6 months ago
46
Exchanging one runway for another, fashion designer Mzukisi Mbane of Imprint ZA landed back in SA on Wednesday from a brief trip to Lusaka, Zambia.
His trip to the capital city was a last-minute request after his SA Fashion Week (SAFW) runway show at the weekend.
“After I showcased at SA Fashion Week on Saturday night, on Sunday morning I was on a plane to showcase at the Zambia July which takes place in September,” he told SMag in a telephonic interview shortly after landing back home.
“It’s like their Durban July, but they call it the Lusaka July. I had a showcase there.”
His latest showcase at SAFW was a spectacular. The shuffling and chatter of the audience in the showroom fell silent as the lights dimmed. Mbane’s voice blasted through the speakers; with a projected video of him on the screen in front of the stage.
Venda indie-folk musician Muneyi’s smooth cover of Thandiswa Mazwai’s Nizalwa Ngobani? opened the show; queuing the stage lights to usher in the models.
“It was something we had spoken about before [with Muneyi]. I love putting together a production. I believe that has been my thing and it's something I’ve struggled with at SA Fashion Week and that is what pushed me to have it back on my shows. With my previous shows at AFI [ African Fashion International] it was always a production. I don’t want to give people clothes and a backup track,” he said.
“On my previous showcases, I have had traditional Xhosa dancers and in another I had a whole choir perform. I love productions, it gives a whole experience and gives it life.”
A-listers in Mbane’s creations from previous collections were at the showcase including Luthando “Lootlove” Shosha, Pabi Moloi, Wiseman Zitha, Phupho Gumede and Bryoni Govender.
“The collection is titled Sizalwa Ngobani and did not necessarily look back at our ancestry. It was looking back at part of Imprint that made Imprint; in the collection, there is a red-blue print that we started with in our early days and I designed in 2015. I always felt that print defines the brand Imprint; our DNA; our colours; and what makes our story all comes from that one print,” he said.
“We also featured styles and silhouettes we are known for and revisited and elevated them. It was the celebration of the brand, the phrase we used was looking back while moving forward.”
Mbane will next begin the adjudication for the 2024 edition of Proudly SA Local Fashion Police competition. The competition, closing today, invited fashion lovers to celebrate their favourite local purchases.
Mbane joins other judges on the panel including Orapeleng Modutle, Jessica Jane Molebatsi and Ole Ledimo.
“When you get to be part of the Proudly SA Local Fashion Police, anything that comes with that means that you are not simply an SA designer but one that is identified and validated,” he said.
“I often say that we think the fashion weeks and fashion events we host include our general consumer. Most of the time the people who want to be part of want we do, the stories we tell and the clothing we create are usually excluded from the conversation.
“It’s this reason that I think that this campaign makes fashion accessible and inclusive and does the same for our brands.”
As a judge, Mbane says what he will be looking for in a winner is that “X-factor”.
“I’m looking for someone who goes beyond the expected; I need to see how you can take an SA brand and make it your style. I would love the challenge of having a winner who has a strong defined aesthetic of style. I’m searching for authenticity and how they play with the challenge,” said Mbane.
“I need to see effort, how they personalise the SA brand and their own identity that they adopted.”
Mbane encouraged entrants to be authentic and not to let such opportunities slip through their fingers.
“Take the time to define your style and define your voice. Take advantage of such opportunities that come through such as these. Lastly, keep it fun and authentic.”
