Bushfire kicked off once again on the weekend of the 28th May. It was as spectacular, as it always is! A huge success drawing crowds from all over the world. One of our highlights of the festival was a showcase of fashion by Mustard Seed Africa, parading on the “House on Fire” catwalk. Gone Rural was there in collaboration with Philippa Reiss Thorne. The collection was inspired by eco friendly and recycled materials. The dresses are simple, versatile and can be styled as a tunics or mini dress. Luxury pieces made from hand- woven bamboo silk from Rose Craft, hand faced and hemmed. The statement bags, combine texture and different hand made techniques with metals, glass and wood. Using a mix of materials is a general theme, recycled glass from Ngwenya glass is used for neck pieces and hand bag handles, re-cycled fabrics are formed into woven textiles for bags and baskets / head pieces and Up-Cycled leather is used for the jacket and bags. The fashions wowed the eclectic audience and a fabulous night was had by all fashionistas from all cultures of the world!
This year Gone Rural was fortunate to be given full reign of the official “2011 Bushfire clothing range and merchandise”, in terms of design, manufacture and sales. The Gone Rural boMake team in their “Chic Shack” , were there all day and night selling merchandise and warming up the crowds in chilly temperatures with flavoured teas and coffee alongside a warm fire. The profits of the sales of all the merchandise was donated to Gone Rural boMake. We are so grateful for such an awesome opportunity and we are proud to announce that we made a staggering E35 000.00 in profits, which will be invested straight into our 2011 school fees program.
