If you’re talented, hardworking and love what you do, you will be noticed for your efforts, as was in the case of DUT’s S’thandiwe Khumalo, who is completing her BTech degree within the University’s Fashion and Textiles Department.
Khumalo has been selected as a finalist in the 2014 Foschini Fashion Design Awards, which offer the ultimate platform for talented young designers to gain insight into the fashion retail industry. This includes invaluable experience and exposure to industry professionals, retail fashion design, production and marketing through an internship at Foschini, as well as the opportunity to launch their career through the sale of a limited collection in selected Foschini stores nationwide.
“My love for fashion is inspired by my grandmother, I grew up watching her sew. From the moment she taught me how to hand stitch, I was hooked on creating clothing. I draw inspiration from areas such as architecture, art and looking back in time. My design style is minimalist and structural and I love experimenting with patterns in order to create something new and different and approaching the relationship between the body and clothing in a new way,” she said.
Khumalo is really excited and thankful for this opportunity. It means a lot to her to be part of this competition and to be one of the six finalists as these give her validation as a designer.
The winner of the Foschini Fashion Design Awards is chosen on the basis of the number of votes she gets. The competition runs in five phases from November 2013 to May 2014. Winners of the competition will enjoy a retail design internship at Foschini in Cape Town in June/July 2014, attend a fashion shoot of their garments and launch a limited range in selected Foschini stores in October 2014.
“I entered the competition last year and representatives from Foschini contacted the University and myself to tell me I was a semi-finalist. I had to submit a story board with technical drawings and photographs of two garments I had made before, a video of myself describing those garments and my design style and inspiration. I also had to submit a small garment that showed my sewing ability. I was given a brief to follow for this competition and a theme to work with, which was ‘From Bauhaus 2 Boho’ so I could design anything that fit within this ‘Bauhaus to Boho’ spectrum’ while staying true to my own design style,” she said.
Khumalo reiterated that she does a lot of research before she designs anything. Her main ‘go to areas’ are usually architecture, art, various cultures, nature and historical dress.
“I’m inspired by works by Balenciaga and Issey Miyake. I love the work of David Tlale and all he’s achieved in his career is also so inspirational,” she said. The garment that she submitted for the competition was inspired by the idea of ‘travelling with your home’.
“It was white, in keeping with the Bauhaus theme and because I usually don’t use a lot of colour in my designs. The garment was made of sheer silk organza, because silk organza is made of a natural fibre which worked with the bohemian element and because sheer fabrics are very trendy this season,” she added.
Khumalo wants to win this competition so that she can get an opportunity to work for Foschini as a designer next year. Her plan is to get as much experience so she can eventually start her own brand.
Get voting for S’thandiwe! Register on the Foschini website: www.foschini.co.za and vote!
– Waheeda Peters
Pictured: S’thandiwe Khumalo shows off her white, Bauhaus-themed designs.
