(Eli Ball, Kat Shoesmith, Sarah Stoute,
Sibusiso Sefasta, Sefton Fripp - Gelvenor Sales & Marketing Manager,
Siboniso Zondi, Sindi Shangase - Programme Manager for the BSTMU, Greg Wallis -
DFF Programme Mentor, and Sam Mosala. Not in picture: Vanessa Pillay and
established designer & DFF Programme Mentor - Terrence Bray)
It was a Night of
Gold with fine dining and guests dressed in their finest ensembles at the
recent 50th anniversary celebration of Gelvenor Textiles at the
Sibaya Casino.
Four years ago,
eThekwini Municipality made a commitment to the development of the small
business sector in the region which needed to embrace local fashion designers
as well as the wider textile and clothing industry, of which they have since
been an integral part. In the past, Durban was not only a respected design
destination but also the mainstay of the textile and clothing sector in South
Africa.
Companies such as
Gelvenor Textiles had positioned themselves as trailblazers in their sector,
internationally, and the sector was a repository of skills and technical knowhow.
The
upcoming Durban Fashion Fair which takes place in August is proud to have a
Fashion Development Programme that includes a mentorship programme enabling
up-and coming new designers to learn from the city’s fashion gurus, as well as an international internship programme that selects 10 of these new
talents for a two month long internship in the fashion capital, Milan. The
Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) itself showcases the creations of both aspiring and
established designers and a new face search that “discovers” new models to
participate in the shows as well as designers from across Africa and
Internationally!
Some of the designer mentees from the 2014
& 2015 DFF were part of this 50th anniversary celebration in the form of a fashion show ideally themed Fashion
Over the Decades which not only gave them a platform to showcase their work
but also showed off the textiles supplied to them which was sponsored by
Gelvenor Textiles.
The interns were divided into groups and
asked to encapsulate the spirit of different decades within their designs -
starting with the swinging 60’s and ending with 2000 and Beyond.
The highlight of the evening was
undoubtedly a special collection created by established designer and DFF
Programme mentor, Terrence Bray who also used Gelvenor’s corporate colours and
fabrics.
Sindi Shangase is the Programme Manager in
the Municipality’s Business Support, Tourism and Markets Unit who has
spearheaded the DFF since its inception! She said: “We would like to thank the
people who have contributed to the success of this programme both now and over
the past four years. They include our programme mentors Greg Wallis from G
& D Apparel and respected Durban based designer, Terrence Bray as well
Gelvenor Textiles for giving this platform to our mentees in celebrating their
50th anniversary.”
For more information
go to go to www.facebook.com/DurbanFashionFair
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