LINDSAY ORD
A group of young designers from KwaZulu-Natal will be rubbing shoulders with industry icons, local and international buyers and media at SA Fashion Week’s Autumn Winter 2015 Collections in Johannesburg next week.
They will be taking part in the KZN Fashion Council (KZNFC) show at the four-day event with five showing collections on the runway and three hoping to bag orders in the Buyers’ Lounge.
This is the fourth season, in two years, in which the KZNFC has had a SAFW show, and acting programme director, Shavera Sayed, said the exposure was invaluable for the designers.
“This platform gets them noticed and provides opportunities in the retail sector,” she said.
Designers who have reaped the benefits of the exposure in previous years include Thembeka Vilakazi, whose edgy Yadah designs have appeared in Edgars capsule collections in Johannesburg, are available at Spree online and will be seen at Khasav at King Shaka International Airport from next week, and Amanda Govender, who showed in the Buyers’ Lounge in 2010 and now supplies her label, Amanda May, to 10 stores.
Vilakazi said the exposure at SAFW had been “invaluable”.
Hanrie Lues has been to SAFW three times before and sells her Mej Lues brand on hellopretty.co.za
She runs a matric dance hire store in Durban.
“SA Fashion Week is a wonderful experience, but it is tough,” she said.
“You have to be driven and prepared to work hard to make it in this industry.”
Russian-born Larisa Terbanche, a Vodacom Durban July Fashion Challenge finalist whose range is Larisa MODA, has been to SAFW twice.
“My brand has grown,” said Terbanche who will be launching with Spree and whose clothes are stocked by a boutique in Johannesburg.
The only man of the group, Siyethemba Duma (Matte Nolim), is making a debut appearance at SAFW and says he hopes it will lead to retail opportunities.
“I am very excited and my range is clean, minimal and ready to wear. I am sure I will gain from the experience.”
Other KZNFC designers participating in SAFW are Nabeela Osman (Uniform), Brenda Waring (Whatevs Designs) and Sarojini Moodley (Khyris).
The KZNFC was established in 2009 in response to the need for support of the fashion design sector, through a strategic partnership between the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and eThekwini Municipality’s Economic Development and Investment Promotion Unit.
The council offers programmes for junior, emerging and established designers with a focus on previously disadvantaged individuals.
“We look at retail opportunities,” says Sayed. “That is the only way to grow the economy.”
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Durban designers on show
The SA Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2015 Collections (SAFW) open in Johannesburg next week, with 49 designers participating in the four-day event.
Durban designers include Leigh Schubert, Amanda Laird Cherry, Colleen Eitzen and Mike Narainsamy, while Kujula Mtambo (Gravite) and Mxolisi Luke Mkhize (House of St Luke) will also be showing.
For the first time, the final day of the SAFW programme will be dedicated solely to menswear.
The focus of the event is The Business of Fashion, and SAFW’s goal is to promote the development of the industry.
The Buyers’ Lounge will host 50 designer labels and give boutique owners and department buyers a chance to preview the collections. For more information, visit www.safashionweek.co.za