Miss SA’s creative genius: Where is Werner Wessels now?

South Africans are flooding Werner Wessels’s comment section with desperate calls for him to return to the Miss SA organisation as creative director.

The pageant guru made headlines in January 2025 after announcing he was stepping down from his long-running position.

During his 14-year tenure, Werner was credited with two Miss Universe wins, a Miss World and Miss Supranational victory, and several runner-up placements.

WHERE IS FORMER MISS SA CREATIVE DIRECTOR  WERNER WESSELS NOW?

Over the weekend, a new Miss SA was crowned, 27-year-old media graduate and entrepreneur Tiyani Makamu, in a finale many claimed was not only underwhelming but substandard as a national pageant.

Pageant fans quickly flooded the comment section under the social media posts of Werner Wessels with pleas for him to return to Miss SA as creative director.

Werner resigned from the organisation in January 2025, just months before CEO Stephanie Weil stepped down. The organisation was acquired by the Motspe family, who have placed the emphasis on more investment and entrepreneurial skills and less on traditional pageant talent.

Fast forward to the present, and Werner is still doing what he loves in the pageant industry.

However, he has swapped Miss SA for an international pageant – Miss Supranational Organisation- as a brand development consultant.

He’s also worked on several pageant judging panels and offers his skills through services such as workshops and masterclasses, pageant consulting and training, photoshoot styling and creative direction, and much more.

A CHILDHOOD DREAM

In his resignation statement, Werner Wessels revealed that his childhood dream was to work for the Miss SA organisation.

Since joining the Miss SA family in 2011, Werner has trained and led the following women to victory:

• Rolene Strauss – crowned Miss World in 2014
• Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters – crowned Miss Universe in 2017
• Tamaryn Green- placed first runner-up in Miss Universe in 2018
• Zozibini Tunzi – crowned Miss Universe in 2019
• Lalela Mswane – crowned Miss Supranational in 2022 and placed second runner-up at Miss Universe, also in 2022

He shared: “This journey has been a dream come true, a journey filled with purpose, passion, and pride. I’m immensely proud of the work we have done and the impact I’ve made. I will forever be grateful to the Miss South Africa Organisation for entrusting me with the responsibility that comes with this role I created”.

Werner thanked Miss SA contestants, including past winners, who worked alongside him. He also vowed to continue to empower South African women.

He continued: “I have always said I want my career to be a love letter to women. A celebration of their courage, brilliance, and limitless potential. It is a tribute to South African women who, despite challenges, rise above and continue to inspire.

“My love for this beautiful nation and its women, who are brave enough to believe not only in the power of their own dreams but also in the promise and potential of South Africa, is at the heart of everything I do.”