Meet the top 10 finalists, and another rose added to our list of women designer judges!

Proudly SA has announced the top 10 Local Fashion Police 2022 competition finalists. After an intense adjudication session spearheaded by the campaign judges, Proudly SA is pleased to reveal the ten finalists who stand a chance to walk away with fashion worth R20 000 from the judges who’ve selected them and will strut their stuff at the fashion show finale – a fashion meets music celebration of Proudly SA’s 21st anniversary – at the end of November 2022.

@BeckyTracy (Twitter entry)
@Thee Aspiring Queen (Facebook entry)

@Bhongolethu_Tobela (Instagram entry)
@bahtoz (Twitter entry)

@DubulaKaise (Twitter entry)
@obusisayo (Instagram entry)

@jazelles (Instagram entry)
@yayarsa (Instagram entry)

@nelly_faze (Instagram entry)
@ThandazaGal (Twitter entry)

From these finalists only four will prevail and walk away with the grand prize of R20 000 worth of fashion each. In addition, the four lucky fashionistas will take part in the fashion show finale wearing fashion designed by the judge who’s picked them.

Speaking about finding the top finalists, Local Fashion Police judge Sello Medupe from SCALO Designs commented, “South Africa has vast talent and creativity, which came across during our adjudication process. However, considering the number of different entries, we went through an intense process and getting to the top 10 finalists was tough.

Finishing the last threads on the road to the Local Fashion Police finale is the latest edition of the newest judge member, Mapholo Ratau of Ledikana Designs. Mapholo joins Biji Gibbs, Gavin Rajah, Hangwani Nengovhela, and Sello Medupe in finding the ultimate four competition winners and supporters of the local fashion designers.

Ratau is founder of Ledikana, a Johannesburg based fashion brand which specialises in contemporary African garments, hats, and other fashion accessories. Ledikana’s products are handmade and culturally inspired while putting quality at the forefront of their manufacturing process.

“There is talent in South Africa, and if we need further proof that many people are supporting local, this competition has provided the platform for people to show their love, support and pride for local designers and the CTFL Sector overall, we hope that through the competition, people will continue to buy locally made fashion items and help the cause to create jobs even beyond this competition. Congratulations to the top ten finalists,” says Proudly SA Chief Marketing Officer, Happy MaKhumalo Ngidi.

“We are also excited to add Ratau to the judging panel for this year’s final adjudication session. Ledikana is a long-standing member of the Proudly SA campaign and including them in the competition reemphasises our commitment to keep identifying access to market opportunities for our member companies and, secondly, to keep promoting our country’s CTFL sector, a labour-intensive sector with the potential to create thousands of jobs.”

Ratau commented, “I am honoured to be one of this year’s Local Fashion Police. I’m grateful to Proudly SA for highlighting our country’s clothing sector, and I’m very excited to be part of the fashion show at the end of November.”

The competition received 350 entries nationwide this year, excluding the duplicated entries across Proudly SA’s social media platforms. The four winners will be announced on the week of the 14th of November 2022.

For more information, please visit www.proudlysa.co.za and our social media pages:

ENDS
Issued by:
Proudly South African
Bokamoso Ndhlovu
Public Relations Assistant
[email protected]
(+27) 82 607 9510

and

Flow Communication

Ayanda Siswana
PR Account director
(+27) 72 597 8219

[email protected]


About Local Fashion Police 2022
Entrants were given until 21 October 2021 to showcase locally made clothing item (shop-bought or designer wear) or to slip on an existing South African-made item from their wardrobe. They were then requested to snap a selfie wearing the item, including the label of origin (showing that it’s made in Mzansi), tag shop and/or designer and post on Proudly SA’s social media platforms. The Local Fashion Police then selected their finalists who will be part of the finale, the fashion show at the end of November 2022.

About the Local Fashion Police designers:

• Biji Gibbs from Biji La Maison de Couture is a professional couture fashion designer who creates bespoke wedding, celebrity couture and special-occasion gowns. She was the design brains behind Zozibini Tunzi’s stunning Miss Universe gowns
• Sello Medupe of the SCALO fashion house is an exciting emerging designer who was part of the Emerge! Fashion Show during last year’s New York Fashion Week and was commissioned to design the first African Barbie doll outfit in 2019
• Hangwani Nengovhela of Rubicon, winner of an Mbokodo Award that recognises inspiring women, has, over the past two decades, built up one of the country’s most desirable clothing brands, combining effortless style, form-flattering sophistication, tailored craftsmanship and timeless design
• Mapholo Ratau of Ledikana, a South African fashion and accessories brand based in Johannesburg. They specialise in the manufacturing of contemporary African garments, hats, and other fashion accessories. Style and quality is at the forefront of their manufacturing process.
• Gavin Rajah needs no introduction, as one of South Africa’s pre-eminent designers with multiple appearances and plaudits on the international stage. He specialises in handcrafted luxury garments made with the finest fabrics, and recently created a ready-to-wear summer collection for Pick n Pay Clothing

About Proudly SA

Proudly South African is the country’s official Buy Local campaign which aims to stimulate much-needed job creation and retention in our country through lobbying for and promotion of local goods, services, and industries.

Proudly SA lobbies public and private sectors to increase levels of local procurement through their supply chain structures and encourages consumers to do so through changing their purchasing habits.

The organisation is a membership-based organisation and only companies that have been audited and approved are entitled to carry the logo, which symbolises the adherence of that product or service to required local-content thresholds and quality standards. For more information visit www.proudlysa.co.za