Sibu Msimang crowned Durban Designer of the Year as DFF marks 15 years

Durban Fashion Fair closes its 15th edition with a new set of winners

The 15th Durban Fashion Fair closed with Sibu Msimang named Durban Designer of the Year, capping a milestone edition that brought approximately 84 designers to the Durban Exhibition Centre.

The event ran from 16 to 18 September under the theme “Where Legacy Lives”, before the Recognition Awards were presented on 19 September. The programme mixed established labels with 20 designers from the DFF Class of 2026 mentorship pipeline, alongside participants from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and Seychelles.

The awards spread recognition across the fashion value chain

The Recognition Awards did not concentrate attention on a single category. Zwandy won Best Ladieswear Collection, House of Vyagor Louvre took Best Menswear Collection, and Kireshen Chetty was named Collection of the Week.

Martin Bespoke received the Fashion Innovator Award, while Nellie D Designs won the Next Generation and Emerging Durban Designer Award. KARENMONKKLIJNSTRA and Mita-N Dezynz both received Special Recognition Awards.

For Msimang, the Designer of the Year title followed a closing-night runway appearance in a programme that deliberately paired fashion with heritage and personal storytelling.

Fifteen years later, the bigger story is the pipeline

The fair now sits inside a broader eThekwini fashion-development system. According to the municipality, more than 375 designers and 325 models have been trained through the programme over the past 14 years.

That makes the fair more than a runway showcase. Buyers and representatives from retailers including Edgars, Kangol, Mr Price and The Hub attended this year’s event, giving designers direct access to potential commercial relationships.

DFF’s long-term value will be measured by whether that exposure turns into sustainable labels, retail placement and jobs. But its 15th edition showed the platform still has enough scale to bring emerging designers, established Durban names and continental participants into the same room.

For a South African fashion industry often concentrated around Johannesburg and Cape Town, Durban’s ability to sustain its own talent pipeline remains the more consequential part of the story.