What does pride mean? To some it means freedom to be your most authentic self, to others it’s the ability to explore not only yourself but the world around you and not forgetting to live in full colour. Rich Mnisi, the world renowned designer who has obtained critical acclaim with his eponymous brand, along with…
High level fashion stakeholders have said that September is the January of the fashion world, with September beginning the start of the Fall/Winter season in the fashion calendar. The Fall/Winter season in particular is exciting and bears weight for fashion forecasting because it’s when predictions for the next fashion year start to pop up. Of…
“My ethos as a designer is so heavily influenced by my upbringing and the Tsonga community. They celebrate themselves through the textures and colours of their clothes and are very proud of who they are.” — Rich Mnisi for Paper Having recently concluded his residency — Nyoka — at Southern Guild, Rich Mnisi collaborates with…
“Innocence, sincerity, nostalgia, belonging, joy, desire, assurance” — These are just some of the terms Andrew Bolton, curator for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, chose to describe what American Fashion is today. This year’s exhibition, accompanied by one of the most maligned Met Gala beige carpets in years, is ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’, only…
I’ve been told that a dream about a snake could mean toxicity and trouble but it could also mean regeneration and renewal. The snake — cunning, stealthy, quick-witted, brisk — is an image that simultaneously inspires deference and produces fear. For Rich Mnisi, it is an image that began a sensuous body of work that…
Grace De La Hunt is a Cape Town based analogue photographer whose jaw-dropping work I’ve kept a close eye on for years. De La Hunt is unlike most analogue photographers who, let’s not beat around the bush, seem to be popping up around every corner. See, her format of choice isn’t the usual 35mm, medium…
Founded in 2017 by Lebohang Serame with the help of Xola Mad, Happyville is a Jozi Maboneng based clothing brand that finds its inspiration in nostalgic street culture the world over, but maintains its rootedness in the aesthetics of Kwaito from the late 90s and early 2000s. Think Mandoza’s album cover threads from Tornado to…
Hyper pop track “Front Right” is an Instagram DM that grew into a certified bop. The song is a collaboration between creative director, and now pop star, Martin Magner and Cape Town based music producer MISSU. This collaboration began a year ago with an Instagram DM when MISSU approached Magner with a link to a…
So, to start the conversation, I asked some member s of our local fashion industry the question alluded to in the title of this piece, “what makes long-term sustainability of a fashion label in our country so difficult?”. This is what I got… This question couldn’t have come at a better time — [personally] it’s…
After presenting us with Nwa-Mulamula – Alkebulan – 2 navy leather mirrored armchairs in 2019 and an Alkebulan clothing collection at the Berlin Fashion Week early this year – Rich Mnisi drops another breathtaking Alkebulan project; The Azania bags. The bag collection comprises of three leather bags – a half-circle-shaped black leather clutch bag coupled…
Lezanne Viviers has come a long way from being a fashion design student in sleepy Stellenbosch. With the start of 2020 already seeing her showcasing her immaculate creations from the OR/BITING AURABOROS collection created in collaborative effort with visual artist Marlene Hettie Steyn, Pascale Theron and of course Viviers herself under her label, at this…
Francis Buseko took a chance on themselves six years ago when they left their home country of Zambia to pursue a career in modelling in South Africa. It sounded absurd to all around them at the time but a thirst for success and an innate sense that it is, indeed, theirs for the taking, left…
