Looking good is good business

From left, Sim Tshabalala, Sindi Shangase, Derrick Mhlongo, Pearl Mzimela and Ntokozo Kunene judge the fashion storyboards received from hundreds of designers who entered this years eThekwini Municipality Business Support, Tourism and Markets Unit Durban Fashion Fair. The fair will be held on September 21 at the Durban Exhibition Centre.

“Today’s Past is Tomorrow’s Future” – that’s the theme of the Durban Fashion Fair 2012.

Focusing on taking design to retail, the Durban Fashion Fair provides an important platform for Durban’s creative industries to access national and international markets.

It includes four fashion shows that will showcase various designer categories – Young Designers, Emerging Designers and Invited Designers.

The cherry on the cake will be a collection by international invited designer, Massimo Crivelli of Milan, Italy.

Previously, the fashion fair was part of the annual Durban Business Fair. This year, however, it is a standalone event that will take place on September 21.

Legacy

The theme this year has not only been chosen to pay homage to the rich legacy of South African fashion and design, but also to inspire emerging talents.

Fashion fundis can catch up with the Durban Fashion Fair spectacle at four shows on the day.

The Young Designer show will run from 2.30pm, the Emerging Designer show from 4.30pm, the Invited Designer show from 6.30pm and the International Invited Designer show from 8.30pm.

Behind the scenes, the eThekwini Municipality will tackle the nuts and bolts of a trendy, but tough, industry.

A five-day business workshop and conference for emerging SMME designers will be held from September 15-21.

This will be presented by internationally acclaimed stylist, Helene Blignaut.

The annual Durban Business Fair will run from September 21-24 and will include a fashion pavilion that will promote more than 30 designers.

With a strong belief that promoting Durban designers cannot stop at the end of the runway, Sindi Shangase, business support programme manager for the eThekwini Municipality Business Support, Tourism and Markets Unit, says that an ongoing fashion academy and international internship programme will see successful candidates that perform well during the business workshop making their way to Italy for a two-month programme that will hone their skills for the fashion industry.

“What better way to promote local designers, link the creative industries to local and international retail opportunities, access international markets and train emerging designers than by holding workshops that can create a real sense of the ‘business of fashion’? This is a sector that is not just about looking good, but doing good business in every sense of those words,” she says.

Shangase also added that she expected the Durban Fashion Fair to become an iconic annual event on the designers’ calendars and a week of fashion inspiration for which the city will be known.

* For more information contact Shangase at 031 311 4497 or visit the Durban Fashion Fair 2012 Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/ DurbanFashionFair or follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/DbnFashionFair – Lifestyle Reporter