Making weddings a “magical adventure” is the dream of DUT Fashion and Textile Master’s student Casey Jeanne Walters who aims to enthrall people, both locally and internationally, with her beautiful ensemble of custom-made couture wedding gowns.
The stylish designer showcased her Final Fitting Fashion MTech Exhibition at the DUT Art Gallery, Steve Biko Campus, yesterday (Wednesday, 3 June 2015).
Walters went all out to showcase her new, sexy bridal collection called Jeannelle la Amour. This is a tribute to her French-born, orphaned grandfather who was adopted during the war and moved to South Africa.
Speaking at the exhibition, Walters was excited to showcase her gorgeous range and chatted about her MTech research into the SA bridal industry and how the Chinese import market has affected local designers such as DUT’s Terence Bray and Francois Vedemme.
“It was really about finding ways to bridge a gap between that bespoke market (of SA designers) and the import Chinese market and providing people with other options. So my Master’s was on finding ways to improve my practice as a designer and also to make the process slightly faster and still create stunning bridal wear for beautiful brides,” she added.
Walters loves French lace, imported silks, beaded embellishments, hand-embroidery and details and ensures all her garments encompass her love for precision stitching. In her research as an undergraduate student, she was not formally taught how to draft blocks for bridal gowns or how to stitch bridal gowns. “This resulted in a trial and error approach working on bridal gowns I was making for brides. I realised that I was unconsciously forming my own bridal blocks that suited my style and brand. Developing the blocks was a practical solution in order to save time during the design and making of bespoke bridal gowns,” she said.
Opening the exhibition was one of her designer mentors, Terence Bray, who said she had done a fantastic job in a short space of time and had rooted herself in an industry which was quite hard to cut one’s teeth in. “Her work is beautiful her level of craft is incredible. It is an industry that takes a very specific type of personality, focus and determination which she has and I wish her everything of the best,” he said.
Jeanne has been featured in a number of local and national magazines. In 2012, she was awarded the Vukani Fashion Awards National Best Collection and Overall Title Winner as well as the national winner for the Live Out Loud Young Designer Bridal Awards. She also clinched the titles of Gateway’s Durban July Preview Show Recycled Designer as well as first place at the Young Designer Awards in Sandton in the same year. She then went on to design Top Billing’s 2009 Presenter Search winner, Kelly Parkhurst’s wedding gown at the end of 2012. Shortly after that, Walters was awarded runner up at the National Wedding Expo Young Designer Competition. She was also awarded first place at the 2013 Vodacom Durban July Fashion Challenge and the following year was hand selected as one of the Vodacom Durban July’s Premium Invited Designers. In 2014, Walters was selected to showcase at South African Fashion Week – two seasons in a row – with a successful partnership with Edgars being born. One of her proudest accolades was being nominated for the KZN Young Achiever Awards where she took home first prize in the Arts and Design category.
Walters now operates from Glenwood, Durban, and also stocks her custom-made gowns in the Calegra Bridal House in Pretoria and Stellenbosch. Some of her gowns are available in plus sizes as well as different color shades. Her aim is to do more exporting and go international – perhaps even showcasing at the New York Fashion Week in time to come.
– Waheeda Peters
Pictured: Walters Jeanne Walters, DUT Fashion and Textiles Master’s student, at the opening of her exhibition at the DUT Art Gallery.
