite fabrics, sourced from around the world, she doesn’t settle for mediocre and she wants to look her best.”

His top for the December summer is to invest in a little black dress (LBD). “You’ll be able to wear it again and again and again. There are so many functions in December – we get requests on daily. You can wear it to a beach party, you can wear it for Christmas dinner, anything really, so I would say invest in that.” Some of his future plans include taking Keys Fashion up into Africa.

Related article:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/240257/fresh-perspective-fabulous-sa-fashion-week/