Taking a stand for Durban at the South African Fashion Week Spring/ Summer 2017 Collections, in Hyde Park, Johannesburg this week were top Durban University of Technology fashion students.
DUT Rise of the OXX’ Collection, showcased on Wednesday night, featured Janine Turner, Jessica Shuttleworth, Leandri Mulder, Nishthi Sewnath, Nivadni Sewnath, Simone Bufe, Tide Louw and Yanela Mtolo.
Well-known designer Gideon and Head of Creative Design explains, “The mission of the OXX is to restore world order, using whatever means necessary. Students explored the theme and its meaning in a fashion context, both on a personal interpretative level and within the parameters of familiar fashion concepts that they stretched or reinvented.”
They seemed to have drawn inspiration from the global environment, through self-discovery and identity and in some instances, decided to make a social statement.
Janine Turner created a whimsical folklore inspired range, called Chimera.
Jessica Shuttleworth, explored the “Geomorphology” or as she puts it, what remains is the beauty, erosion and geological surfaces, which are imagined as digital textile prints and shapes for this range.
Kintsugi, a spiritual Japanese practice which gives waste fabric new life, embracing flaws, inspired Leandri Mulder.
Nishthi Sewnath envisioned a clinical world after the apocalypse with Nivadni Sewnath, went on a journey informed by the Xhosa Abakwetha blanket. Her range blurs gender and signifies a return to our roots.
Simone Bufe used three-dimensional handwork to explore human and elemental textures to find beauty in decay. Tide Louw looked at the nomad: rootless, roving, drifting. Yanela Mtolo created a range inspired by traditional Xhosa women's costumes styled with second hand items in a return to her roots.
