Seed show announces opportunities for young fashion designers

Jul 26, 2019

The event, whose backbone is creating opportunities for budding fashion designers through its platforms, has thrived because of the constant reinforcement from Bayimba Festival of the arts.

During the launch of the Skilled Expressive Entrepreneurs' Design Show (SEED SHOW) 2019 edition earlier today at the Bayimba Foundation Premises in Ntinda, one person stood out on the speaker's panel.

Last year's winner of the SEED Show fashion designers competition Mushira Rabaab Abudala.

Abudala who now runs her own fashion label was up in praises for the SEED SHOW.

"The program opened my mind to a lot of inspiration. As a budding designer last year, I was wet behind the ears. I had a number of ideas but didn't have the confidence to pull them off.

When I was picked among the many designers who applied to be part of the SEED Show, I was surprised. But the many mentorship activities that we were taken through shaped my dream as a fashion designer and now I earn off it.

Before, I was merely a tailor. But now, I am an established designer with a brand name thanks to Ras Kasozi's mentorship," explained Mushira.

Speaking during the launch of the 2019 SEED show program, Designer Ras Kasozi said that the SEED Show uses educational tools like mentorship, inspiration, exposure (to establish industry professionals and industrial processes,) instructive production to help handpicked (on merit) budding designers from across Uganda realize the power of fashion/art as a path to financial empowerment, freedom and the general economic welfare.

 "The budding designers undergo a series of workshops that are tailored to equip them with the knowledge to break into and rule the local and international fashion markets. Evaluation is done at the end of the workshops to determine level of progress. This year's theme is Recycle For Beauty (Industrialized Recycling For Environmental Sustainability. )

 Notably, however, Kasozi mentioned that unlike the past years where the SEED show designers only showcased on platforms like the Bayimba Foundation, Kampala Fashion Week and the Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards, this year's edition will have a grand finale on November 22nd after the known annual activities.

Now in its 6th consecutive year, the program will be organized and hosted by Charles Kasozi alias Ras Kasozi's brand; ‘Kas Wear' in association with Bayimba Foundation and Africalia.

He said that the first, budding designers from across the different Ugandan regions will apply for the mentorship program.

"The parameters of selection for the budding designers has, for the past years, been ranging from originality, art type, creativity, ethnicity in source of inspiration and ability to sketch. But this year, that will not be enough for designers to get through to the level of showcasing at the finale.

Designers will be required to get inspiration from recycling material. They will choose their field of recycling, and proceed to create ‘wearable and stylish' designs from the recycle material. This, of course, will be a segment of the many tests they will have," explained Fashion Designer Ras Kasozi.

The event, whose backbone is creating opportunities for budding fashion designers through its platforms, has thrived because of the constant reinforcement from Bayimba Festival of the arts.

"Designers under the SEED mentorship program will showcase at the Bayimba Festival between 4 August- 5 August. As Bayimba Foundation, we believe art has the power to transform livelihoods. Through the SEED show, young designers are exposed to panoply of opportunities. Every year, the designers that pass through the SEED show program become established in the art and business of fashion. We plan to keep on supporting them because of this very reason," explained Herman Kabubu, on behalf of the Bayimba Foundation Executive Director, Faisal Kiweewa.  

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