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Madlala Braces for “Fashion High’ at Swahili Fashion Week

Madlala Braces for “Fashion High’ at Swahili Fashion Week

While she never imagined herself in fashion, Nomfundo Madlala, a Durban based up-and-coming fashion designer is hoping to make ‘fashion waves’ at the Swahili Fashion Week which opened in Tanzania today (Friday, 5 December 2014) and ends on Sunday next week (7 December 2014).

Held at the Hotel Sea Cliff, Dar Es Salaam, Swahili Fashion Week is the biggest and largest annual fashion event in the whole of East and Central Africa, providing a platform for fashion and accessory designers from Swahili speaking countries and beyond to showcase their talent, market their creativity and network with clientele and the international fashion industry. This is all aimed at emphasising to the region that fashion is an income generating creative industry, meanwhile promoting a “Made in Africa” concept.

Last year (2013), Madlala’s human anatomy women’s fashion range won the Best Range on Show award at the finale of the Annual DUT Fashion Show. The earthy tones of burnt orange and red used on the winning range were a continuation of the human muscular system. “The objective was to create an eccentric emotion and mood so that the audience could ‘live and breathe the garments’,” said Madlala at the time.

By the age of 10, Madlala, who was born and raised in the outskirts of Port Shepstone under the Kwa-Madlala location, was already drawing fashion sketches that later developed into an ability to design. She however had no interest in pursuing fashion design as a career. “I just drew these sketches and had no interest in taking up fashion as a career. It was only after I had completed my matric that I fell in love with the fashion industry, which thereafter led me to do a course in Fashion and Textiles at the Durban University of Technology in 2010,” she said.

Nomfundo Madlala 1

Madlala has managed to establish and attain a design aesthetic through practical and theoretical skills which combines nature themes and anatomy reflected in handwork techniques and three dimensional patterns. With these skills, she feels confident that she is capable to not only operate in South Africa but internationally as well.

Madlala’s collection for Swahili Fashion Week is a seven piece range of dresses, dedicated towards biology and human anatomy, inspired by a microscopic view of musculatures and aims to emulate the structures by miniature fabric manipulation. This has been done by hand which has been a signature that has manifested throughout all of the garments. The musculature themes were thereafter echoed in mood stimulating colours of ochre in various ranges from reds, brown-oranges to gold.

“I am so grateful for the expertise I have attained from DUT. May all my achievements propel me forward and allow me to be an inspiration to others and may the University continue to produce and unearth notable individuals who make a great mark in society,” said Madlala.

– Noxolo Memela

Pictured: The creative and dynamic Nomfundo Madlala is hoping to make fashion waves at the Swahili Fashion Week. Pictured is her fashion range for the Swahili Fashion Week event.

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