Designer Laduma Ngxkolo brings Xhosa avand garde style to Paris fashion week

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00:00We now have with us Laduma Mkokolo, do excuse my pronunciation, he has been very patiently

00:06tutoring me, but my mouth is not working with it, but he is the man behind one of South Africa's

00:12most influential global exports, the Magosa brand that has been showcased around the world both

00:18in fashion and art circles. His designs have been displayed at the Smithsonian and the Museum

00:23of Modern Art in New York and he's a regular highlight of Fashion Week. In fact, he's

00:29currently in town for the Paris edition and his littered looks are rooted in Xhosa culture,

00:35but are achingly now. So it is my real pleasure that you've squeezed us in today, Laduma,

00:43because I know that you've just run in having just arrived today. Now, first of all, you know,

00:49from what I understand, it's a very cool personal story about how you develop your signature

00:57patterns and colours. In a weird way, your rebellion was by bringing tradition into a

01:04traditional rite of passage. Do you mind sharing that story a little bit? Yeah, so I did a thesis

01:10project at a university called Nelson Mandela University in 2010, where we were supposed to

01:17come up with a design solution that addresses an issue in society, but also addressing

01:24environmental consciousness. So I came up with an idea of coming up with

01:31culture-inspired clothes for a cultural practice that we do as Xhosa people, which is a nation of

01:39about 14 million people, where every man that is 18 years old has to go through a tradition of

01:47manhood that is a rite of passage of the culture. But before you do the tradition, you have to give

01:52away all your belongings, including clothes, and therefore your parents have to buy you premium

01:57quality clothes so that they don't ever have to buy you anything. So my idea was to substitute

02:04the traditional clothes that they wear, because those clothes are all westernised. I believe that

02:10it was better off for us to look at our cultural references to make things that are culturally cool

02:17and also modern, because the group that wears those is a group of youth,

02:23and therefore they're not really attracted to traditional Scottish-inspired clothes.

02:31So how was that received at the time? Was that seen as like a big rebellion?

02:35Yeah. I mean, you're so successful today, you're so iconic in terms of a reflection of,

02:42you know, a welcome, growing appreciation of African creativity, but what was it like at the

02:48start? I'm a firm believer of cultural advancement. Of course, as you know, we had apartheid in South

02:55Africa and colonisation in some parts of Africa, and therefore culture didn't evolve because of

03:03those reasons, right? As a person that loves fashion, that loves anthropology and culture,

03:11I felt like I needed to unfreeze that evolution in time and make it relevant to now and for the

03:19future, and therefore I felt confident with the concept that I came up with. Of course,

03:25the opinion and feedback was based on society. It was well received, you know, because at the day,

03:31you know, whatever that advances our culture in a positive way is things that we should embrace,

03:37especially when it has an economic impact. When I started the brand then, I was the only,

03:44I was a one-man show, but then now we employ over 300 people, not just in South Africa,

03:49we just opened up a store in New York, so we've employed a few people there and looking to expand

03:55as we go. And is there a difference from what you've perceived in terms of the reception of your

04:01of your brand from different audiences, according to like their, sorry, different consumers,

04:08according to their geography? So, you know, do you feel that African wearers of your brand get

04:13something more out of it that's different to those in New York, to those in Europe?

04:18The reaction, of course, is different because with South Africans, they know

04:22the context behind the brand, but in America, they look at it from a broad context as

04:30African regalia. And therefore, they receive it immediately as something that the African,

04:38they don't go further. But then with time, they keep on learning that, you know, this brand was

04:43inspired by the Xhosa community, but it does feature some other cultural references from

04:49other cultures that are magnificent within Africa. So they appreciate it on those basis,

04:56especially with our take of modernising it and not keeping it too traditional so that it fits

05:03within daily wear wardrobe instead of just wearing it on Africa month or heritage day or specific

05:12traditional occasions. We make ready to wear products that people can wear on a daily basis.

05:17And so what is that line between the Xhosa tradition and something that echoes that,

05:27but makes it modern? Like how do you, what for you as the creator, as an artist, is that line

05:32between, you know, acknowledging the echo from the past, but also being future focused in the design?

05:38Yeah, of course, that traditional practice is still there. But now we live in a digital age,

05:48and therefore the youth that is practising that culture is dabbling into other things

05:54that are not even related to that culture. They bring in cell phones in that tradition,

06:02and therefore the fashion that they look at is way beyond what we were offered in my time. We

06:08didn't have cell phones, and therefore the brand that we created sits at a good time because

06:15they've got an alternative to choose what we do, and various other fashion products around the

06:21world. However, the tradition is still quite strict, you know, on what colours they can wear

06:29and that they have to look dignified. And in the day, it's something that is meant to

06:37impact you positively and mature you and learn more about your culture and your ancestral lineage.

06:44It's quite a dynamic practice, but I could foresee it evolving in terms of the

06:51fashion element of it. So, I mean, you're here for Paris Fashion Week. Paris has, you know, been so

06:57at the heart of traditional expectations of international fashion ecosystems. All of what

07:04you've said about the very specific African facets to your hopes of what your work represents,

07:11does that have any part in what you do when you come to gatherings that are so important

07:17to your industry, gatherings like Paris Fashion Week or New York Fashion Week or London Fashion Week?

07:23It is important because I feel like I have a responsibility to bring a different

07:30dynamic into fashion weeks. Of course, the African perspective is not being given the platform

07:38that is strong. We as designers have the responsibility to make sure that Africa is

07:43well represented. It doesn't only have to be me. There's various other amazing designers that are

07:49coming out of Africa, not just in Africa, in the African diaspora as well. But however,

07:58we're not on the headline of the fashion week. And therefore, I think that given

08:05the next five years or 10 years, we stand at a point where we will headline fashion weeks and

08:11have our voices heard and also acknowledged by the biggest publications in the world.

08:20Thank you so much. I mean, before I leave you, you know, what you said there really does echo

08:25what UNESCO was pointing out just last year, that Africa holds all the cards to become one

08:31of the world's next fashion leaders. This, despite so much African creativity already having informed

08:37the current leaders. But thank you so much for taking the time to come and speak to us for your

08:41work. You know, good luck on fashion week.

08:51I think that was better. Well, I'm going to practice. Thank you so much for making the time

08:55to come and speak about some of the work that you're doing with Maqosa.

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