Young designers 'Ride the Wave' at the Hollywoodbets Durban July ...
After stringent competitive measures leading up to the most anticipated fashion contest of the year, four Pietermaritzburg fashionistas have made it into the top 10 finalists for the Young Designer Awards.
These students represent the uMgungundlovu TVET College and Pietermaritzburg School of Fashion.
Designers were tasked with the theme “Ride the Wave” at this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July, where an accompanying poem was also used to get the creative juices going.
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Designer, TV personality, and lecturer at uMgungundlovu TVET College Martin Steenkamp (27) will be joining his student Siphesihle Mkhize as he showcases his interpretation of the theme.
Steenkamp decided to look at the event holistically rather than using lines of the poem. He said in order to be noticed, designers must look into the vast meaning of the theme.
“You can look at it Biblically such as the Red Sea or at fictional characters such as the King of Atlantis and even spiritually like baptism and the landscape itself,” he said.
The next steps, Steenkamp said, included research, understanding the textiles you want to portray, the conversation you want started and then the actual process of putting it all together.
“There has to be intense research where you can’t just look at the surface level, but the different layers. The harsh and peace of the sea. Look at artists, how they depict it,” Steenkamp said.
Once your research is done then it’s textiles. You need to find textiles that fall into the conversation you want people to have and once you have that it’s the actual process.
For Steenkamp, the need to look deeper than the name — ocean — means looking at the life, the landscape and the unique artistry, while unearthing the deeper meaning.
PMB designer and lecturer unpacks the Hollywoodbets Durban July ‘Ride the Wave’ theme and how to go about dressing for it.#DurbanJulyWeekend #DurbanJuly #fashion pic.twitter.com/fTbv9amrY5
— The Witness (@WitnessKZN) July 6, 2024
This is then translated into how designers want to use their materials, such as bead work and fabrics that can be manipulated.
“Siphesihle looked at art and found this painting, the Wanderer of The Sea and modelled his piece around the research he found,” Steenkamp said.
Mhkize’s “Wanderer Above the Sea” piece makes use of one bag and a reversible jacket, as it represents sustainability and the lack of need for anything else as the sea provides.
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The Pietermaritzburg School of Fashion’s three contenders are Nonsiklelo Godlo, Krishan Ramdewu and Sinesiwe Ndlozi.
Nivasha Bhika Beharie, managing director of the school, said having three students make the finals is brilliant. “We have been in the top three for the past four years, I think it’s because we’ve been around for so long,” Bhika Beharie said.
The Pietermaritzburg School of Fashion has been around since 1965.
Bhika Beharie added that it was wonderful to see representatives of “our sleepy hollow” taking part in the Durban July.
“For them, this is the highest accolade,” she said. “The Durban July holds many opportunities and huge prizes.”
The top prize everyone is gunning for is R50 000 sponsored by Hollywood Bets, R10 000 sponsored by Gold Circle and R5 000 from Schweppes as well as a ticket to Johannesburg’s Fashion Week. Second and third prize are R30 000 and R20 000 respectively.
As for the contestants from the school, each have done their research and chosen their pieces to start the conversation Steenkamp described.
Ramdewu’s interpretation of “Ride the Wave” was coral reefs due to the textures, anomalies and all the beauty behind it as well as the safety they provide in times of crisis.
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Ndlozi made use of the poem using the line “In an eruption of foaming champagne”. She made use of a bottle of champagne’s foam to create the bubbles seen on her “garment”.
School of Fashion students unpack the Hollywoodbets Durban July ‘Ride the Wave’ theme and how to go about dressing for it.#DurbanJulyWeekend #Durbanjuly2024 pic.twitter.com/Qj6zDNoLcQ
— The Witness (@WitnessKZN) July 6, 2024
Godlo took inspiration from sea scallops and the intricate details of the vast sea. Her garment is made up of 250 individual pieces of fabric delicately crafted together.
