Durban - Two fashion design students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) were named in the top 10 of the 2023 Hollywoodbets Durban July Young Designer Award competition.
The competition is presented by Durban Fashion Fair.
DUT said the competition, which is aimed at showcasing the very best emerging talent, was open to fashion design students from KwaZulu-Natal. The designs submitted for the competition had to follow and reflect an understanding of the race day theme: Out of This World.
DUT spokesperson Alan Khan said the winner would be announced at the Hollywoodbets Durban July, on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
Andile Nsele, 31, from Newlands East, Durban, is currently enrolled for his Postgraduate Diploma in Fashion and Textiles, while Thabiso Ncanana, 26, from Esikhawini in Richards Bay, is doing his Advanced Diploma in Fashion and Textiles.
Nsele described himself as a multidisciplinary designer, who is passionate about creating socially conscious fashion that speaks to everyday social issues faced by Africans.
According to Nsele, his love for fashion came from dreaming of his late sister saying that she was happy and proud of him.
“I loved mixing my clothes around so I could have a new look every time. I quit my finance job, got a retail job, worked part-time and went to study fashion at DUT,” said Nsele.
Commenting on his Durban July design, Nsele said that the African spirituality and cosmology weaved into the design made it stand out from other designs.
Khan said Ncanana was a first-time entrant in this competition.
Ncanana believes his love for fashion comes from his mother, who used to obsess about dressing him as a child and making him look good when going out or attending family gatherings.
Ncanana’s interpretation of the Durban July theme was centred around African culture, just like all of his work.
He would love to own a creative design house one day, built on the foundations of fashion, yet encompassing other art disciplines.
Khan said both students were confident that their designs would go all the way to the top in the competition as they believed that DUT students had raised the bar once again.
Professor Runette Kruger, who is the executive dean in the Faculty of Arts and Design, extended her congratulatory message to the students and the Fashion and Textiles Department.
“We are very excited that Andile and Thabiso have made it into the top 10 finalist round, and we wish them luck in the finals. Our fashion students, graduates and colleagues go all-out in harnessing talent and hard work. We are hoping for an accolade for these two finalists, ” she said.
DUT said the first prize winner would receive a “fashion” travel package to the SA Fashion Week in Johannesburg for 2024, courtesy of Gold Circle and SA Fashion Week.
“Also included in the prize hamper will be a R50 000 bursary funding for current tuition or future studying, R10 000 in cash, compliments of Gold Circle and Schweppes, and a R5 000 gift card from Gateway Theatre of Shopping.
“The college/university attended by the winning student will receive a R30 000 grant from Gold Circle, to be used to support programmes and structures in place to develop the fashion design students,” said Khan.