Gert-Johan Coetzee is one of South Africa's best-known fashion designers, recognised for red-carpet gowns worn by celebrities and pageant queens including Miss South Africa titleholders. Beyond his design studio, Coetzee has partnered with the North West School of Design (NWSD) in Klerksdorp since 2009 to run a fashion bursary programme.
He funds the bursary to grow South Africa's fashion industry from the ground up, specifically by removing the cost barrier that keeps talented but under-resourced students out of formal fashion design training. The programme is deliberately hands-on: recipients don't just receive tuition money, they work alongside his studio.
Unlike a purely financial bursary, this one carries a direct work-back component - recipients complete two internship placements each year at the Gert-Johan Coetzee studios during college holidays, giving them real industry experience alongside their qualification.
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