May 16, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
BRIDAL Africa was a weekend-long extravaganza of everything matrimonial, beginning with a show of the winning bridal designs in the Young Designer Awards and followed by the long-awaited exhibition by wedding suppliers.
On Friday, 12 May, 10 nervous finalists in the Young Designers Award, their families, models, event sponsors and organisers met at Gallagher Estate Ballroom in Midrand to announce and show off the winning designs.
The award provides promising talent with an entry point into the South African design industry. There were four categories this year, and from the hundreds of entries received these designers were selected to bring to life the ideas they had submitted on paper.
A three-piece gold suit created by 21-year-old bachelor of commerce and clothing design and technology student Neelufer Patel won her first place in the bridegroom category.
"By using a fabric called A Time to Shine, my suit tends to be reminiscent of days gone by and represents a feel of romance and opulence. This suit would most definitely be the perfect suit for the perfect wedding," she explained.
In the classic-traditional category, 23-year-old Fleur Beyers won the judges' approval with her design – a classic wedding dress with a floral theme.
"Fleur [is] French for flower [and] I wanted to incorporate that into my design, combined with a subtle African theme to create a glamorous gown that reflects South Africa's multi cultures, areas of personal interest to me such as 17th century apparel, the early 1900s and avant-garde haute couture," she said.
Petrus Laubscher, who is studying for a national certificate in design technology, won in the category of multi-cultural ethnic bride. His eclectic, two-piece, earth-coloured gown consisted of a corset decorated with a combination of turkey, ostrich and wild bird feathers, glass beads, stones and broken pieces of ostrich egg.
To achieve a multi-layered effect on the knee length skirt, he combined alternative colours of silk and added feathers at the seams.
The winner in the fantasy-avant-garde category was Francisco Baretto. The inspiration for his gown came from an African warrior, the corset inspired by a shield and the layered skirt made with eye-catching beads.
Bridal Africa itself opened on Saturday, 13 May at 10am. More than 100 exhibitors displayed attractively arranged samples of what they had to offer to would-be brides. There were stalls offering ideas for wedding cards, photography, the latest in wedding cake decorations, weight-loss programmes and make-up for the bridal party.
Fashions shows were held on both days and featured the designs of the award finalists and creations of the fashion designers who were exhibiting at the show.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
