Johannesburg - From fancy, flowy frocks to glitzy and glam gowns – there’s no doubt that our top 16 will be dressed to the nines and putting their best foot forward when it comes to fashion on pageant night.
This year, the Miss South Africa team have carefully chosen a group of designers to dress the top 16 contestants and they’re also welcoming a few new faces.
READ MORE: Here are the Miss South Africa 2019 top 16 finalists
For the first time this year, the pageant welcomes Palesa Mokubung – the first African designer to collaborate with the giant retail company H&M – and Taibo Bacar, who’s showcased his designs at international fashion weeks including Milan, Lisbon and Brazil.
No strangers to having their beautiful works of fashionable art displayed on the Miss SA stage, are Anél Botha of Anél Botha Couture; Orapeleng Modutle, Warrick Gautier; Galluzzi e Gini – by Cristian Galluzzi and Alessio Gini and Quiteria Atelier by Lebogang Kekana.
But it’s not all about the formal wear. This year’s swimwear section of the pageant will also have a special designer touch.
The top 16 will be showing off their bodies in unique swimwear items, all created by Lloyd Kandlin and his team at The Costume Department.
The team was instrumental in creating the national costumes worn at the Miss Universe pageants by Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters and current Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green, so it will be interesting to see what will be on offer on the night.
We asked the designers to give us a few hints about what they have up their sleeves when it comes to designing the looks for our Top 16 when they take the stage at The Sun Arena Times Square on 9 August.
PALESA MOKUBUNG
"I pride myself in making clothes for every type of woman."
TAIBO BACAR
"Expect chiffon, silk and lots of crystals. We try to shy away from using African print because we want to show the world that Africa offers more than the expected fabrics and designs."
LEBOGANG KEKANA (Quiteria Atelier):
"My look will represent everything African, with all its minerals. For me the most important elements are culture and individuality – where each finalist comes from also plays a vital role."
"My passion is to make sure that each contestant I design for will have the confidence to excel in her quest for the crown due to the way she feels in the gown I specially created for her. Not all my designs will be typical pageant style, nor is the colour something you will expect! All I can tell you is that they will be noticed!"
ORAPELENG MODUTLE
"This year there is an interesting play in the silhouettes which creates a beautiful narrative and synergy with the designs. We are also reinventing and introducing new detailing on the couture garments."
CHRISTIAN AND CLAUDIO (Galluzzi e Gini):
"We’re always inspired by our surroundings. Africa is filled with vibrant colours and incredible textures and you’ll definitely see this being applied to our designs. By adding African elements, we can highlight what this continent has to offer to the world stage which is something to be proud of and positive about. Each dress is started and finished with the contestant in mind. All three of our designs will have different styles – from modern and sexy to playful and classy and chic!"
WARRICK GAUTIER
"I’ll be showing my latest collection of contemporary and modern silhouettes, ranging from my signature sensual hand-embroidered powerful suits and short crystal encrusted dresses, to my long and magnificent red carpet hand-embroidered couture gowns. My work is African Luxury. It’s about capturing the essence and soul of Africa, cutting, draping and embroidered into modern and contemporary silhouettes for an international African woman."
LLOYD KANDLIN (The Costume Department):
"The costumes are inspired by minerals so expect a palette of gold and silver with an interplay of soft and hard which is a metaphor for the many facets of women."
This year members of the public can vote for their favourite contestant on the Miss South Africa website at www.misssa.co.za.
The winner of the People’s Choice will automatically make it to the Top 10 on pageant night.
Miss South Africa is presented by Weil Entertainment in association with Sun International and the LFP Group.
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