10 Upcoming Fashion Designers To Watch Out For
Within each industry there needs to be room for new talent because as one generation fades out, the next one has to carry the baton and continue where they left off. The list below introduces 10 South African fashion designers to look out for:
1. Abigail Keats
Abigail Keats attended Dainfern College in her teen years. She graduated top of her year from the SA London International School of fashion in 2007 and launched her first collection at Audi Fashion Week 2008 as part of the autumn/winter New Generation Designer show. Since then she has also showed her collections at Joburg Fashion Week, Audi Fashion Week and Arise Africa Fashion week – AFI.
2. Lukhanyo Mdingi
Lukhanyo Mdingi who got noticed in his year in university, he has already started making a name for himself in the fashion industry. He was one of the finalists in The ELLE rising star competition. He hopes to become a positive contributor to the fashion world and is confident his designs will do so.
3. Elli-Nicole Sazeides
Elli-Nicole graduated with a BA in Fashion in 2011 from the London International School of Fashion (LISOF). In 2012 and 2013 she was selected as an Elle Rising Star finalist. Her brand ELLI-NICOLE is focused on creating clothing that embodies sophistication and luxury balanced with a slight edge and whimsy.
4. Jenevieve Lyons
Jenevieve Lyons graduated from LISOF in 2012 with the Top Avant-garde Range Award. She has since been busy developing her self-titled label that continues to push the boundaries of conceptual fashion design. She has showcased at the Mercedese-Benz Fashion Week Joburg 2013 and 2014, the AFI Fastrack and Next Generation platforms, as well as been a top 8 finalist in the Elle Rising Star Design Award last year.
5. Julia M’Poko
Born in Belgium, Julia and her parents moved to South Africa when she was still a child. She has always loved fashion, even as a child she would sew clothes for her dolls with her grandmother. She currently has her own fashion brand called “Jullienne” which is inspired by her grandmother. She aims to tell African stories with her designs using feminine, modern African prints, using prints that she created herself.
6. Nicholas Coutts
Nicholas Coutts is the winner of the 2013 Elle Rising Star competition and a student at the Cape Town’s Design Academy of Fashion. The talented women swear designer will be creating a clothing range exclusive to Mr Price, set to hit stores soon, but it’s not just his talent for elegant design that deserves showcasing, his personal wardrobe is worth a second look, too. Nicholas’s style is cool and casual.
7. Brando & Safia Tucker
A couple based in cape town who are the founders and designers behind the popular Illundi designs leather satchel (bag). The idea to design bags came about when Safia was looking for a leather bag to carry her supplies in and she stumbled upon a shop that sold leather. She then started designing bags and made her first bag. The Illundi brand is unique because it produces custom made bags made for the customers and it stands out from other leather bags.
8. Miekie Vermeulen
Mieke Vermeulen is a Pretoria-based artist and fashion designer. In 2012 she was a finalist in the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition and exhibited a pair of designer briefs after Brett Murray’s The Spear, at the Pretoria Art Museum. She is inspired by heritage and history and feelings of longing and belonging. She creates garments with a strong artistic form and concept for rolling stones.
9. Valerie Britz
Valerie Britz is a Cape Town-based fashion designer and founder of the label Val Belle. While studying at The Design Academy of Fashion, she developed a strong interest in graphic and print design, which today forms a central part of her design aesthetic and is hinted at in her most recent collections. Britz produces clothing of high quality, with special attention to detail, in small quantities, giving wearers a sense of exclusivity.
10. Dineo Ranaka
The 30 year-old mother of two has officially launched her three year-old fashion label, Luv DR in 2013. What started off as a sample clothing line can now be found at stores in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Dineo recently debuted her collection at an exclusive event in Sandton. The range featured men’s and women’s clothing. Since the creation of the label in 2010, she has funded the business by herself, buying fabrics and outsourcing seamstresses to produce sample pieces.
