The grandest of them all

June Shimuoshili
Zephyr Namibia held its second annual fashion show on Saturday night featuring garments by six up-and-coming Namibian designers: Christine Visser, Sean Renaldo Cloete, Happy Xamises, Maila Kalipi, Salmi Shilongo and Matheus Erastus. The models were the 39 Miss Grand Namibia finalists.
Matheus Erastus won Best Overall Designer Collection.
He will be on the judging panel of Miss Grand Namibia 2016 and he will also design the international wardrobe for the winner of Miss Grand Namibia 2016 to wear in Las Vegas in October 2016.
The Miss Grand Namibia finalists were competing for the title of best ramp model and the winners in this category will be revealed at the Miss Grand Namibia crowning gala on 9 July 2016. The show was a platform for designers to showcase their talents and for the models to experience being on a catwalk which is very different from the pageant styles they are used to.
The show was hosted by singer Blesser Malkah and opened by emerging designer Christine Visser from Grootfontein. Christine Visser dressed the youngest finalists in silk bubble dresses which she also gave to each contestant to keep. Happy Xamises used the denim concept dressing the pre-teens and teen finalists. Happy Xamises is an emerging designer from Grootfontein. Sean Renaldo Cloete from Rehoboth stunned the audience with his ‘Africa meets Sophistication’ collection, turning the traditional ondelela concept into high-end gowns. Maila Kouture had an edgy fun-filled collection, which was based on geometric shapes.
Salmi Shilongo closed her show with bursts of colour. Salmi’s collection had a lot of cocktail dresses and gowns and each girl felt like a princess in Salmi’s clothing.
The judges were most impressed by Matheus Erastus’ collection who displayed his talent for design with garments featuring neutral earth colours and a bit of denim. His collection was ‘uber sophistication’ and the models felt amazing.
He paired each garment with jewellery that he made. The judges Nikola Conradie and Chakirra Classen are both seasoned designers and were very pleased.
They also took a moment after the show to give each designer advice for the future. Miss Grand Namibia 2015 - Unongo Kutako and Rachel Mengela were judging the models and the top four ramp models will be announced at the crowning gala. Matheus Erastus will be featuring another collection at the event and will also be on the panel of judges.

JUNE SHIMUOSHILI

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-24

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