SINDISO KHUMALO & Other Stories

A creative encounter in sharing stories, it is with much awe we present our limited co-lab collection with SINDISO KHUMALO. The South African designer has lent her profoundly personal touch to dresses and beachy separates made from organic cotton, recycled cotton and linen. Each piece carries optimism interwoven with tales to tell.

GET TO KNOW SINDISO KHUMALO

What drives you as a designer?
As an African designer, what truly matters to me is to design clothing that can highlight my African heritage and history and bring it to light in a contemporary setting. I like to bring cultural elements that represent who I am into textiles. They become visual vignettes that frame our collections. Over time, I have developed a personal textile language with prints, built from a combination of hand drawings, abstract cutouts and watercolours. Clothing can be a form of medicine. It can evoke emotions and make you feel strong, alive and empowered. That’s what I want to bring to my designs; making women feel empowered, exceptional and unique. I love the idea of clothing embodying an element of good fortune when you buy them. Be it in the print or the colour.

How does this materialize in the co-lab collection?
Some of the silhouettes for this collection are inspired by vintage portraits (from the 1800s) of women from Africa and the African diaspora. This is very much part of the language of the “Sindiso Khumalo” brand. We are hugely inspired and navigated by stories of women of colour across the 18th and 19th centuries. Another crucial part of the creative journey was the linking to natural South African landscapes. You can see references to it in the prints. One features the Protea, a South African indigenous plant, and another features Nguni cattle, which are seen among the Nguni people of Southern Africa. Another example is the cowrie shell, which historically represents prosperity, wealth, and good fortune in African and Afro-Caribbean cultures. Small vignettes of our cultural and natural landscape are expressed in prints and colour at each point.

What was the first thing that came to mind when you agreed to this co-lab?
The starting point for the co-lab collection was the materials themselves and ensuring they were sourced in a more sustainable way. It is essential for me to use more sustainable materials and to create garments that are going to be long-lasting. I want to make clothes that move beyond seasons and trends, which people feel they can hang onto for the rest of their lives.

On a personal level, what does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability has been a big part of my childhood. I spent the first years of my life in Botswana, which has a culture of conservation and awareness about the importance of preserving natural environments like the Okavango Delta (which is home to kudus, elephants, zebras and lions). Closer to home, my grandmother and mother had a strong sense of making and mending clothes and always owning garments that would last a lifetime. My grandmother was a pattern cutter in a factory in Durban and passed on many of those skills to us. And finally, my mother, an avid gardener my whole life, also taught me about using waste (i.e. composting and growing seedlings) to make more fruit. These simple yet powerful influences engrained the perspectives of sustainability in me from a young age.

You have a background in architecture. How has that shaped you as a textile designer?
Because I studied architecture as my first degree, function is essential when it comes to clothing. The function of the fabric is as important as the silhouette, prints, and colours. A garment must be adaptive, breathable and comfortable for it to have longevity. The modern female experience occupies many different spaces; we make clothes that speak to all these spaces. Be it an early morning business meeting or cocktail drinks with the girls. It’s about allowing the garment to move between each place that you’re in.

What are your wishes and hopes for the outcome of this co-lab?
My hopes and wishes for this co-lab are to shine a light on African design and the magical nature of our enigmatic continent. And to communicate to the customer the importance of the materials when building your wardrobe. Collaborating with such a well-known company gives us a fantastic platform and provides new opportunities to speak to a bigger audience about our work.