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Working to the brief of a creative design around the South African flag and football, designers produced some vibrant work.
IT was all flags, footballs, design and big prizes at the Fashion Kapitol in the Joburg CBD on Friday, 28 May. Brand South Africa's Fashion Funk competition had a winner, and she was one happy person.
Winner Frances Miller with her colourful design
Frances Miller was chosen from 15 finalists who were in turn chosen from 160 entrants countrywide. She couldn't stop smiling once the announcement had been made: "It feels so good. It feels fantastic, mind-blowing, after all the hard work."
Miller is from Cape Town and is studying at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Her greatest inspiration, she says, is her family, followed by her fellow students and lecturers.
Her design was a colourful dress with gathered layers of the South Africa flag. The bodice consisted of flag colours plaited and woven together.
The dress was overlaid with large Ndebele-like rings, echoed in rings around the ankles. A hood, made of felt strips, had a long string of pom-poms coming off it, falling to the hips, interspersed with small black and white footballs.
"The pom-poms around the hood are all the colours of our flag representing what our country stands for and where we come from," said Miller.
The ensemble was finished off with beaded jewellery on the model's wrists, arms, neck and forehead. Fringed fabric around the ankles and arms was symbolic of "animal fur which is worn during traditional African dances".
"My design is fun, exciting, and bursting with rich colours and textures - a true fashion description of what the World Cup is going to be for this country and all our visitors," she said.
The other 14 finalists were: Marné Nelson, Charné Gouws, Thembi Sibeko, Boikanyo Kgwete, Anandie Klaasen, Chanel Korff, Cinani Nhlapo, Kutloano Molokomme, Charlene Oosthuizen, Lethabo Nyathi, Rene Burger, Charmian Booyens, Bianca Thomas and Lauren van Zyl.
Miller added: "This design is inspired by our beautiful country and the people who live here. I have used certain materials, textures, colours and patterns to express our country's culture. I also included small details that are unique to South Africa, like the small wire animals and footballs attached to the accessories and the colourful beading and patterns."
Judges
The judges were Craig Jacobs, Eran Eyal, Malcolm Klûk, Nonhle Thema and Sandy Rogers.
Jacobs, the creative director of Fundudzi, said of the design: "It was quite difficult to choose the winner but in the end we went back to the brief which was a creative design around the South African flag, and football. Frances took things imminently South African and incorporated them in a clever way, with shards of flags gathered into the dress."
The finalists clearly had fun - the designs sparkled with colours of the flag, replica footballs in skirts, tops and bags, with vuvuzelas weaving their way around the models' heads or necks or twisted into their hair, with tall football socks. Necklaces and bracelets in flag-colour beads filled their arms and necks.
The prize was R10 000 for the winner and a further R10 000 for the school at which the winner was studying. Miller and the two runners-up will also get a double page spread in Cosmopolitan magazine, and Miller received R20 000 in fashion vouchers from Edgars, one of the sponsors of the competition. Edgars also put up R40 000 for a student bursary.
The Fashion Kapitol is the heart of the fashion district, on the eastern edge of the CBD, and consists of 26 blocks of fashion-related industries. The Kapitol consists of 30 shops, offices, studios, a restaurant, a small square, a ramp, an amphitheatre and an arcade linking Pritchard and Market streets.
Rees Mann, the mover and shaker behind the Kapitol, said of Fashion Funk: "For us it is important that Brand South Africa has brought this event to the inner city, and to the Fashion Kapitol."
Although the Kapitol had not officially been launched yet, the revival of the district had brought nearly R1-billion in investments into the area, he added. This had mostly been in the form of conversions of old office and manufacturing buildings to residential units, done by City Properties and Afhco.
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