Duvall Pettway and Kojo Baffoe
fashion
South Africa’s fashion is experiencing a sort of volcanic eruption. As far as the calendar goes, one is not quite sure what to call the premier fashion event of the year. From the Redd’s Fashion in Da House to the recent Fashion Week and the GQ Man Of The Year Awards, it’s been a fashion extravaganza. There have even been murmurings about plans to make Johannesburg’s central business district the fashion garment district of South Africa.
This weekend it’s the turn of the Fairlady South African Fashion Awards, held in association with M-Net, that are being held in Johannesburg for the first time. This foray out of Cape Town is to celebrate two decades of the fashion awards in acknowledging and uplifting South Africa’s fashion talent. The crSme de la crSme of South Africa’s fashion designers will be showcased by Fairlady.
In addition to the traditional Best Young Designer Award and the prestigious Catherine Award – the “Oscar of the South African fashion industry” – the event has been expanded to include the Fairlady Best Brand Award and the Fairlady Retail Excellence Award. The Best Brand Award is in recognition of stimulating, cutting-edge fashion brands providing the South African public with creative, yet wearable clothing. The contribution of commercial retailers is recognised by the Retail Excellence Award.
The selection process has taken six months and encompassed the entire fashion industry. The shortlist of 30 nominees for the 2000 Catherine Award are chosen by more than 100 key roleplayers and stakeholders in the fashion industry, with the panel of judges deciding on the six finalists. The responsibility of selecting the fashion designer who has contributed the most to South African fashion also falls on the panel of judges, who include Fairlady Fashion Editor Jackie Burger, African Designs Creative Director Dion Chang, Elle Fashion Editor Tracey Myers, GQ Fashion Director Amanda Gowing, Jodi Robertson of the International Trend Institute, and Marianne Fassler, winner of the 1999 Catherine Award.
For the Young Designer Award, nominations were received through Fairlady magazine and tertiary institutions throughout the country, with the judges looking for original, innovative and creative designs with flair, wearability and marketability. Seven finalists were chosen on the basis of six designs each, accompanied by fabric swatches and suggestions for shoes and accessories.
Fairlady has pulled out all the stops to create ripples through the fashion industry with the Fashion Awards on November 4 at a fabulous black-tie dinner and fashion extrava-ganza at the Helderfontein Estate in Midrand. Prior to the dinner, Fairlady will host a lunch show to allow the public to view exquisite designs, that will be celebrated at the evening function, with guests given the privilege of voting for their top Young Designer and Catherine Award finalists. The coveted Readers’ Choice Award will go to the designer with the most votes.
The finalists for the Fairlady South African Fashion Awards are:
The Young Designer Award – Carlo Gibson, Marique Yssel, Carla Ferreira, Nora Lea Gasson, Leigh Schubert, Nandi Maphalala and Karen Monk-Klijnstra.
The Catherine Award – Gert van der Merwe, David West, Gideon, Julian, Jacques van der Watt and Abigail Betz.
The Best Brand Award – Marion and Lindie, Shakur Ola and Joe Soap.
The Retail Excellence Award – Mr Price, RJL and Young Designers’ Emporium.
The Fairlady South African Fashion Awards will be held on November 4 at the Helderfontein Estate, Upper Chatten Road, Glenfernss, Midrand. Tickets for the fashion show lunch cost R186 a person and are available through Computicket or the Fairlady hotline: 083 915 2000. Fairlady subscribers qualify for a 10% discount