For the fourth annual edition of the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards, we welcome on board a new panel of judges. This year, we have included a strong global perspective to the judging panel.

We are confident that this dynamic panel, with wide-ranging and multidisciplinary expertise, will offer a refined outlook that matches the calibre of talented makers, designers, creators, thought-leaders, and innovators who enter the 2022 awards. Find details on how to enter the awards here. Closing date is 11 October 2022.

[Thank you to our sponsors and partners for making this event possible: Country Road, Mount Nelson, Curbon, Levi’s South Africa, POLO South Africa, PETCO South Africa, Hotel Verde, Cape Heritage Hotel, British Council #SouthernAfricaArts, Goethe Institute, Sunday Times Lifestyle, Eco Standard South Africa.]

The jury members for 2022 are:

Nisha Kanabar

Nisha Kanabar is a curator, storyteller, and the founder of Industrie Africa. From Tanzania, Kanabar graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York and went on to forge a career in luxury fashion and publishing. With over a decade of experience, she has held formative positions in the editorial and commercial departments of American Vogue, Vogue India, and Style.com in the Middle East (now Vogue Arabia). Her experience across international markets fuelled a desire to channel her work into her home continent’s contemporary and luxury designer market, with a special focus on diversity, digitisation, and storytelling.

Mimma Viglezio

Mimma Viglezio is a Swiss creative consultant, writer, editor, and broadcaster. In 1992 she was hired by Hill & Knowlton and became head of the high-profile goods division. She has advised clients such as Bulgari and Celine. After four years at Hill & Knowlton working primarily for Bulgari, the jewellers offered her the position of External Relations Director for womenswear. Five years later she was named Corporate Communications Executive Director, with responsibility for overseeing external relations, advertising, media, financial press, and events. After nine years with Bulgari, Mimma moved to Paris to take over the role of Communications Director at Louis Vuitton. After only one year, she was offered a job by PPR (now Kering) in its luxury division, the Gucci Group. She was Editor in Chief of LULA Magazine, then Editor in Chief of SHOWstudio, and, until recently, Editor in Chief of Tomorrow London Digital.

In January 2010 she decided to pursue an independent career. Today she mainly advises young designers and start-ups on product, business, strategy, and investment opportunities.

Esethu Cenga

Esethu Cenga is the Co-Founder and CEO at Rewoven and the Co-Founder and Director at Future of Fashion. She is originally from the Eastern Cape where she grew up and later moved to Cape Town in 2013 to study at the University of Cape Town. Here, Esethu was part of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and was curious about value creation and creative problem solving, particularly given the many socio-economic problems South Africa, and Africa at large face.

Through her studies in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) and Development Economics, Esethu began to gain a holistic understanding Africa is facing in the context of globalisation. Since completing her university studies, Esethu has been driven to create a meaningful impact through the start-up Rewoven that she co-founded alongside Tshepo Bhengu and Lonwabo Mgoduso in 2017.

Omoyemi Akerele

A former magazine editor with multiple degrees in law, Omoyemi Akerele established the fashion business development agency, Style House Files, to create opportunities for African designers by spearheading initiatives that promote the advancement of designers and the evolving ecosystem. Since the company’s inception, Omoyemi has advocated for African creatives and nurtures, develops and promotes the African fashion industry. She established the biannual Lagos Fashion Week, a multi-day platform that presents African designers in Nigeria and beyond. Through the Lagos Fashion Week platform, Omoyemi launched Woven Threads for the protection of craftsmanship in communities and Green Access to re-emphasise the need for fashion to be designed with resource efficiency, biodegradability, longevity, and recyclability in mind.

Omoyemi collaborates with designers on various projects to promote their work and earn their brands’ creative and commercial success. This devotion to seeing designers from the continent thrive has earned her multiple awards on the continent and the rest of the world, including a placement on Business of Fashion’s Global 500 list for consecutive years.

Dr. Sipho Mbatha

Dr. Sipho Mbatha is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department for Design Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Design, Tshwane University of Technology. He has a D-Tech in Fashion Design, M-Tech (Cum Laude), and B-Tech (Cum Laude) from the Tshwane University of Technology. He has facilitated teaching and learning at various South African universities for 12 years.

He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Science, Technology, Public Policy and a reviewer for the African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Development. His research area includes National Innovation Systems and policies in the creative industries of South Africa.

Fabia Pryor

Fabia Pryor is the Brand Sustainability Manager at Country Road. For over 15 years, Fabia has worked with organisations around the world, championing good business. She is a recognised sustainability strategist, spokesperson, and international educator.

At Country Road, Fabia leads the brand’s responsible business journey and community partnerships, including The Biodiversity Project, a partnership with Landcare Australia supporting the restoration of Australian cotton farmlands. She has been instrumental in the launch of Country Road’s Transparency Project, an initiative aimed at sharing the supply chain traceability of products and showcasing their sustainability and craftsmanship attributes.

Sharon Armstrong

For over two decades, Sharon Armstrong’s astute styling has graced the pages of a range of publications such as Elle, Glamour, and Marie Claire. She has collaborated with numerous luxury brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. She is currently the Fashion Director for Wanted, Sunday Times Lifestyle, and Sowetan S Mag. Sharon edits the fashion magazine, The Edit.

• Enter now by clicking here. The deadline is 11 October 2022.
• For any questions email awards@twyg.co.za