Exclusive interview: AMFW 2011 Designer of the Year Award winners– Kluk CGDT

By: Ali Afegbua

Meet Malcom and Christian, the brains behind the Kluk CGDT brand and also the AMFW 2011 Designer of the Year Award winners.

What was your favorite piece on display at the Arise Magazine Fashion
Week? 

We loved Ituen Basi and Lisa Fulawayo and  Jewel by Lisa very much.
Our collection is one of our favourites that we have ever done and we loved
the luxury of the Afghan embroidery we used.

How did you feel about the level of recognition Kluk CGDT received at the AMFW? 
We were so overwhelmed, we thought we would never get a mention, as we
are in a foreign country. It was almost more recognition than we receive in
South Africa.

What has been your proudest moment since the establishment of the Kluk CGDT brand? 
When we started we wanted to reach a level of Luxury and exclusivity,
and offer an international standard of design - I think by getting the
designer of the year award against designers from Paris, London, New York
and Lagos, shows that we are getting closer to this goal. Winning the award
made us very proud. Being invited to show in New York for the second time,
makes us very proud

What are your plans to expand from SA, to West Africa maybe? 
We have a lot of Nigerian, Angolan, Ghanaian customers that visit our boutiques in Cape
Town and Johannesburg already. We want to remain exclusive, so we encourage
more people to visit us in South Africa. We have also been looking into
representation in Lagos for Trunkshows.

What do you think makes Kluk CGDT stand out in the competitive industry of fashion in Africa?
I think we aim to make the customers happy, we look after
our customers and give them the service they would like. Our designs evoke emotion, We want our ladies to feel fantastic when they wear our
clothes

What is your ultimate goal for Kluk CGDT?
We would love to find a backer to
take us to the next level, maybe a store on each continent.
Thank-you for all your encouragement.