Bay couturier has designs on saving the environment

Couturier Jason Kieck is the latest of several Nelson Mandela Bay fashion designers to raise the metro’s fashion credits, bringing a new range to the ramp in Port Elizabeth in September and Pretoria in October.

Kieck’s Desert Nights collection of 40 designer garments will be unveiled at a charity gala to be held at the Boardwalk Hotel on Saturday September 28.

After this, the designer who has dressed two Miss Worlds and 10 Miss South Africas takes the show to Pretoria and says he is “anxiously excited” about the national platform.

The event also has a new beneficiary for the Pretoria gala, in the shape of the Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA), headquartered Port Elizabeth. The Igazi Foundation is the beneficiary for the Bay show.

“The Wilderness Foundation has a holistic approach to its work, helping not only species and spaces but also people,” Kieck said.

“The WFA’s grassroots approach to youth development is inspiring, from taking youth without any positive outlook in life and developing their skills, through the basics of nature and the peace found in the wild. The result is employable young adults who then have a hope and a future.”

Kieck took a team of Bay models for a similar fashion extravaganza to Pretoria in 2018.

Now he returns with a larger production in partnership with the Capital City Business Chamber for its annual prestige gala dinner at the Sun Arena on October 24.

Kieck said the evening gowns modelled on both nights had three themes, reflecting on-trend colours in the fashion world as well as an environmental message:

● The meeting of sand and sea, reflecting the importance of protecting the oceans;

● The desert rose, a reference to how beauty can flourish in harsh conditions, and

● Midnight oasis, showing how precious water is for the planet.

He hopes to take his work in the direction of sustainable fashion for future collaborations with the WFA.

“Sustainable fashion is important because what we wear has a point of origin, from design through to fibre.

“And, with nearly eight billion people on the planet, that point of origin needs to be natural, ethical, traceable and sustainable – otherwise we face a future in which our environment will suffer further consequences for our choices.”

Singer and presenter Buli G – now commuting between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth for her career in the world of sports management – will MC the show alongside TV personality and one of Cape Town’s leading dental cosmetic surgeons, Dr Zak Schabort.

For the Pretoria event, longtime favourite “man at the mic” Ian von Memerty will be the MC. In addition to an auction, there will be entertainment from Naomi Tagg and team.

Although the Igazi Foundation is beneficiary of the Port Elizabeth event, proceeds from the Pretoria gala will go to the WFA.

Past galas Kieck has presented include Whispers of the Orient, Hope of Africa, Elemental and Belle Epoque.

Tickets at R1,000 include a five-course dinner and may be bought by visiting Desert Nights on Facebook. Further information from jason@jasonkieck.com 041-581 0306.