Audi Jo’burg Fashion Week ended on a high note with the announcement of four young South African designers chosen to show their work at the prestigious Paris Fashion Week in July. In conjunction with designer Gavin Rajah and under the auspices of SA Tourism, Thabani Mavundla, Thula Sindi, Fundudzi’s creative director Craig Jacobs and David Tlale will head to what is arguably the centre of the fashion world.
‘I am sitting on top of the world,†says Tlale. His Exodus ready-to-wear range had audience members on their feet by the end of his show. It combined military style attitude — male models wearing combat boots and carrying the occasional truncheon — with funky femininity in the form of light jackets in floral prints worn by the girls.
‘I’m really, really excited, but above all, this is all so humbling. This is people in the industry giving me an ovation,†he says.
Linda Sangaret, country manager of SA Tourism, says: ‘At the end of the day, it is about creating a job back home.
‘And we want to show the French our people and how diverse they are, not only in terms of colour but in terms of passion and creativity.â€
SA Tourism will be also be partnering with Rajah for a third time at Paris Fashion Week.
Rajah, who spearheaded the selection process, says the designers who were chosen ‘weren’t doing fashion in a stereotypical wayâ€. The four were singled out because they weren’t derivative of other designers, used local craftsmanship and skills and were seen as being able to hold their own internationally, says Rajah. Another important factor was that they fed into the commercial market, meeting the need for design that is accessible.
‘One doesn’t take the designers and chuck them into the deep end, so it’s about grooming them,†says Rajah. ‘Paris [Fashion Week] is a different industry. We can’t compare with a 150 years of fashion week. For me, its important that they go there on a par with the rest of the designers and with the proper support.â€
Support is certainly what these young designers will need as they leave the local fashion scene for the intensely competitive international stage. Along with SA Tourism and Rajah himself, the four will receive support from Precious Moloi- Motsepe, Leisureworx chairperson and patron of South African fashion.
Rajah says, ‘with Precious getting involved and putting her money where her mouth is†these four designers will be able to make their mark on an international runway.
Moloi-Motsepe says that the aim of sending the four to Paris will achieve two things: ‘Firstly we want to give our more experienced designers increased exposure and secondly we want to give young, aspiring designers greater support on the business side of things.â€
