BERNINA DRESS YOUR STYLE FASHION STUDENT COMPETITION 2023
FINAL SEW OFF

The 5 students who qualified for the final Sew Off arrived on Monday morning 2th October 2023 at BERNINA RSA for the 3 ½ day Final Sew Off.

From left to right:

• Jan Hendrik van Zyl from Nelson Mandela University
•  Kwangelo Nemukomgwe from Stadio School of Fashion
• Mia Coetzer from University of the Freestate
• Yaseen Abdulla from Nelson Mandela University
• Zandisile Khumalo from Vaal University of Technology.

The assignment for the Sew Off:

Use all 4 different fabrics in the kit provided and complete a Contemporary Black and White outfit, to fit yourself!

Day 1 – And the students are all very quiet. Intensive concentration as they all had to plan their design processes and decide where to use the various fabrics.

 

Day 2 – A ‘lighter’, more relaxed day with lots of chatting and laughing going on. They all started with cut out and construction of the garments. They enjoyed working on the BERNINA sewing and overlocking machines with all the wonderful functions and features.

 

Day 3 and 4 – Tension was clearly building up as they realised that they were working against time, …BUT, they all put their heads down and worked very hard.
It was amazing to see how they encouraged each other and assist with advice where needed.









It was amazing to see how they encouraged each other and assist with advice where needed.

It was a very tensed morning for all the students as they rushed to finish off their outfits, but still cracking some jokes like “don’t worry we will sew you up in your garment if you cannot finish it in time, and the judges won’t even know that….”

Our Special Guest Adjudicator!

Internationally renowned South African designer - Gert-Johan Coetzee, had the major task to do the judging of all the entries. The entries were of a very high standard and for Gert-Johan this was not an easy task.

 

All participants were glad it was over, but each one was happy to show off their final outfits!

 

 

And the prize winners are:

WINNER!

Yaseen Abdulla from Nelson Mandela University (seen on the back right) received a BERNINA 535 Sewing machine PLUS a BERNINA 450 Overlocker VALUED at R 80 000-00

RUNNER – UP!

Jan Hendrik van Zyl from Nelson Mandela University (seen at the back left) received a BERNINA 435 Sewing machine PLUS a bernette 44 Overlocker VALUED at R 50 000-00.

It has been a gruelling week with tight schedules, lots of inspired creativity, dedicated individuals and incredible camaraderie.