GJC S/S 2016 - a Fashionable Flair For Education
South African Designer to the stars and NWSD Alumni Gert-Johan Coetzee is celebrating his brand-new Spring Summer 2016 Collection presented by Visa by launching a brand-new bursary and doubling his investment in education by offering not one but two Bursaries to study at North West School of Design.
"Education in SA is under huge pressure. A quarter of 2015's nearly 800 000 matrics failed their final exams; and on some university campuses there are continuing uncertainties after the recent student protests." says Coetzee. 'This generation is the future workforce of South Africa and we need to invest in them."
Coetzee quoted a study by Stellenbosch university Professor Servass Van der Berg, which found that of the 1.2 million children who started Grade 1 in 2002, less than half passed matric 11 years later. ?"The education crises has many aspects, from quality of teachers and the challenges of educating children in their second of third language, to fees being unaffordable to many students. We can't rely on the state to resolve all the problems; it is time for the private sector to get involved and find ways to help," says Coetzee. with his gesture he hopes to inspire other businesses to boost education in their own sectors, he says.
The New bursary will finance one student for a three-year qualification in Fashion Communication and buying at the North West School of Design, where Coetzee Himself qualified. This comes in addition to the existing GJC Fashion Design bursary, which is already in its sixth year.
Bursary applications will open in August 2016
Take a look at his SS16 collection here
Inspired by the idea of African royalty,the collection boasts rich earth tones and rose gold accents, and features textures and techniques that celebrate feminine curves, and " The regal bearing of an African queen", coetzee explains.
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