Jessica-Ann Shepherd, the founder of the clothing brand Oddity, is the winner of the 2024 Mr Price New Talent Search, hosted by Mr Price and South Africa Fashion Week.
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This year’s judging lineup included award-winning journalist and editor-in-chief of Glamour South Africa Nontando Mposo, and Anissa Mpungwe, former New Talent Search winner and creative director of Anissa Mpungwe Atelier.
They were joined by Amber Jones, Mr Price’s divisional head of buying, Dean Hauptfleisch, head of buying menswear and Tamaryn Whitmore, head of buying ladieswear.
As reported by Bizcommunity, Shepard’s Eco Dream Reimagined collection wowed the audience with quirky prints, utility elements and upcycling techniques blended with a pastel-inspired colour palette.
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Shepard, who hails from Cape Town, used digital and vinyl printing techniques with leftover fabrics to represent sustainability and whimsical silhouettes across her collection of dresses, tees and her signature knitted pieces.
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She follows in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Cyla Gonsolves, taking the R50 000 cash prize home to further her career. She will also participate in a mentorship programme spearheaded by the Mr Price Head Office and get an opportunity to design a range which will be sold in selected Mr Price stores next year.
‘I’m so surprised – this is such a shock! I started Oddity with a small team back in 2019 and fast forward five years and now we are here,’ she said.
‘I’m so incredibly honoured to have been selected among such a talented group of designers. Opportunities like these are so important to grow the industry and I’m so grateful.’
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Jones said the show was a testament to ‘the rich diversity within South African creativity’.
‘Our finalists represented not only themselves and their design work so beautifully but also continue to drive local fashion forward. We are in such an exciting moment culturally and with more eyes on our homegrown talent, we are so excited for Jessica-Ann to step into the next phase of her career alongside the Mr Price team.’
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