The designers, known for their sumptuous designs feted on local and international ramps, were matched with the sixteen teams' superfans competing in the 2015 Nedbank Cup through an innovative campaign that sees the world of soccer and fashion collide.
Taking their cue from football codes, designers including David Tlale, Gavin Rajah, Anisa Mpungwe and Craig Jacobs lined up in two groups to each select a football super fans for whom they will create football inspired outfits in the Nedbank Cup Football Fan Fashion challenge.
"I am thrilled to be working with Bloemfontein Celtic. I'm sure we'll create yet an amazing showstopper," said David Tlale, who has just returned from showcasing his latest collection at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.
"Being able to think out of the box to create something which blends my fashion background with one of the country's biggest sport is a fantastic challenge, " said Durban's Kathrin Kidger.
Now in its second year, Nedbank Football Fan Fashion captures the bank's mission of making things that really matter happen.
At the centre of the campaign are the game's super fans - those dedicated supporters who wear the love for their teams on their sleeves, painting their faces in their team colours and creating elaborate headgear to finish off the look.
Through Nedbank Football Fan Fashion each super fan will work closely with a top designer, who in turn will mentor a student designer from one of three fashion schools across the country in designing pieces, which draw inspiration from the supefans' colours and iconography.
The students will be selected from three of the country's top fashion institutions: University of Johannesburg (UJ), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and Durban University of Technology (DUT).
"Not only does Football Fan Fashion recognize the many common threads between the beautiful game and fashion, but it also enables us to make the dreams of emerging design talents a reality by allowing them to be mentored by the country's fashion masters. And, it gives super fans an opportunity to partner with recognized fashion designers to move football fashion to new heights,' said Nkosinathi Msiza, Senior Communication Manager at Nedbank.
Remaining true to its core business, Nedbank will also empower the participants and its clients with financial literacy and practical solutions, active support and sound financial advice to budding entrepreneurs, giving them the necessary tools needed for their training and development.
The bank also believes that proper training and financial planning are crucial to incubate strong business acumen. Through the MyFinancialLife program Nedbank provides a great online planning tool, which helps aspirant entrepreneurs to track and manage their budgetary allowance.
In design, it's important to plan and manage one's finances and programs such as MyFinancialLife should help the design teams manage their budgets prior to each production spend, as they prepare for the Football Fan Fashion Challenge.
The 2015 Nedbank Cup Football Fan Fashion Challenge will be judged by an esteemed panel of fashion experts: top stylist Jenny Andrew, Sunday Times social columnist Thembalethu Zulu and media influential Lerato Tshabalala.
