DURBAN’S GAY DESIGNERS TO SHOWOFF THEIR TALENT

By Smangele Mzizi (BTM Intern)

SOUTH AFRICA – 05 August 2009: For the first time Durban’s gay community will have long awaited opportunity to partake in a fashion show aiming to give gay youth a platform to showcase their designing skills, to be held at Edward Protea Hotel, Marine Parade on 8 august 2009.
  
Titled Styling Durban, The fashion show is a result of an initiative that the Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health centre undertook with Durban’s gay youth who indicated that they were inspired by the city of Durban hence through their designs they will be styling the city.

Explaining the process Nonhlanhla Mkhize of Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre said 14 designers, who have been given fabric materials in colours that celebrate LGBT diversity, have been tasked with designing male and female garments which they will showcase and be judged on.

Mkhize pointed out that having skills of ordinary gay people from disadvantaged backgrounds uncovered is, a dream that this group had accepted will never come true, since they are still unfairly discriminated against and marginalised due to their sexual orientation.

She added that there is much more to gay people “and which should define gay people than our sexual and gender identities.”

Judges for the show include Karen Haynes of Karen Haynes Design Consultants, Sandile Mngadi, Head Designer for Duke Clothes Dour Soul, Ceeye Ngwenya, Director for Ceeye Fashion Studio, Greg Walis, Chairman of the Fashion Council, Chamber of Commerce and Trish Luthuli, CEO for Dark Child Brandz.

The Styling Durban LGBT Fashion Show will take place on the 8th of August in Durban at the Prince Of Wales Room at Edward Protea Hotel, Marine Parade from 18h30 for 19h00.Tickets cost R120 and are available at the Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre.

Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre aims at empower the LGBT community in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal by providing support enabling them to claim their rights to equality, dignity and freedom within the context of transformation.