A Pick n Pay Initiative in Association with Atelier Gavin Rajah Pick N Pay is supporting emerging designers along with designer, Gavin Rajah by launching a new project, Futurewear, dedicated to finding the new guard of South African creatives. The project will support and provide creatives with mentorship in business and practical application of skills in a commercial environment. This project seeks to be an incubator that nurtures talent, refining their creative process and assisting to entrench their brands in the South African market. The new fashion landscape requires a new breed of designers that are in touch with the changing business of fashion and economy. They should be agile, possess many skills, be adaptable and keen to refine their craft. Creatives do not necessarily have to have a fashion training but should have a strong aesthetic and point of view from a design perspective.

A key element to this project is that there will a strong element of social responsibility and sustainability. Responsible citizenship, a sense of compassion and a celebration of diversity is key for the applicant. The project is strongly driven by fostering a circular economy, manufacturing locally and sustainability

Conditions for application:

Notwithstanding the above description the following are necessary criteria:

Creatives must be South African citizens and must be 18 years old or more. No applicant may have collaborated in the past with other retailers in South Africa or been part of a mentorship programme in the last 18 months. Applicants must have a completed some form of tertiary education or must demonstrate an exceptional level of competence in his/her field. Applicants must be prepared to be part of a rigorous programme that involves strict deliverables based on a timeline. 10 Candidate’s will be shortlisted. Once this is announced they will be required to design a print for Pick N Pay as a key condition of illustrating their understanding
of commerciality. All 10 candidates will be interviewed and expected to discuss their prints and many aspects of themselves, such as their resources (time, access to technology and working in the corporate world). Thereafter 2 candidates will be chosen based on the work and their ability to interpret this into commercial silhouettes. There are clear expectations for the candidates which must be met due to production deadlines. Applicants must send a one-page essay limited to 700 words that basically defines their aesthetic, personality and future ambitions. In addition, they must send a mini-lookbook of work done which is not more than 3
pages.

All of this must be sent in a single document in PDF format to futurewear@gavinrajah.com Applications must be sent by no later than the 30th September 2022. Shortlisted applicants will have to attend an interview in the first week of October 2022.