NEW YORK, May 29, 2002/ --- Get ready to welcome veldt chic.

A trio of South African designers will stage a joint show in September during the New York fashion season in an official calendar event.

The catwalk show, featuring clothes by designers Julian Smith, Clive Rundle and Malcolm Kluk, will be sponsored by Anglo Gold, South Africa's largest gold producer.

"They are very talented people, and their coming here just underlines what we have always said: that New York is the right city for important designers to come and present their collections," said Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth, which organizes the New York fashion season.

Mallis added that the South African trio does not yet have an exact time slot, but she is confident that "we will find a space for them in one of our venues."

Most 7th on Sixth calendar shows are staged at the tents in Bryant Park, though other venues, including the Puck Building in downtown Manhattan, are used for catwalk presentations.

"The overall goal is to raise awareness about South African fashion, and the long-term aim is to set up export channels for our designers," explained Nadine Rubin, the editor-in-chief of Elle South Africa, who helped broker the project.

Rundle, whose label is Clive, is a 20-year fashion veteran who has his own boutique in Rosebank, the high-end shopping district in South Africa's capital, Johannesburg.

Kluk is a former fashion editor who has created his own house in Capetown. His line is named Kluk by Malcolm Kluk.

And this isn't the first New York appearance by Smith, whose collection carries the label Julian. He showed here two years ago in a pan-Africa presentation.

The designers plan to use the hot new Nigerian model Oluchi in their shows, and are praying for a front-row appearance by South Africa's most visible international star, Charlize Theron. They will not be the only the ones.