On Friday night (30 September), the Durban University’s Fashion and Textiles Department held its annual Fashion Show 2016 where five overall winners, as well as other winners who had won merit awards for showing excellence in their ranges, were crowned.
Themed: After Earth, this year’s Show challenged 35 Fashion and Textiles students to explore their own vision of our next world through their respective fashion ranges.
Wanda Majubana’s Animé Samurai range earned him the Best Menswear Range. Majubana’s range was inspired by Samurais and tells a story about how a Samurai adapts to the ways of After Earth.
According to www.history.com, the Samurai, members of a fearsome and powerful military caste in feudal Japan, began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century with the beginning of the country’s first military dictatorship known as the Shogunate. Their (Samurai) traditions of honour and discipline live on in the study of Jujitsu and Kendo today.
Animé on the other hand is Japanese hand-drawn or computer animation. The word Animé is the abbreviated pronunciation of “animation” in Japanese, where this term references all animation. Outside Japan, Animé is used to refer specifically to animation from Japan or as a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterised by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes.
“I find Animé so intriguing. I love to draw so the whole concept fascinates me. I’m also inspired by the Samurai era and my range sought to explore how they (Samurais) would adapt to new ways of life as per the theme,” he said.
Majubana said while the process of designing his winning range “was forever”, he thoroughly enjoyed it.
The budding designer’s future plans include working with other designers as well as creating his own fashion label.
– Sinegugu Ndlovu
Pictured: Wanda Majubana with models wearing his Animé Samurai range which earned him the Best Menswear Range award during the annual Fashion Show 2016.
Picture credit: Colourise Photography Studio
Models: Ice Models
