By all accounts, South Africa should have been represented at the event, to take place during London Fashion Week from February 19.

Alex Bratt, senior press officer at the British Fashion Council, said: "We invited all embassies and cultural institutes in London to participate in this project. The South African embassy was interested in participating but unfortunately they decided not to participate in the end."

Puzzled about why South Africa was excluded in the line-up, editor of local fashion website iFashion, Emma Jordan, posted an article on the site in which she asked: "Why, among fashion talent from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Botswana, does South Africa not appear on the list of participants?"

Jordan said that in October Jacob Mathopeng, the marketing officer for the Department of Trade and Industry at the South African High Commission, sent Jordan an e-mail, saying that the commission had been approached by the British Fashion Council to participate in the show.

He was looking for recommendations as to who to submit for participation.

However, when she queried South Africa's exclusion from the show, he said questions should be directed to Phindile Xaba, of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation.

But Xaba was unavailable for comment yesterday.

According to the British Fashion Council website, the work of over 80 international emerging designers will be showcased and the public, international press and buyers will have the opportunity to explore the collections of some of the most innovative, emerging fashion designers from around the world.

Said Jordan: "I think it's shameful. South Africa's cultural representatives in London have got no idea about what's happening in terms of South African fashion."