The diverse beauty of his country has always informed his design work. \u201cI\u2019m always focusing on stories that are quite niche, but run the risk of being forgotten,\u201d Magugu says. For his latest project, Magugu wanted to continue this spirit by creating a dress inspired by each of South Africa\u2019s eight prominent tribes: Zulu, Tswana, Swati, Vhavenda, Pedi, Xhosa, Tsonga, and Sotho. \u201cI wanted to memorialize the main eight cultures that we have here in South Africa because I so deeply appreciate my own,\u201d says Magugu, who is of the Tswana tribe. \u201cWe\u2019re best known for our storytelling and our handwork, but all the other cultures have their own traditions and quirks that I really wanted to represent in a dress.\u201d<\/p>\n
The designer collaborated with the South African illustrator Phathu Nembilwi to capture each tribe as a design. \u201cI asked her to paint her own interpretation of the eight tribes in a beautiful, abstract way,\u201d Magugu says. Nembilwi\u2019s illustrations were then printed onto crepe fabric and constructed into \u201cbohemian-style dresses with open necklines,\u201d Magugu says. \u201cIt\u2019s a proportion that looks good on everyone. I wanted anyone who sees that dress to be able to see themselves in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although each dress in the collection\u2014which will be available in early June on Magugu\u2019s website and select retailers\u2014is graphic and summery, Magugu wanted each to have its own individual flair. The Tswana-inspired dress, for instance, depicts two subjects beating on a drum that they made, a nod to the tribe\u2019s tradition of beadwork and handiwork. For the Soto tribe, Magugu incorporated their traditional dress onto the garment. \u201cThey wear a very specific hat that\u2019s in a triangular shape, and they\u2019re often clothed with these really big wool blankets around them, so you can see it in the artwork,\u201d Magugu says.<\/p>\n
With the help of South African photographer Aart Verrips, writer Vuyolwethu Reoagile, and stylist Chloe Andrea Welgemoed, Magugu was able to communicate the message behind the collection thoroughly and with care. The models\u2014who are all friends of Magugu and South African creatives\u2014were photographed in the dresses and paired with special South African objects. \u201cYou\u2019d find these objects in a typical South African home,\u201d Magugu says of the conch shells, baskets, and more. Reoagile also wrote descriptions of each tribe that will be available on Magugu\u2019s website. \u201cI really wanted it to also be an education of some kind,\u201d Magugu says. \u201cVuyolwethu gave a brief overview of the cultures, what region of South Africa they often occupy, and what they\u2019re best known for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creating the collection was an education for Magugu as well. \u201cI know quite a bit about [South African] culture through friends and family, but when we were looking at each culture, it gave me even more of an appreciation.\u201d The designer says that\u2019s why he loves fashion\u2014he wants to continue sharing his country\u2019s beauty with others. \u201cIf I was just doing clothes for clothes sake, I might want to look at another discipline,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m not a very talkative person, but [by] making clothes and engaging with fashion\u2019s cerebral side, I feel heard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Growing up in the South African cities of Kimberley and Johannesburg, designer Thebe Magugu was exposed to a variety of African tribes and traditions from a young age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":8871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[7,37,38],"class_list":{"0":"post-8874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fashion","8":"category-lifestyle","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-fashion","11":"tag-lifestyle"},"yoast_head":"\n