This month, celebrated contemporary South African fashion designer Thebe Magugu will be the first African-based designer to take over Spotify’s Fashion Forward playlist. The Fashion Forward playlist recognises the importance of music in fashion.
To celebrate the collaboration and the South African creativity that inspired it, Spotify will also feature Magugu’s playlist on a billboard in New York City’s Times Square.
View this post on Instagram
Thebe joins an illustrious list of fashion designers and stylists who have previously taken over the playlist, including Yoon Ahn, Brandon Blackwood, Bobby Wesley, No Sesso, Zerina Akers, and Misa Hylton.
According to Thebe, his curated playlist includes artists he “religiously” listened to while developing his Autumn/Winter ’23 Folklorics collection. The first half of the playlist, he says, is focused on transcendental dance, combining familiar African sounds with a modern attitude, while the second half is focused on voice and acoustics while still retaining the folkloric elements of his collection.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
“As the title suggests, the collection looks at the past in a modern light – much like the artists chosen, who beautifully combine the past, the present, and slight foreshadowings of the future through their intelligent, genre-bending, and afro-centric stories,” he says.
The 55-song playlist is an exploration of South African music, from Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Brenda Fassie, and Lebo Mathosa to Amapiano, South Africa’s current musical obsession. Magugu’s playlist also includes a variety of genres, with Black Coffee, DJ Sbu, and DJ Cleo representing the house scene, Skwatta Kamp flying the Kwaito flag, and Kwesta and Cassper Nyovest bringing the Hip Hop flavor.
