Earth, water, fire, wind, light, dark and life were the natural elements that were behind this year’s fashion range which won the Best Technical Student award during Friday’s (September, 05, 2013) DUT annual Fashion Show 2013 finale which saw 21 aspirant designers battle it out for the top five spots.
Casey Grenfell’s men’s range was born while the student was buying fabric that she would use to put together her range. The diverse colours of the fabrics reminded her of the natural elements, and the rest is history.
While she enjoyed designing her range, she admits that men’s tailoring is challenging. She had a few emotional breakdowns as a result. “Men’s tailoring takes a lot of hard work,” she said, adding that she did not expect to win.
Speaking about what inspires her; Grenfell said she designs what she likes and likes to see in other people. “Anything inspires me. I’ve always wanted to study design. I’ve always had a passion for it,” she said.
The Fashion Show was held nightly over three days (Wednesday, October 02 to Friday October 05, 2013) at the Fred Crookes Sports Centre, DUT Steve Biko Campus. A total of 37 third-year Fashion and Textiles students showcased their designs.
This year’s show was themed i-aesthete, a theme designed to get designers to look at their aesthetic to question their idea or appreciation of beauty. The theme was also a play on the digital age we live in and how we receive and process information, and in turn how this affects our aesthetic eye or I.
An experienced judging panel- the Holmes Brothers, a Durban design duo; Sindi Shangase, eThekwini Municipality Business Support Programme Manager who is also in charge of the Durban Fashion Fair; Bianca Warren, DUT graduate who owns two fashion boutiques in Umhlanga and Greg Wallac, DUT graduate and fashion industry expert who supplies many SA fashion chain stores and has been a finalist in the Anglo American Mentor of the Year award for several years- faced a tough time as they decided which of the 37 aspirant designers would make it to the top five.
The top five winning categories were Most Innovative Range, Most Commercial Range, Best Menswear Range, Best Range on Show and Best Technical Student.
– Sinegugu Ndlovu
Pictured: Casey Grenfell, the student behind this year’s range which won the Best Technical Student award at the DUT Fashion Show 2013.
