Fashion design students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Andile Nsele and Thabiso Ncanana, were named in the Top 10 of the 2023 Hollywoodbets Durban July Young Designer Award competition, presented by Durban Fashion Fair. The winner will be announced at Africa’s greatest horseracing event, the Hollywoodbets Durban July, on Saturday, 01 July 2023.
The competition, which is aimed at showcasing the very best emerging talent, was open to fashion design students from KwaZulu-Natal. The designs submitted for the competition had to follow and reflect an understanding of the race day theme: Out of This World.
The first prize winner will receive a “fashion” travel package to SA Fashion Week in Johannesburg for 2024, courtesy of Gold Circle and SA Fashion Week. Also included in the prize hamper will be a R50 000 bursary funding for current tuition or future studying, R10 000 in cash, compliments of Gold Circle and Schweppes and a R5000 gift card from Gateway Theatre of Shopping. The college/university attended by the winning student will receive a R30 000 grant from Gold Circle, to be used to support programmes and structures in place to develop the fashion design students.
Nsele (31) from Newlands East, Durban is currently enrolled for his Postgraduate Diploma in Fashion and Textiles. Meanwhile, Ncanana (26) from Esikhawini, Richards Bay is doing his Advanced Diploma in Fashion and Textiles.
Nsele described himself as a multidisciplinary designer, who is passionate about creating socially conscious fashion that speaks to everyday social issues faced by Africans. According to Nsele, his love for fashion came from dreaming of his late sister saying that she was happy and proud of him. “I loved mixing my clothes around so I could have a new look every time. I quit my finance job, got a retail job, worked part-time and went to study fashion at DUT,” said Nsele.
Commenting on his Hollywoodbets Durban July design, Nsele added that the African spiritual and cosmology weaved into the design makes it stand out from other designs.
“With the theme Out of This World, I wanted to focus on an Africanised view lens when interpreting the understanding of the universe, the other worlds such as the spiritual world where our ancestors dwell and the inner world which connects you directly to the universe through the crown chakra. My concept involves exploring some universal themes in divine healing as revealed in the Zulu tradition,” added Nsele. He first entered this competition in 2018.
The second student, Ncanana, is a first time entrant in this competition. He believes his love for fashion comes from his mother who used to obsess about dressing him as a child and making him look good when going out or attending family gatherings.
Ncanana’s interpretation of the Hollywoodbets Durban July theme was centred around the African culture, just like all of his work. He believes his interpretation of the theme was different from others. “The theme spoke to outer space, and this inspired me to reimagine what the dispersion of African people into outer space would look like, through my concept titled Utopian Diaspora. Diaspora refers to the displacement or dispersion of people who still maintain affiliations with their culture and given most of our culture is preserved in artefacts, I chose earthly tones, basketry, and a grass mat to communicate these ideas,” explained Ncanana.
He would love to own a creative design house one day, built on the foundations of fashion, yet encompassing other art disciplinaries.
Both students are confident that their designs will go all the way to the top in the competition as they believe that DUT students have pushed the bar higher once again.
“We are very excited that Andile and Thabiso have made it into the top ten finalist round and we wish them luck in the finals. Our Fashion students, graduates and colleagues go all-out in harnessing talent and hard work. We are hoping for an accolade for these two finalists, ”said Professor Runette Kruger: Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts and Design, extending her congratulatory message to the students and the Fashion and Textiles Department.
Pictured: Fashion and Textiles students, Andile Nsele and Thabiso Ncanana with their models.
Simangele Zuma
