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FIVE MINUTES WITH ELLE NEW TALENT WINNER, KELLY ESTERHUYSE

26 Sep 2011
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Kelly Esterhuyse is the 2011 winner of the ELLE New Design Award. We caught up with her just days after she won this prestigious award, to ask …

Kelly’s winning collection

Has it sunk in yet?

I am feeling incredibly overwhelmed. I don’t think an event of this magnitude, something that is this special to me, can sink in immediately. It will definitely take a while for these feelings to subside. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity ELLLE and Mr Price have given me as a young designer.

How did it feel when your name was called? What was the first thing that came to your mind?

I was SHOCKED! It just didn’t feel real when my name was called out. The first thing that came to mind was ‘is this really happening?’ It felt like one of my lifelong dreams had come true. This is something every young designer aspires towards achieving.

Your winning range used Merino wool – why did you choose this textile?

My range consisted mainly of mohair, the hair from the Angora goat. I chose mohair because i felt (and still feel) that mohair is a somewhat overlooked medium in the fashion industry in South Africa in terms of ‘new’ design. Additionally, as the Eastern Cape is the mohair capital of the world, I decided to support our local textiles industry and create a mohair range. I also used mohair because it is an incredibly luxurious and versatile fibre.

Do you consider knitting your signature aesthetic?

I wouldn’t consider knitting as my signature aesthetic as this was the first time I worked with it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the medium and would definitely love to use mohair in my future designs.

Your range was also inspired by the skeleton. Can you explain why you chose this as your inspiration?

The geometric shapes on an X- ray inspired the patterns on my knitwear. At the time I had a lot of tension in my back from all the sewing I was doing. I googled ‘tension’ and I was inspired by the patterns on the X-rays.

You are now off to spend some time at Mr Price head office and work on your range for Mr Price. What are you hoping to get out of this experience?

I am hoping to gain more experience and exposure through the Mr Price mentorship! I am expecting the weeks in one sense to be no different to other projects I did for my degree at varsity, in terms of meeting deadlines and so on. There will be hard work to get through! But I also expect the two weeks to be beneficial to me as a designer in terms of reaching out and designing a commercial range to be worn by the public.

Complete the sentence: My first memory of fashion was…

… seeing Karl Lagerfeld’s range on the catwalk.

Who would you most like to dress?

Lady Gaga

Who is your fashion designer icon?

Alexander McQueen

Tell us three things that we need to know abut designer Kelly Esterhuyse.

I’m determined, ambitious and have faith in God.

If you weren’t a designer you would be…

… a game ranger!

Back stage at the ELLE New Talent Show

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lungile on 5/2/2012: not much but im willing to join the elle fashion im a young fashion designer very talented.how can i join?im around jhb