Four students from the Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design outside Stellenbosch reached the finals at the 2005 Laborie Bridex SA Cape 2005 Young Designer Award . This year the competition drew more than 300 entries from across the country.

The prestigious competition challenged young designers and fashion school students younger than 30 to celebrate the uniqueness of being South African with the theme “ Yes, we are part of this world and proudly South African!” The academy students pulled out all the stops to impress the judges, who were looking for originality, creativity, wearability and marketability.

According to director Elizabeth Malherbe, the students did tremendous work to qualify for this very challenging competition. “We are really proud of their accomplishments and the quality of work our students provided for this exhilarating competition.”

Stephan Olivier designed an extravagant protea-inspired dress embroidered with beads, sequins and crystals, while Mirja Seltzer was inspired by African elegance in black and white interpreted through the use of porcupine quills. Nicola Oliver was responsible for an ethnic inspired design strikingly dominated by white, but added tantalising visual effects with a leather corset with hand printed detail on the skirt.

According to Ian van Vreeden from Bridex SA, the feedback received from the panel of judges at this year's competition was extraordinary. “They were highly impressed with the quality of the designs and the general standard of the garments presented by the young designers. I have noted the involvement of schools such as the Elizabeth Galloway Academy, which I think were great. Students definitely need strong support to encourage creativity and the school's commitment to nurturing young talent is evident in the fact that four Elizabeth Galloway students reached the finals,” said van Vreeden.

According to one of the judges, Rooi Rose fashion editor Giselle Hön, they were astonished by the emerging talent showcased during competitions such as the 2005 Laborie Bridex SA Cape 2005 Young Designer Award. “It gives us a glimpse of the future of the fashion industry in South Africa and it is great that these competitions encourage creativity and individuality from young designers.”

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