Nozwelo Nxumalo and Eldelene Marais (21) emerged winners of the ELLE bursary competition after impressing the judges with their sketches.
To enter, aspiring designers had to submit two sketches, one under the category of Urban Couture and the other under Urban Street, along with a 200-word motivation on each design. The entrants also included a write-up on how they would benefit from winning the bursary.
Despite getting seven distinctions for her first year at Wits Tech where she studied fashion design, Nozwelo was forced to drop out because of financial constraints. She has been taking odd jobs to try to raise enough money to continue her studies, but this has been difficult, she says.
“The reason why I love the art of fashion is because I believe it's a form of language in which we engage with society,” she said.
For Eldelene, a fine arts graduate currently studying towards a BCom, fashion has always been her first love. “It is such an honour to be able to study at such an amazing school. It's the opportunity of a life time.”
The magazine's editor, Jackie Burger, said the standard of entries was high and Nozwelo and Eldelene had excelled hence the decision to award scholarships to both of them.
