Funeka Shabalala UKZN student wins Sustainable Fashion Designer of the Year
For Funeka Shabalala, fashion was never part of the plan. He enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to pursue a Bachelor of Nursing, hoping to one day care for people as a registered nurse. Today, however, the 21-year-old is also celebrating a national title that has placed his creativity firmly in the spotlight.
Shabalala has been named the Sustainable Fashion Designer of the Year at the national Green Campus Initiative (GCI), an achievement that reflects not only his artistic talent but also his commitment to protecting the environment.
The first-year nursing student creates striking garments from used shopping bags, paper and plastic materials that would otherwise end up as waste. Remarkably, he taught himself how to design and sew, turning a childhood passion into an award-winning skill without any formal fashion training.
Funeka Shabalala Transforming waste into fashion: UKZN's Funeka Shabalala
