The diversity, talent, flair and flavour that define African style take shape on these upbeat Couture designs, led by four top local designers. These artists bring their unique styles to this distinctive collection that’s inspired by personal passions and global trends, yet firmly rooted on the continent we call home.
Palesa Mokubung
Internationally acclaimed fashion designer Palesa Mokubung has taken her signature style from the runway to the lifestyle space with four chic, custom-designed prints for the African Influencers collection, harnessing her edgy-yet-elegant aesthetic to craft a unique fabric range. ‘I set out to create superior prints that have African finesse and are inspired by everything that inspires me,’ she says. ‘I’m hoping to bring some style and flair into people’s homes.’
Her eclectic designs feature everything from a dynamic monochrome inscription of her fashion label, Mantsho (Scribe), to a print that celebrates local jazz by detailing the Sowetan township houses that are home to this unique subgenre (Township Jazz). Also included are floral prints adorned with strelitzia and accentuated with African design elements and which represent Mantsho’s feminine lines and textures.
Palesa describes herself as a ‘lover of things’ and orientates her work around her personal passions, yet always with an eye on the past, which is often sewn into her work. ‘I’m a sentimental person,’ she says. ‘I keep beautiful memories with me and draw from them - that’s what makes my work authentic and makes it feel like it’s rooted in something.’
Kay Abrahams
Kay Abrahams of Envy & Co brings the drama, glamour and luxury that define the design house to two creations for the African Influencers fabric collection. Mankind and Tankwa are both nature-inspired prints, but with a twist. ‘Instead of the designs being botanical, we looked at the land and how the organic shapes were formed - that was the inspiration for this range,’ she says. ‘The designs are organic but have a modern feel to them.’ Mankind in particular holds special significance, not just because it features Envy & Co’s signature malachite colourway, but because it was designed by the boutique design consultancy’s late creative director, Jaco Janse van Rensburg, who is fascinated by the landscape and resources of Africa. ‘Envy & Co has always been inspired by nature - not just the fauna and flora, but the minerals too, especially their rawness,’ Kay says. ‘Our designs are elegant and smooth, yet always include a ‘rough’ element to give them texture.’
Mareli van Zyl
Seemingly ordinary items often appear in the work of illustrator Mareli van Zyl, who doesn’t need to go far to kickstart her creative process. In fact, simply stepping into her garden opens up a world of watercolour wonder, as shown by her two leaf-themed contributions to the fabric collection, Formation and Scatterling. ‘I pick up leaves, feathers, anything I find beautiful,’ she says. ‘Often, it’s the intricacy and small details that most people don’t notice that interest me.’ For the African Influencers range, she took a different approach in order to achieve a compelling effect with the repeat pattern on fabric. ‘I wanted to elevate the shape and simplicity of the leaves so that I could create a striking arrangement when the formations were put together,’ Mareli explains.
Ivan McCarthy Peens
Softness, simplicity and serial patterning characterise Ivan McCarthy Peens’s sophisticated design Kitenge, a modern take on the tribal design trend that encapsulates his nuanced approach to minimalism. ‘I am a minimalist at heart, but there’s room for the style to be softer and warmer, rather than cold and clinical,’ says Ivan, a former architect and the founder of Meuble Fine Furniture. For him, ‘less’ can be both minimal and layered - and it’s an idea that he’s executed to artful effect with his contribution to the African Influencers fabric.
By hooking into the global move towards tribal-style decor and tapping into his fascination with serial repetition - ‘taking one element and repeating it many times, then changing it to see how it can be something totally different’ - Ivan has created an abstract rendering of a widely favoured, recognisable motif. ‘it feels familiar, but doesn’t have a particular intent or association with a specific place,’ he says. ‘That makes it more relatable.’
