As the pioneer of an inclusive and aesthetically representative fashion industry in South Africa, South African Fashion Designers Agency (SAFDA) showcases the finest in the country’s dynamic young fashion creatives through the Vukani! Fashion Awards. Now in their 21st year, the Annual Vukani Fashion Awards are proud to be the portal through which the evolution of the first generation of South Africa’s fashion artistry since democracy can be witnessed. This has ensured the agency’s ability to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing industry.   The FP&M SETA 21st Annual Vukani! Fashion Awards stimulate creative competition in the industry by bringing together fresh, young designers, from South Africa and neighbouring countries, who have an eye for fashion with a uniquely African flair that is inspired by the rich cultures of our continent.

The theme for the 2015 installment of the awards is “The Enlightened Ones: Guardians of uBuntu”, and it aims to illuminate the regal and ancient glory of the African aesthetic. The designers are expected to produce wearable showpieces that evoke the deeply earth-connected spirituality that is inseparable from the beauty that is created in everything African. They are required to place Africa in the centre, as the heart from which the world’s energy radiates, reflective of its awe-inspiring nature as the source of humanity and wealth.

The Vukani! Fashion Awards, after a successful inaugural year in SAFDA’s partnership with the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing SETA (FP&M) in 2014, are now raising the standard of the quality of the fabrics that will construct the garments that will be brought to life by new and emerging designers. This collaboration is strengthening the focus on development, training and economic growth and empowerment in a creative space that has immense potential for establishing sustainable businesses and a continuously thriving industry, which already competes at a global level.   Participants in the FP&M SETA 21st Annual Vukani! Fashion Awards go on to be exposed to the industry as artists and entrepreneurs, by gaining valuable access to role players across markets; from local and international fashion buyers, to development agencies and fashion consumers.

The four day event will comprise an Enterprise Exhibition, Seminar and Workshops and the glamourous Young Fashion Designer Awards. Finalists in the Young Designer Category come from all 9 provinces in South Africa, and the Emerging Designer competitors hail from our neighbouring countries.   As host venue of the FP&M SETA 21st Annual Vukani! Fashion Awards, the recently opened Newtown Junction Mall symbolically reinforces the Awards’ evocation of the awakening of a glorious, timelessly rooted, young creative Africa in a globalised world.   

For more information, media queries and high resolution images to be directed to info@jtcomms or call (011) 788 7632.

Issued by JT Communication Solutions on behalf of Vukani! Fashion Awards

Notes to Editor:

(FP & M) SETA

The Fibre Processing and Manufacturing (FP&M) SETA was established by the Honourable Minister of Higher Education and Training on 1 April 2011 after government took a decision to cluster sectors in order to strengthen value-chain linkages between related industries. The FP&M SETA consist of 13 sub-sectors namely the clothing, footwear, forestry, furniture, general goods, leather, packaging, printing, print media, publishing, pulp and paper, textiles and wood products sectors. Although classified individually, the sub-sectors are closely integrated. Together they create tremendous value in the lives of consumers, by converting lumber, pulp, natural or synthetic fibres, animal skins/hides into finished products such as furniture, clothing, shoes, protective equipment, paper and paper board, printing (books, magazines, etc), industrial fabrics and extending into high-tech applications in many different industries (automotive, health and building construction to name a few). If you think about it, you can't go through a day without using one or more of the products manufactured in the fibre processing and manufacturing sector.  

Newton Junction mall

Newtown   Junction   is   the   first significant  economic   injection   in   the   Johannesburg   CBD   in   40   years   and   demonstrates Atterbury’s  commitment   to   urban   regeneration through   its   transformation   of   the   historic   Newtown  precinct  into  a  vibrant mixed‐use  shopping  and leisure  destination  with  prime  office  space.