Pav celebrates women in fashion

“GIVE a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world,” said Marilyn Monroe.

At the Pavilion, they did more than that, they gave four designers an entire store.

During Women’s Month, the Pavilion focused on empowering and supporting young, up-and-coming women entrepreneurs who want to leave their mark on the world.

Earlier this year, the Pavilion began a citywide search to find an aspirant young designers wanting to break into the retail market and together with the Durban Fashion Fair, a shortlist of these designers was created.

ALSO READ: From film to fashion, Cowies Hill’s Silomo keeps rising

“The submissions came in fashionably fast, proving just how much talent there was in the city, and how hungry designers were for the chance to start building their brands. In the end, designers like Zaviar Fashions, Fabrosands, Adelaide and Indoni Fashion House made the coveted shortlist,” said the centre manager, Nisha Kemraj.

She said the work of these exciting designers can be currently seen at The Pavilion Designers Emporium, which is a pop-up store set up by the Pavilion in partnership with the Durban Fashion Fair.

“The Pavilion Designers Emporium is a proudly Pav initiative and will be trading until 14 September 2019. We encourage shoppers to pop in and support local fashion and more importantly, our local women,” said Kemraj.

The Highway Mail had a chance to chat with one of the designers, Adelaine Patchappen, who said her love for design started at a young age, from primary school days.

The reserved 26-year-old from Sydenham said she used to look forward to the school holidays so that she could design clothes in her scrapbook.

“It has always been a passion for me and I have never stopped loving it. I initially wanted to study Pharmacy and I got provisionally accepted to the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth and then it was eventually unsuccessful so then I took a gap year and thought of something that I would love doing and fashion came to my mind.

Because designing clothes was something that she loved, Adelaine applied at DUT, Durban University Of Technology to study Fashion and Textiles.

She said the opportunity the Pavilion has given young designers means the world to her. “I am so grateful, it has always been a dream of mine to sell my garments in the Pavilion Shopping Centre and when that dream came true, I could not believe it.

Adelaine described her designs as trendy, chic and vibrant. She designs women’s wear, ready-to-wear clothes.

“My target market is women aged between 15 to 45 years. I do not really like placing an age restriction on my garments because women should be allowed to wear whatever makes them happy and comfortable. My designs are trendy but not too trendy which is basically something that most women look for,” she said.

For Adelaine it is important for a woman to always look her best and presentable, “even if she is going to a farmer’s market. It is not to impress others but simply to make herself feel good and confident.”

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

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 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.

To receive our free newsletter click here.