IN PICS | Among the stars in Fashion Week hyperspace

Forget Blue Origin — if you wanted prime seats to an intergalactic experience, you needn’t have joined Katy Perry, Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’ squeeze Lauren Sánchez on that slightly tone-deaf “women in space” PR launch.

All it took was donning a pair of headsets to let Gert-Johan Coetzee blast you into fashion hyperspace — no gravity training required.

The occasion?

The unveiling of The Arrival: Where Ancestry Meets the Unknown, a collection that felt part Star Trek, part ancestral dreamscape — all delivered with the designer’s signature sparkle on the SA Fashion Week ramp on Thursday evening in Hyde Park.

And when it’s South Africa’s answer to Olivier Rousteing of Balmain at the helm (both are grown up fashion boy wonders), you can expect fashion’s finest to show up.

First to beam aboard was another stellar design force, David Tlale, draped in his signature head-to-toe black.

David, who first graced the SAFW stage two decades ago as a new talent winner, brought along his brother Katleho.

“I am here to support Gert,” explained the designer, carrying a giant bouquet of long-stemmed roses, which he would later present to Gert after he took his bow at the end of the showing.

The crowd — who took in an installation exploring the designer’s creative process that greeted us on arrival — was a constellation of familiar faces: Former beauty queen Natasha Joubert (now Vermaak); larger than life Somizi Mhlongo; and airwaves royalty Lerato Kganyago and Penny Lebyane.

“I’m joining Mama Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s Women Africa radio project to help empower the next generation of women radio stars,” Penny told me, when I asked about her latest pursuits.

Though fashionistas will tell you that front-row seats are the ultimate “I’ve arrived” statement, the night’s real flex took things up a notch — up a private flight of stairs to a VIP box where the chosen few, above it all, could sip bubbly while taking in the view below.

That’s where I caught up with the ever-gracious Lira Molapo, who told me not to expect a new album just yet.

“I almost lost my life, so I don’t want to rush my recovery,” said the songbird, who was diagnosed with aphasia after suffering a stroke in 2022.

As for the clothes? Think a fusion of futuristic elements, intricate handwork, and prints echoing geometric Ndebele patterns.

Rewind two days earlier and the same spot played host to the SAFW opening party.

This, though, was a toned down affair compared to parties of the past — big on influencers focused on their smartphones and thin on designers actually showing on the schedule.

I was taken aback that the Pinterest board created to inspire our interpretation of the night’s “quiet luxury” dress code offered not a single local designer reference.

Not so Proudly South African ...

Thankfully, there were a few familiar faces to mingle with, all fabulously dressed in home-grown originals: Fashion insider Felipe Mazibuko (whose encyclopedic knowledge of South African labels remains unrivalled); marketer and author Katie Mohamed (who celebrated her birthday that night); Hotspot Seli presenter Zanele Potelwa; and yummy mummy Tansey Coetzee.

One of the few designers present (though one sans a runway slot) was red carpet king Sihle Masango.

“Why am I not doing Fashion Week? Because I’ve got way too many matric dance girls to dress,” he quipped.