FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
FASHION IN MOTION SERIES
Magugu will be the next featured designer in the V&A’s Fashion in Motion series. Held in the V&A’s Raphael Court on the 7 October, the four free fashion shows will be Magugu’s first catwalk shows outside of Johannesburg and will present highlights from his stunning ‘Discard Theory’ collection.
The Johannesburg-based designer, works within luxury ready-to-wear collections, womenswear and accessories, and draws inspiration from his South African heritage. Magugu’s designs interweave African motifs and craft to create vibrant and celebratory looks that explore the history, culture, and politics of the continent. Infused in his work are themes of storytelling, education, family and ancestry.
Describing the collection as ‘trickle-up fashion’, Magugu seeks to invert the theory of ‘trickle-down’ luxury, which argues that fashion is a hierarchical and class-based industry.
“For this collection I thought about national identity politics and how western influence has penetrated indigenous dress” explained Thebe.
To create the looks in this Fashion in Motion show, Magugu visited Dunuza – a well-known site for second-hand clothes discarded by Europe and America – to examine and gather materials which he reinterpreted into a collection.
The name Dunuza means ‘bend over’ and describes the act of reaching and searching through the clothes. Magugu’s work combines traditional African silhouettes with western styles and graphics to explore the implication these second-hand clothes have on the continent’s identity politics.
Continuing, Magugu said: “Often times, I see a woman in downtown Johannesburg wearing a shweshwe wrap skirt – a fabric often worn for traditional ceremonies – but paired with a Vodaphone or Manchester United tee. I found that Dunuza acts as a nexus between local and global, throwing everything into a melting pot that produces a post-modern interpretation of what African fashion is, and I’m delighted that I can bring these looks to the V&A for Fashion in Motion this October.”
Oriole Cullen, V&A Senior Curator Exhibitions said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Thebe’s work as part of Fashion in Motion. His collections while beautiful to behold also convey important stories. Thebe deftly manages to both celebrate the possibilities and joy of fashion whilst also causing us, as viewers and consumers to reflect and question how we can all be better when it comes to our own engagement with fashion and the politics that surround it.”
This Fashion in Motion takes place during the Africa Fashion exhibition, on until 16 April, 2023, which celebrates the unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashions and displays a key look from Magugu’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, Alchemy.
Limited tickets are available from 29 September at 10am.
V&A AFRICA FASHION IN PICTURES
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BlackWallStreet Media isn’t always at the top of the invite list when it comes to grandeur organisations that have a history entrenched in colonialism, but I was completely overwhelmed with joy when I received an invitation to the press day to view the opening of such a remarkable collection. The V&A, founded in 1852, showcased the first Africa Fashion Exhibition in its 170 year history, opening its doors to the press ahead of it going live to the public on 2nd July.