Border Technikon’s team of three lecturers and five students joined one of the country’s hottest new designers Craig Native in Port Elizabeth to workshop a unique theme for the province for this year’s SA Fashion Week.

The creative design workshop, organised by SA Fashion Week and sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture, aims to harness the talents of South Africa’s fashion and craft artists, and profile these at the country’s most prestigious fashion event.

Through a collaborative effort with the province’s craft development agency, the Eastern Cape Craft Development Agency (ECCDA), a Border Technikon team of three lecturers and five students joined one of the country’s hottest new designers Craig Native, in Port Elizabeth to workshop a unique theme for the province for this year’s SA Fashion Week.

“The theme and garment ideas which flowed from this process had to have appeal to the market so we could produce sales,” says Border Technikon coordinator for the fashion programme Thabo Sikukula.

The mentoring initiative resulted in the technikon’s boxing theme, The Rose versus the Beast – a theme the team believed epitomised the Border region.

“This was followed by inputs from our 46 second year students who developed a complete line of garments, amongst these four creations – a denim skirt, earrings, towel and ceramic pot – which were later chosen for display at the week,” says Sikukula.

Orders for the garments will be executed by the students; the earrings are to be outsourced to local crafters.

The group also travelled to Johannesburg to attend SA Fashion in July to experience the industry first hand.

“The trip was invaluable as it improved our understanding of a great show is. Our expo is due to be held from 26 to 31 October, so expect only the best,” ends Sikukula.

It is planned that crafters will be included in next year’s workshop.

Showing off the Border Technikon creations are Tandi Sulo, Tando Zamxaka, Nonkqubela Bonkolo and Melikhaya Sandi.