DUT student named in top 10 for Young Designer Award

AT a glittering semi-final showcase at the Gateway Theatre of Shopping on Wednesday, June 14, 25 semi-finalists in the Hollywoodbets Durban July Young Designer Award, presented by Durban Fashion Fair, were whittled down to 10 finalists.

The semi-finalists, who were selected from over 100 entrants on June 6, paraded their race-day designs inspired by this year’s ‘Out of this World’ theme, while the judges had the tough task of selecting just the 10, who now face a tense but busy two-week wait before the top three are named on July 1.

The finalists are vying for a share of R100 000 worth of bursaries from the Hollywood Foundation for the top three students, as well as other valuable prizes from Gold Circle, Schweppes, Gateway Theatre of Shopping and SA Fashion Week.

Amongst the 10 young designers named was 5th-year Durban University of Technology (DUT) student Andile Nsele, who is currently studying for his Post Graduate in Fashion at the university.

Nsele describes himself as a creative. “Any chance I get to create artwork within the African space, I take it. The bursary prize also looks good as I am currently paying my own school fees, and this win would help with this. Since my first year, I have been paying for myself while I had to work.”

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The 31-year-old has big plans for the upcoming showcase. “With the theme ‘Out of this World’, I wanted to focus on an Africanised lens when interpreting the understanding of the universe and the other worlds, such as the spiritual world where our ancestors dwell and the inner world which connects you directly to the universe through the crown chakra. My concept involves exploring some universal themes in divine healing as revealed in traditional Zulu.”

Speaking of his design, Nsele said, “The outfit consists of a hand-painted puffer jacket with a cowhide pocket, a weaved mock corset skirt, a wrap tee and springbok hide overlay, and a goatskin African crown. The aim was to modernise the Izinhlanya’s garments and artefacts they used to connect to otherworldly spirits which are governed by Amathonga. These fabrics or garments I interpreted were either worn by your ancestors who are now your spirit guides or are given to you to wear to activate your spiritual gifts. In my prints, I used land animals that usually have associations with clans or ranks; you will also see leopards which are also associated with Ndau spirit guides from certain royal clans.  I used animals in the print to represent the processes where ancient ancestors appear as animals in our dreams.”

The fashion student said his passion for fashion is driven by a great loss he has suffered. “After the loss of my sister, I went through dark times, not understanding the meaning of life, but through a dream I had of my departed sister, saying she is happy and proud of me, I knew that I needed to start living for me, and I also loved mixing my clothes around so I could have a new look every time. I quit my finance job, got a retail job working part-time and went to fashion school.”

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If he wins, Nsele says he plans to pay his school fees and start creating exhibitions of his work as it is artistic fashion within African cosmology.

“I hope to one day become a world-renowned artist in fashion and curating African culture, spirituality and social issues faced by our community and the LGBTQI+ community. I want to educate my community and the world on how rich and deep our lives are,” he concluded.

The 10 finalists from design colleges across the province will join some of the province’s top designers when they show off their stunning designs at Gateway’s Hollywoodbets Durban July Preview Fashion Show on June 23.

The preview show is the highlight of the month-long build-up to the fashion extravaganza at the Hollywoodbets Durban July, and the student designers will show off their creations alongside the Durban Fashion Fair Rising Stars and the HDJ Invited Designers on June 23 at Gateway Theatre of Shopping – and then again in front of thousands of spectators on race day on July 1, where all the winners of the various fashion competitions will be announced.