Ellegance TV will be looking beyond fashion’s hemlines, writes Janet Smith
Elle magazine has cut itself a svelte new cloth by launching its first TVmagazine programme. Produced by Lauren Groenewald – Kathy Berman’s successor on SABC3’s now defunct The Works – and called, simply, Ellegance, it is set to glide on to SABC1 in half-hour sessions from early October, joining an increasing number of TV magazines created around fashion worldwide.
To date, the planet’s undisputed first mistress of fashion is CNN International’s Elsa Klensch. She cut the pattern for covering fashion on television, and there’s little doubt her style has influenced a younger generation of TV journalists snipping away at the frou-frou to get to the fringe. It’s also true that a few, including EBN on DStv, are doing more exciting work than Klensch.
But who’s to say Johannesburg’s Groenewald won’t design her own impressive label on the burgeoning fashion television market. “Ellegance will always feature strong local content, but put in an international perspective,” says Groenewald. “We’ll start with 10-minute teasers which will be treated as commercial shoots next month and once the show’s on air, we will be using independent producers for some of the inserts.”
SABC1 was selected as the channel of choice for the show because of its large footprint, and also because it caters for the greatest number of South African women across the fashion-watching community. As a successor to M-Net’s disappointing Fashion Fusion – the only previous South African fashion expose on national TV – Ellegance has every chance of gaining a classy, independent following.