Top African fashion designers rub shoulders with Miss World SA finalists in Rustenburg

Top African fashion designers Adama Ndiaye from Senegal and Mozambican Taibo Bacar are spending time with the Miss World South Africa finalists, talking fashion.

The finalists are on a weeklong camp which aims to train and prepare them for the main pageant night in October. One of them will go on to represent South Africa at the Miss World pageant, expected to take place early next year.

Ten finalists are in Rustenburg for a boot camp where they are having sessions with seasoned professionals such as branding, fashion, marketing and public speaking specialists. 

Ndiaye, who also goes by the name Adama Paris which is the name of her fashion brand, whose pieces can be found in New York City, Tokyo, London and Paris, spoke to the 10 finalists about what fashion means to her and shared advice on selecting the perfect piece for pageant night.

She divides her time between Paris and Dakar and is also founder of Afrika Fashion Awards and the Dakar Fashion Week.

Ndiaye said contestants choosing to wear something that looks great and works best with the unique features of their bodies is important.

“I am happy to be here. I'm excited to see how they are going to move forward in this [Miss World pageant adventure,” she said.

Ndiaye said though it's important to represent one's culture in choosing an outfit for a pageant such as Miss World South Africa, it was also important to mix and embrace other cultures as we live in a global village.

Taibo Bacar's brand Taibo Bacar is the first African brand to showcase at Milan Fashion Week.

“It's a great moment and opportunity to be with the girls to teach them something and also learn from them,” Bacar said.

He was excited to spend time with the finalists during their boot camp.

“I am very excited, they are intelligent and they all ready to contribute to a better world.”

The finalists are being trained and given advice on, among other things, ramp work, fundraising, speech writing and humanitarian work.

The Miss World South Africa finalists are wrapping up their weeklong boot camp which ends on Thursday.