Umcebo Trust hitting the high spots
by Carol Brown
Watching Top Billing a few Fridays ago I spied some unmistakably familiar looking beaded creations on the Holmes Bros Fashion Show. There were full body necklaces, a Top Billing hat and other hats all crafted from big colourful beads and waste material as well as crocheted plastic overlocked with denim which was inserted into some garments.
I contacted the Umcebo Trust to find out if it was in fact their work because I did not notice any mention of them and found out that it was indeed they who had been commissioned to make items for the show. The Umcebo Trust project is a non-profit organisation which is working very hard to promote work made by various communities in the Durban area.
The creations on television were were funky and over-the-top and added a certain street-cred to the show. It's a pity the makers didn't get much credit but that's how the cookie crumbles on commissions like these. Keep an eye out for their work at the Design Indaba in Cape Town this month.
