June 28, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE winning designs in the City's first merchandising competition have been announced and they are undoubtedly going to be must-haves once they hit the shelves.
Contestants, their family members, fashion and jewellery designers and City representatives braved the bitterly cold evening weather to see the top 10 designs in each category. The winners were announced at an event at the Bassline in Newtown on Tuesday, 27 June.
"The designers really made our jobs difficult," said judge Bongiwe Walaza, an acclaimed fashion designer based at the Fashion District. "But we stuck to our criteria of choosing a design that was original, reflective of Johannesburg and which had commercial potential."
Funky fashion
Capturing all of this in the fashion category was designer Yda van der Walt who created a range of kimonos imprinted with sights from Joburg's streets.
Winners of the City’s first merchandising competition: Kevin Friedman, Yda van de Walt, Marcel Steinberg, Bethuel Mapheto, Linda Williams and Peter Mthombeni
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
"We felt that it was very brave of the designer to introduce kimonos into Africa," said Dion Chang, trend analyst and also one of the judges. "The gowns are highly desirable items and they give a fresh expression of Joburg, not to mention that they are superbly designed and executed."
Second prize in this category went to Nthando Xorile for his three patch-sewn skirts featuring Johannesburg's skyline. "It's about time!" said an excited Xorile. "Joburg is the place where everyone on this continent wants to be. I am very proud to say that I am a Joburger and today I want to encourage everyone to keep on creating things that reflect this beautiful place."
In May this year, the City called for designs for products that would capture the essence of Johannesburg.
The goods will be used by the City as mementoes and gifts for visitors and guests, and will also sold by airport shops and at tourist nodes.
Although the competition spanned less than a month, over 500 designs were received for the three categories of clothing, accessories and functional goods. Prizes of R25 000 for the winner and R10 000 for the runners-up were given in each group.
"We received 378 individual entries and the workmanship and creativity of many of them surpassed our wildest imagination," said Walaza.
Accessible accessories
In the accessory category, Bethuel Mapheto and Kevin Friedman shared first prize. Bethuel designed a set of brooches made from recycled materials and the judges described his entry as "funky, fun, inexpensive to produce and ready to be rolled out onto the streets of Johannesburg".
Friedman submitted a range of jewellery that reflected recognisable elements of Joburg like the Hillbrow Tower.
Runner-up Marcel Steinberg scored big points for his design of pictographic bracelets, which featured a mix of historical images and images of the city centre.
Things to use
The best design in the functional design category went to Peter Mthombeni for his range of crockery featuring an element of the Joburg logo. The handles of the cups are shaped like the letter J and are painted gold in honour of the association that Joburg has with this metal.
Peter Mthombeni won first place for his range of crockery featuring an element of the Joburg logo
"I feel like I've won a Joburg Grammy award," said the beaming Mthombeni.
Linda Williams's entry of a bag, cushion and T-shirt with an animated picture of a funky young African girl impressed the judges, and received second prize. "I want to be the first one to have that cushion in my house. The iconography shows off the fresh vibe in Joburg, and there is a broad range of commercial and design possibilities with this one," said Chang.
A later addition to the competition was an invitation to top South African designers to produce work aligned with the theme of the competition. The response was merchandise by big names in fashion and jewellery design like Marianne Fassler, Craig Native and Sun Goddess.
"Joburg must be commended for having the insight to launch an initiative of this nature," said Chang. "Not only is it calling on its people to express their take on Jozi, but it is also providing an opportunity to those who have potential to interface with business and develop and grow the city's creative industry."
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