Johannesburg socialite Dineo “Lulu-Belle” Motaung, whose now ex-husband Richard Dunuza has been arrested with charges of tax evasion and fraud, is now the key witness in the lawsuit, filed by Dunuza’s former business partner, Glen Vaughn. Their company, PRODCORP, was founded by the two in 2009 as the middle-man between sample garments from a manufacturer and the consumer. According to the website, the company approaches manufacturers and rebrands the ‘otherwise generic clothes’ and markets it in a way that taps in emotions, making the idea of wholesale shopping a sense of exclusivity. However, Vaugn saw discrepancies in the books, balances thrown off by small, but frequent withdrawals in debts that fell under miscellaneous. After a brief internal audit, the tracks lead to Mr. Dunuza, who was arrested in Blairgowrie while on lunch. But that doesn’t seem to be important.
While fraud in South Africa is a serious offense, it seems like the media has shifted its attention to Mr. Dunuza’s wife, who has made the whole trial all the more fascinating to watch. A source close to Ms. Motaung can confirm that she commissioned designer Thebe Magugu to create eight looks for her to wear everyday to court, so she could focus on the trial instead of deciding what to wear each morning - which apparently made sense to her. Now, bloggers, fashion writers and a few editors make their way down to Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court every-morning to see what she will wear next – myself included, because what a woman wore to court today trumps #feesmustfall coverage.
“We’re knocking off the wide shawl collars from yesterday’s look”, said Darren Blaine, buyer for local e-tailer LINDELU. He, like many others, stood outside the tall, mesh fences of Johannesburg Magistrates Court, impatiently waiting for the drama of a black town car to pull up. “Where did you get your skirt?”, he said, not interested. When I told him downtown, he dragged the last of his cigarette, dropped it to the pavement and ground his black leather shoes on it to leave the scene. It was the sort of cattiness that you read about in novels and I smiled down sadly.
I heard the sudden amble of heels and cameras clicking and when I looked up, a sleek Mercedes Benz slowly slid down the road, its clean black reflecting the awe-struck faces of writers who took this all too seriously and bloggers who should be at school.
“Tsepo, if you don’t get this shot like yesterday, I swear”, said someone in the ruckus of trying to get the first photo, “why are we here”, said another, who was quickly drained out by the hollering and general hooliganism of the paparazzi. The door opened and a black Chelsea boot planted onto the pavement. Up until the mid-calf, the leg was swathed in a white culotte with thin, black pinstripes. “Pinstripes for summer!”, said a lanky man to what looked like a terrified intern, who wrote down notes furiously. A hand, with perfectly healthy clear nails, held onto the top of the door and pulled itself up. A gasp from an overenthusiastic by-stander prompted a slew of flashes to ensue. I pushed aside a blogger to get a better look. Ms. Motaung, in her effortless insouciance, wore an oversized, navy-blue wide-collared parka.
“I knew it , I knew”, said Darren, “It’s a thing”. The collar was paneled with a fur inset and its sleeves revealed themselves as a cape hybrid. A thin mustard foulard around her neck introduced an accent colour that beautifully framed her face and grounded the look. Before I could see any more details, two burly men covered Ms. Motaung and lead her through the crowd of crazed fashion people. From odd spaces in the throng, I could see Ms. Motaung dissatisfaction with this circus, her brow crinkling in the chicest way. Then, just like that, she was gone, the high energy fast declining into timid self-composure
“I hope that inspired you”, said Darren , who smiled down at my skirt before hailing a cab. Even though it was his second jab, I admitted to myself : I was moved. For a woman to command an audience without saying a word is powerful and something I want for myself. I took everything I said about the frivolity of fashion and the documenting of Ms. Motaung’s every move. It’s sad that a woman has been subpoenaed to speak of her ex-husbands criminal activity but she should know that even if the jury serves her husband with life, she gave the fashion industry life first and served the face to match.
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