Actor and singer Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku proved that fashion and activism go hand-in-hand at this year's Durban July.
The daughter of Tu Nokwe, together with National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), used fashion to raise awareness to end cruelty in horse racing.
Known for her acting in Umjolo: My Beginning, My End! and Outlaws, she unpacks why she supported the cause.
How did the concept come about?
A creative agency called Boundless reached out to me because of my affinity for horses. They have been working with the NSPCA to bring awareness to the cruelty that’s happening within the horse racing industry.
As someone who loves horses and with the TV show that I host, I wasn’t aware of what was going on behind the scenes, some of which is really abusive. I brought in my authenticity and used white to represent the innocence of the people watching and participating – those who don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes. While the red at the bottom symbolises the blood of the horses that have suffered through so much.
Take us through the design process.
The dress was created by Carlo Gibson. Carlo chose white cotton to represent purity and innocence, that of the horse, and the red to represent the cruelty they are subjected to within horse racing.
He hopes that the project inspires others to take action and to also sign the petition titled #ReinInThePain, and stamp out unnecessary cruelty to animals, especially in the horse races. De Wet Pietersen poured her heart into my makeup. The tears represented the pain that the horses go through.
Having to embody being a horse at this glamorous horse racing event that everyone is happy to be at and profit from sparked a lot of interest.
How long did it take?
The entire process from conceptualisation to execution took about two weeks. Carlo gave us an incredible presentation of the concept behind the dress and why the NSPCA is demanding that the racing industry adopt a strict code of conduct for equine welfare, to put an end to abuse, neglect and silence.
Adding the big white horse head to the ensemble was a spontaneous element that I ended up winning first place for “exceptional race-day hat/fascinator”, which I’m pretty proud of.
How was your look received?
I definitely feel that people were receptive to our message in ways we weren’t sure how it was going to go. Upon arrival, I thought I was going to get kicked out, but people were so receptive – part of it could be that we were quite considerate in how we wanted to bring awareness.
It was clear that we absolutely love the sport; however, it can’t continue like this, and it shouldn’t. Now that people know and are aware, it won’t be easy for them to turn a blind eye and claim they don’t care, because I truly believe they do. Because it’s such a big industry, it’s hard to know what is fully going on.
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