The South African fashion industry continues to break boundaries both on a local and international scale.
Leading the pack, five black women are trailblazing the world of fashion. From couture to fast fashion, these five women keep reinventing themselves whilst defying odds and cementing the notion that the future is African, female, and Black.
1.Thabo Makhetha
Award-winning Lesotho-born Thabo Makhetha is best known for her ready-to-wear collection of Basotho blanket capes and coats. Paying homage to her Basotho heritage, Makhetha’s garments draw inspiration from the Basotho blanket which is a symbol of status with deep cultural roots dating over a century in Lesotho.
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2. Nobukhosi Nkosi
Nobukhosi Nkosi’s brand ‘Khosi Nkosi’ was established in 2008 after the designer won the Young Designer’s Award. In an interview with Careers Magazine. Nkosi said that the brand is inspired by what the brand essence stands for —the strong, modern, worldly, nubile woman who loves and respects herself.
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3. Sindiso Khumalo
Sustainable textile designer Sindiso Khumalo’s eponymous brand was established in 2015. Her label has a strong emphasis on African story-telling. She designs the textiles in her collections by hand through watercolours and collages. Over the years she has developed a uniquely colourful visual voice, which draws upon her Zulu and Ndebele heritage.
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4. Palesa Mokubung
Palesa Mokubang is the founder and creative director of Mantsho. Established in 2004 Mantsho is best known for its regal garments which are bold and vibrant in colour. Mokubang chose the name Mantsho as a way of showing love and appreciation to the strong black woman.
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5. Bongiwe Walaza
Bongiwe Walaza is a textile designer. Born in the Eastern Cape, the designer uses ishweshwe as her signature fabric for her designs. She details that growing up in the Eastern Cape where women wear the print as a traditional dress is her point of influence.
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Also see: Local brands to try
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