DESIGNED TO LAST

Designed toLAST

LONGEVITY, PASSION AND STAYING POWER ARE THE HALLMARKS OF THIS RENOWNED DURBAN DESIGNER’S CAREER, CELEBRATING 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS THIS YEAR ... BY SIMPLY STAYING IN HIS LANE AND STICKING TO WHAT HE DOES BEST, WRITES JOANNE HAYES

Hard to believe, but Francois Vedemme, one of Durban’s foremost couturiers, is a trained lawyer, with a BProc from the University of the OFS. After doing his national service, he headed to the big smoke of Johannesburg, where he joined Liberty Life as a junior legal advisor. “The job didn’t make my heart sing,” says Francois, “so I decided to make a complete change and headed to London and then to Hawaii, to work in a bar for a friend who I knew from Jozi, who’d set up a business there.

“It was in idyllic Hawaii that I started sketching fashion. I’d never drawn a thing before that; I had no previous training or even interest, but those sketches became my first portfolio.”

After a year he decided to head home – he was 29 years old, with a law degree and not much of a portfolio to speak of. A friend then introduced him to Tony Aboud, head of fashion at the Durban Technicon, with a view to getting a place in the class. He’d never touched a sewing machine or

pictures aik christodoulou photography and jono nienaber/

pure photographic studio

Mutual trust is paramount with my clients. I need to be able to use my creativity freely, with not too much prescription”

threaded a needle, and his portfolio was not a great advert for his ability, so he didn’t expect much. He got into the course and the rest is history.

Francois started his studies at Durban Technicon in March 1991, selling his car to fund his education. After graduating in 1993, he set himself up in a bachelor flat, living in one half of the room and sewing in his kitchen. In 1995, he was joined by his first seamstress who traded places to sew in the kitchen, while he cut out patterns on his bed. It wasn’t long before he expanded his “empire” to a two-

bedroom flat and an additional handworker/ beader joined the duo. “The very stylish Debbie Davidson was one of my first clients,” Francois remembers, “and it was through her that I became involved in the Durban July Showcase fashion competition.” He entered it for the first time in 1994 and won every category, subsequently winning it another three times, as well as a number of other top accolades including the Durban Designer Collection and Rare Designers at the J&B Met. Another mentor of his is the doyenne of Durban fashion, Sandy Day. “Over 25 years I have grown my client base FASHION TIPS FOR 2021 one person at a time, by sticking to my unique style. I’ve always been detailed in the way I work, starting  Monochrome sets with my sketches and showing  Big florals  of colour  Splashes Yellow every detail of the final garment.»  Grey  Scarves  Masks

I love working with beads and other embellishments, layering one thing upon another to achieve the final effect I’m after.

“I realised early on I was never going to make my mark as a ready-to-wear designer – I was always striving for the WOW Factor!” Francois says the way he works has changed over the years. In the past he’d look for influences, sketch, and then find the fabric. Now he finds the fabric first, which inspires his design.

“Mutual trust is paramount with my clients. I need to be able to use my creativity freely, with not too much prescription.”

When Covid struck in March 2020, Francois had just opened a stylish new studio on the Berea designed by Frank Strydom, and shows in Paris and London were on the slate for the year ahead. For the first month of lockdown, the gorgeous new atelier de mode stood empty, but then a small glimmer of hope – a chance

to get the staff back to work producing winter coats and clothing, a percentage of the sales going to a charity, feeding vulnerable families. Francois credits his success over 25 years to the generosity of clients and friends, many of them supporters for almost as long as he’s been in business. An exciting new development, the culmination of hours in lockdown and surplus pent-up creative energy, is the addition of a Preta-Porter collection, to complement the couture and bespoke offering. Thanks to Frank’s imaginative social media activity, posting new garments and stories every week, awareness of Francois Vedemme in the past 12 months has gone from strength to strength, with Instagram followers growing from 400 to 10 000 and the client base almost doubling. Adapting to the “new normal”, the team also set up an e-commerce capacity for ordering and buying online, and the grand plan – once things return to normal – is to host fashion shows, ladies days and special events in the beautiful courtyard. Until then, Francois says he’s immensely grateful to everyone who has been there for him over the years, most especially over the past year. 2021 has ushered in new challenges, fashion directions, a range of fragranced candles and room sprays, specially created for Francois Vedemme. “We had to diversify to survive,” says Francois, “and that’s why I’m still here, doing what I love.” *