We are getting closer to the Durban July, and Hollywoodbets is lending a helping hand to up-and-coming fashion designers.
As part of the Hollywoodbets Durban July (HDJ) Young Designer Award, presented by the Durban Fashion Fair, Hollywoodbets is awarding bursaries to the top three student designers who entered the competition.
More than 100 aspiring designers – from fashion design colleges and technikons across KwaZulu-Natal – have applied for the HDJ Young Designer Award, and only 25 were shortlisted.
Out of the 25, only 10 will showcase their talent at the main event on July 2, by presenting their exquisite race day outfits inspired by this year’s “Show Me The Honey” theme.
Former Young Designer Award winner Lara Klawikowski (2008) says winning the award helped her launch her fashion career, and she’s happy that 14 years later, HDJ is still at it, assisting young designers.
“I am really quite shy, and winning the Young Designer Award gave me a massive confidence boost. Attending the London Graduate Fashion Week, as part of my prize back then, gave me a great perspective on how I measured up internationally. I came away from that experience firmly believing that I could indeed start my own label, and so I did just that. The moment I returned to South Africa, I went about setting up my label,” she says.
Other successful designers, who benefited from winning the HDJ Young Designer Award, include Sadie Bosworth, who launched her luxe bridal Sadie Bosworth Atelier, shortly after winning the competition in 2014.
“Winning the Young Designer Award in 2014 was a momentous moment that played a major part in shaping my career. It was the marquee event in my early days that gave me the confidence to start my own business,” says Bosworth.
Last year’s competition was won by Lindeka Duma from the Pietermaritzburg School of Fashion.
The Hollywoodbets Durban July will take place at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, July 2.