Charles Egbejule, a young fashion designer with a passion for illustration, has emerged the winner of the GTBank Sketch-to-fame competition, beating over one thousand designers from across Africa. Two other budding designers, Ifeade Adedokun and Ghian Olie, emerged 1st and 2nd runner-up, respectively.

The GTBank Sketch-to-fame Competition, which began on October 12, 2018, was created to offer young African fashion designers the opportunity to have their original collection produced and showcased at the 2018 GTBank Fashion Weekend. The competition was facilitated by a panel of judges that included renowned fashion illustrator and designer, Giles Deacon; celebrity photographer, TY Bello; fashion retailer and stylist, Ezinne Chinkata and Welsh fashion designer, Julien Macdonald.

Taking the first place, was fashion designer Charles Egbejule, who began drawing at the age of 5. Egbejule’s sketch collection impressed the judges with its strong use of colours, style, identity and modern unique shapes. As part of the winning package, Egbejule was awarded a cash prize of Two hundred and fifty thousand Naira (N250,000) and, his collection will be produced and showcased at the 2018 GTbank Fashion Weekend. The first runner-up, a graduate of Fashion Design, Ifeade Adedokun, was awarded One hundred and fifty thousand Naira (150,000), while the second runner-up, a former lecturer of Fine Arts and Design, and Fashion Designer, Ghian Olie, was awarded one Hundred thousand Naira, (N100,000).

Now in its third year, the GTBank Fashion Weekend has become the premier consumer-focused event that places African fashion on the global stage and helps small businesses in the local fashion industry thrive. The first and second editions of the event, which held in November 2016 and 2017 respectively, brought together over 250,000 people to interact with some of the best minds in the global fashion space and directly patronize more than 200 indigenous small businesses in the local fashion industry.

The 2018 GTBank Fashion Weekend, will hold on November 10 and 11, 2018. The event is free to attend and open to all.

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