Amanzimtoti-bred designer stitches up another fashion award

Ex-Kingsway High School pupil, Tara Simeon (24) won the Source Africa Young Designer of the year 2018 last month. Her prizes included an industrial sewing machine, fabric voucher, R10,000, a figure form of her choice and a trip to Paris on 15 September.

The CEO of Messe Frankfurt France decided on the day of the prize to include the trip to Paris for her to showcase her collection at Texworld Paris, which is an international textile trade fair.

“At first I didn’t even go on stage, I was so speechless (at having won). I feel blessed beyond measure,” said Tara, who said it took a lot of hard work to prepare for the competition. “We had two weeks to complete the look. As a full-time lecturer, I had to spend evenings and weekends sewing the garments. The hardest item to sew was a backpack which turns into a tent.”

In her third year of studies in 2016, Tara placed second in the Foschini design awards, a competition which was open to all the fashion colleges in SA. She won a cellphone, make up and beauty products, flowers, a R5,000 voucher and designed four looks that were placed in Foschini stores all around SA. “The top three designers also got to spend a week at The Foschini Group (TFG), learning all about working in the industry and created our own items for stores.”

Tara has completed her three-year diploma and is currently finishing her fourth year, while also lecturing at the Cape Town College of Fashion Design (CTCFD). “Last year I finished the academics and this year I am creating my collection based around poverty in SA. My goal is to create an awareness locally and internationally about the cycle of poverty. I believe as South Africans we often become desensitised by how often we see it around us.”

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A percentage of each item sold from Tara’s collection will go to Operation Bobbi Bear’s Under the Tree programme, which aims to alleviate poverty in SA. “My collection designs transform to address issues in poverty, like jackets that turn into sleeping bags, bags that turn into tents and inflatable jackets. All items have a tag attached which is also a shelter voucher.”

The fashionista matriculated at Kingsway in 2012 and always knew she enjoyed fashion and wanted to go into an artistic field. “Kingsway allowed me to explore fashion as a medium in art. Fashion is constantly evolving but my view on fashion has also evolved since my first year. I believe fashion is moving towards creating clothing which is sustainable and has an activist approach. This is what we need, especially with the problems we face economically and environmentally.”