Our Durban Fashion Fair 2019 mentees are already hard at work, not only enhancing their creativity but honing their technical and business skills under the watchful eyes of some of the city’s top fashion professionals.
One of these mega sponsors is Fabric and Bridal, something of a Durban icon when it appears to supply the finest fabrics for special events.
The 20 up and coming youngsters who make up this year’s DFF mentees have each been gifted with a voucher that will allow them to mix and match everything from fabulous florals to luxurious silks and decadent brocades as they prepare the collections that will be showcased on the DFF runway on Wednesday, September 25 at the Durban ICC.
A family business that has been selling beautiful fabrics for over 40 years, Fabric and Bridal has long been a leader in retail fashion textiles. “The character of this business is to help promote, support and develop the local fashion industry and designers wherever possible. eThekwini is a city that breeds so many talented designers and has a rich culture of diverse fashion,” Moe Saloojee says.
Fabric and Bridal collaborated with Karen Monk Klijnstra in 2017 and Mita-N Dzyns in 2018 and, this year, over and above the generous sponsorship already afforded to the class of 2019 mentees, they will also provide exciting prizes for the three top mentees that will be announced at the DFF Recognition Awards night on Saturday, September 28.
Moe Saloojee, whose introduction to the world fashion was at the age of eight behind the beads and small accessories counter at the family’s first small shop in Prince Edward St (Durban Central), is passionate about fashion. He has since taken over and now heads up this exciting business.
“I think the fashion business is one about which you have to be somewhat passionate in order to succeed as designs, trends colours and fashion transforms, changes and develops continuously. So, you have to be someone who is completely interested in your product – not just the margin,” he explains.
Adding to this, is the 2019 Mentees instructor, Greg Wallis of G&D Apparel, “Every year we have a battle with the mentees being able to keep up with the pace of meeting deadlines in the preparing of garments for their collections at DFF. The students have to procure sales, to earn an income, so as to purchase cloth for their collections. This can be a slow process”.
“Fabric and Bridal are a great resource for fabric, and with this sizeable sponsorship, it will certainly make the lives of the mentees easier. We are very grateful to Fabric and Bridal for their contribution to the 2019 DFF Mentees and the assistance to Durban Fashion Fair 2019”, he added.
For more information about our designer mentees’ journey from the classroom to the runway at the 2019 Durban, Fashion Fair which takes place at the Durban ICC from September 25th to 28th follow #DFF2019 / @Dbnfashion_fair / @fabricandbridal / #madeindurban / #supportlocal.
Tickets will be available from August at webtickets.co.za