New wave of talent
2006-03-09
TWENTY new-generation South African fashion designers have been chosen to participate in the inaugural Nederburg Rare South African Fashion Finds competition, established to showcase up-and-coming names in fashion.
Of these, four will be selected to present their ranges at the prestigious Nederburg Auction in April, and a national winner will be given R50 000 to create a collection for Nokia Cape Town Fashion Week in August.
Conceived and co-ordinated by fashion doyen Jan Malan, who created the Face of Africa campaign, the event (sponsored by Nederburg Wines) is unique, he says, in that it is the only one of its kind to give mainstream exposure to new designers who already have their own labels.
“The competition is not addressing design students, but those who already have begun forging their careers and have evolved their own look. Generally selling on a limited scale, they need a platform to access a wider audience and thus increase their chances of sustainability.”
Mostly in their twenties, the designers, who come from the Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu/Natal, were selected from an extensive pool of talent, identified by South Africa’s leading design names.
“We approached the country’s leading fashion designers and journalists, and asked them to nominate those likely to form the next wave of South African fashion. Everyone nominated was asked to present a selection of designs and on the strength of their submissions we narrowed down the list to 20.”
The panel, chaired by Malan, included Karen Roos, who launched South Africa’s first exclusive fashion magazine, Red, in the 1980s, and who is now editor of Elle Décor; Jackie Burger, who is fashion director of Elle; Amanda Gowing, fashion director of Glamour and the editor of the South African Fashion Handbook; Ravi Naidoo, the founder of Design Indaba, and Kathy Page-Wood and Cheryl Arthur of Hip Hop.
“We are astonished by the level of talent expressed by designers so early in their careers and we are going to have an exceptionally tough time in selecting the four finalists for the Nederburg Rare South African Finds Fashion Show, which will be shown first to a group of invited high-profile guests attending the Nederburg Auction and then again, to a special gala event for the public, where tickets will be sold to raise funds for charity,” Malan says.
For Amanda Gowing, who worked in London before coming to South Africa, the submissions showed a new generation of designers “who are interpreting international fashion trends in a uniquely South African way that is very exciting news for the local industry”.
Misti Fowler, brand development manager for Nederburg Wines, says sponsorship of the competition was motivated by the brand’s long-standing association with fashion and design, and the need to give emerging talent the springboard to make it into the mainstream.
“Apart from the R50 000 prize money, the competition provides a very practical means of support for a talented young designer to move to the next phase of his or her career. So often there are exceptionally gifted designers who never make it because they lack the backing to get there.
“This competition not only gives major exposure to four talented young individuals, it also gives one person the chance for a stand-alone show at one of the country’s major fashion shows.”
The four finalists will be announced in February. They will present their collections at Nederburg alongside those of Lunar, Amanda Laird Cherry, Black Coffee, Gert van de Merwe, Jenni Button, Sun Goddess and Marion & Lindie.
The national winner will be announced at the charity staging of the Nederburg Auction on Sunday, April 9, for which tickets can be purchased from Computicket.
The list of 20 Nederburg rare South African fashion finds nominees include Germaine Christopher, Hanno de Swardt, (Onnah Designs), Alma Henning (Spilt Milk) Jolette le Roux, Stiaan Louw, Adriana van der Merwe and Sarah Webber (I LOVE LEROY), all from the Cape.
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