Designers vow to put Bay talent on map
Second fashion week wraps up with plenty of praise all round
THE second Nelson Mandela Bay Fashion Week (NMBFW) wrapped up at the weekend with national designers Thabo Makhetha and Laduma Ngxokolo praising the initiative and promising to put Port Elizabeth fashion talent on the map.
Star knitwear designer Ngxokolo, originally from New Brighton, closed NMBFW on Saturday night with his MaXhosa by Laduma collection, which included his award-winning shawl voted Most Beautiful Object in South Africa.
Ngxokolo said this was the first time he had had a professional ramp show in his home city and the fashion event at the Tramways Building from Thursday to Saturday exceeded his expectations.
“I was super-overwhelmed, I’ve never gotten that type of excitement in PE before,” he said.
“A lot of people express [their feelings] on social media but this was what I get in Johannesburg every time, so it was epic.”
Ngxokolo is also a judge in Threads, a national fashion business project, and will return to the city on Wednesday to announce the regional winners of Threads.
Fellow Nelson Mandela University fashion graduate Makhetha also started her label in this city before moving to Cape Town to expand.
She opened the NMBFW programme of 23 designers from Port Elizabeth and East London on Thursday with her new collection.
“It was quite exciting to be back home as this is where I graduated and started my business,” she said.
“People are always there for me and it was good to see that even though you’ve left PE, people will still support you.” She saluted the organisers. “They’ve come up with a way to get people excited about fashion. I’ll most definitely be back!”
Ngxokolo also praised the team, all of whom are in their 20s.
“I’ve done and attended a lot of shows and generally the people who organise these shows are not young,” he said.
“Can you imagine what they will be in the next five or 10 years if this is what they are doing now?
NMBFW founder Llewellyn Williams agreed the event had gone very well but noted there was room for improvement.
“It was 10 times better than last year, and I think next year’s event will be 10 times better again,” he said.
“There were one or two issues but the designers all loved it and we’ve had good feedback.”
He said The Space would announce the winner of a six-month contract today, where one designer will be given the chance to stock the Baywest Mall branch of the national chain with his or her range.
ý Watch the video online at The Herald website – www.heraldlive.co.za – and visit the My HeraldLIVE Facebook page for street style galleries.