Many sleepless nights of designing and sewing will finally pay off for Walter Sisulu University (WSU) fashion students when their garments go on show this Friday.
The institution, in partnership with Da Gama and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, hosts the annual fashion show to give the public an opportunity to see the work of students.
The event will not only see final-year students presenting the collections they have worked on the whole year, but second-year students will also be competing for an internship at Da Gama.
The first-year students have also been included in the fashion event and will have their garments shown at an exhibition on the night.
WSU fashion lecturer Sibusisiwe Nodada said the institution has been working with Da Gama since 2012.
“The Da Gama competition gives our second-year students a chance to showcase their specially made garments. This year they are using a new fabric and we are lucky to be the first people to use it,” she said.
Nodada said the new “banya banya” fabric offered by Da Gama was versatile and could be worn at any event. “The fabric is bright and beautiful. It’s soft and it’s easy to wash. You don’t have to prepare it like the previous one.”
“We feel this has more depth and the student will get groomed and it will give them opportunity to see what the industry is like for a year.”
Nodada said a total of 38 final-year students from the Ibika campus in Butterworth and East London will take part in the show this year.
“Each student has prepared their individual open range, everyone has a different thing that they have made,” she said. Final-year student Nosipho Mapuma said when they first started working on the collections early this year, things were difficult.
“It’s easy to get frustrated when you are not done with your work. Things started changing when we saw our garments coming to life. Seeing the final product is always rewarding,” she said. Mapuma said all their open range garments were ready for the big day.
“It’s the showmanship of what the whole department has been doing the whole year. From the first year to the final year, we are proud of the work that our students have done,” said Nodada.
Tickets for the fashion event, which takes place at Umnenga Lodge in Chintsa, will be sold for R60 at the door. “We will also have a bus from our Cambridge Street campus at 6pm taking students who would like to go watch the show,” Nodada said. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
Hard work to pay off for fashion students
The institution, in partnership with Da Gama and the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, hosts the annual fashion show to give the public an opportunity to see the work of students.
The event will not only see final-year students presenting the collections they have worked on the whole year, but second-year students will also be competing for an internship at Da Gama.
The first-year students have also been included in the fashion event and will have their garments shown at an exhibition on the night.
WSU fashion lecturer Sibusisiwe Nodada said the institution has been working with Da Gama since 2012.
“The Da Gama competition gives our second-year students a chance to showcase their specially made garments. This year they are using a new fabric and we are lucky to be the first people to use it,” she said.
Nodada said the new “banya banya” fabric offered by Da Gama was versatile and could be worn at any event. “The fabric is bright and beautiful. It’s soft and it’s easy to wash. You don’t have to prepare it like the previous one.”
“We feel this has more depth and the student will get groomed and it will give them opportunity to see what the industry is like for a year.”
Nodada said a total of 38 final-year students from the Ibika campus in Butterworth and East London will take part in the show this year.
“Each student has prepared their individual open range, everyone has a different thing that they have made,” she said. Final-year student Nosipho Mapuma said when they first started working on the collections early this year, things were difficult.
“It’s easy to get frustrated when you are not done with your work. Things started changing when we saw our garments coming to life. Seeing the final product is always rewarding,” she said. Mapuma said all their open range garments were ready for the big day.
“It’s the showmanship of what the whole department has been doing the whole year. From the first year to the final year, we are proud of the work that our students have done,” said Nodada.
Tickets for the fashion event, which takes place at Umnenga Lodge in Chintsa, will be sold for R60 at the door. “We will also have a bus from our Cambridge Street campus at 6pm taking students who would like to go watch the show,” Nodada said. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
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