Discovering New Talent

To kick off fashion week, ELLE hosted the New Talent Pre-party at the Crowne Plaza's Circle Bar. The ELLE NEw Talent search is a great initiative that has been going on for over a decade now. It is sponsored by Mr. Price, one of the leading high street stores in South Africa, which provides accessible fashion in the same way that Primark do in London. I think it is a great platform for a new designer to establish themselves on the market. Previous winners include David Tlale (who was at New York Fashion Week this year) and Tiaan Nagel, one of the most interesting South African designers at the moment. The prize is a trip to London to learn about marketing and what goes into branding High Street chains, followed by a mentorship program with Mr. Price, which exposes the designer to a full retail cycle. Mr. Price will also contribut R5000 to the creation of the designer's first collection. ELLE will help make sure that the winner is up-to-date with a year's subscription to the magazine.

The winner will be revealed tomorrow night at the catwalk show, but here are some mock-ups of the clothing (made entirely of paper) and some pictures from the party. Enjoy & Stay fabulous! xxx

Jackie Burger, ELLE's Editor, introducing the contestants.

Sculptural Prints by Celeste Lee Arendse. I really like the necklaces and the dress on the left. I would definitely wear it.

Jonica Gubula, show-stopping in an aquamarine jumpsuit. The dress & jacket are a very cute combination.

Liza Benson


Marize Malan

The gorgeous Naomi Motlhamme adds some rich colour and texture to the selection.

Elme Bekker

Megan Perks

HEr designs are my personal pick. I LOVE the details here. That shoulder is a great touch. With more experience & development, I can see her bringing something new to the Saouth African market.

This one shows the details a little more (if you look really closely). There are flowers on the bodice of the dress (left) and a triangle print on the skirt of the dress (right). I wonder if she will get the same effect with cloth material?

Anisa Mpungwe, last year's winner

Some styllish revellers




Cheska (my co-worker & partner-in-crime at ELLE) & myself.

It will be interesting to see how these collections look in their actual form. All will be revealed tomorrow night.