The three winners of the inaugural SOUTH award were announced on Sunday 1 March 2009 in the fashion arena at the Design Indaba Expo. Competition was stiff, with 33 SOUTH award finalists chosen from 163 entries from across the country. However, the final decision was handed over to three external judges: Katsutoshi Ishibashi, editor-in-chief of Axis design magazine in Japan; Keith Helfet, South Africa-born automobile and industrial designer; and Robert Thiemann, co-founder and editor of FRAME and MARK magazines in The Netherlands. Photographs of the exhibition and awards by Jonx Pillemer.