17 Year Success
Story
By 1st year Fashion
Communication & Buying student, Tshegofatso Mosiane
In March of 1999 when classes first began
at North West School of Design with only one faculty member and a group of
students you could probably only count with one hand, no one could see how far
this learning institution would come except for maybe the visionary who founded
it, Marlene Oosthuizen.
She set out to open a tertiary fashion
institution unlike any other and a cut above the rest which is exactly what she
has been able to achieve over the past 17 years through hard work, dedication
and with the help from a diverse and qualified team who shared her goals and
objectives for NWSD.
The North West School of Design, the
founder and NWSD’s alumni and students have won numerous awards and
accolades. Marlene has recently been
selected by the South African Chamber Of Commerce as one of the top 5 Women in
Business in 2014. Hit this link for more
info on staff and student awards.
SUCCESS STORY
Another
alumni who proudly flies the black and white school flag is the designer best
known for his signature cotton candy swirl hairstyle and dressing the likes of
Bonang Matheba and Kourtney Kardashian, Gert Johan Coetzee. Coetzee also
happens to have a charitable side shown by the fact that he now has a bursary
programme in his name which gives one lucky student the chance to study at his
former stomping ground. Hit this link
for more info on the Gert-Johan Coetzee Fashion Bursary
In January 2012, the school reached a new
high by being the first collage to offer a vocationally based Fashion
Communication & Buying Course. This is
for students who are in love with the industry but may not exactly be the next
Anel or Gert and rather focuses on the realms of PR, Media, Fashion Show
Production, etc.
The school also now offers a range of
selective courses for students to be able to further broaden their horizons and
diversify their skill set. These courses include Photography, Visual
Merchandizing, Hostess Course and get a new elective introduced
every couple of years.
Not only do students get the opportunity to
create their own beautiful collections for the year end fashion show each year…
…but current students have the opportunity
to dress local celebrities on important red carpets. This is a rare feat for
fashion schools but I mean, when your students are that talented why dare hold them
back?
NWSD students also get to style their
fashion show collections for fashion shoots and lookbooks.
NWSD’s Platinum Fashion Festival started
off as just another fashion school’s end of the year fashion show, but the PFF has
fast grown into so much more. Not as stuffy or alienating as your regular
shows, it has become a family affair and the 2015 PFF is set to be bigger than ever, growing into a
2 day affair.
Throughout the past 17 years, this school
has become a leader and innovator in the
field of fashion education with this only being the beginning and this academic
year not being close to over, the places this school could go are endless and
sure to be remarkable.
A trip down memory lane
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