Passion for fashion prevails at student designer award judging

THE judges billed the first round of judging of the Vodacom Durban July Young Designer Award presented by Durban Fashion Fair as a triumph against adversity as 56 students designers from colleges and technikons across the province defied the odds stacked against them by the Covid-19 lockdown to vie for a place in the semi-finals of the prestigious competition.

With all the tertiary fashion institutions closed since the start of the lockdown the students had to make do with facilities they had at home to complete their designs and then construct their outfits that interpreted the ‘Butterflies’ theme.

The student designers lived up their reputation for edgy design concepts and technical fabrication excellence as they faced judges Greg Wallis, Madelaine Clark and Nonku Mthembu, mindful that success in this competition can kick-start the fashion career of an aspiring fashion designer.

“I know it has been extraordinarily difficult for the students during the lockdown, but to see the number of entries and the exceptional quality of the work they produced is really a triumph of the human spirit,” said fashion programme director Tiffany Prior.

Durban fashion stalwart Greg Wallis agreed. “Business knows no sentiment. I am so happy to see that the student designers have adopted the same attitude. They have gone out, found what they needed and put it together in an impeccable way. The quality and inventiveness struck me. Some of the designers had gone so far as to study the species of the butterfly they planned to show in their garments. That really impressed me,” he added.

READ RELATED: Student fashion designers competition saved during lockdown

Durban designer Madelain Clark said she was surprised at the standard that was displayed despite the challenges posed by the lockdown. “The students have gone the extra mile to get resources during this very difficult time, which shows you that the passion is really there. Despite the lockdown it was very clear today that there is a real love for fashion, which is very encouraging,” she said.

The judges settled on 20 semi-finalists, and these will be further trimmed to 10 finalists today, 19 August. Those 10 will feature in a virtual fashion show on Tuesday, 25 August where the top three will be announced.Visit: www.vodacomdurbanjuly.co.za.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.