CATCHING THEBE MAGUGU

Image: Courtesy of Thebe Magugu.

Shortly after graduating from The London International School of Fashion, Thebe Magugu launched his eponymous label, in Johannesburg, in 2016. Focussing on "cultural honor, novelty, and uncompromising quality," Magugu's designs employ motifs and details from Africa's "storied past, complex present and exciting imagined futures." He is proud to document "the true face of contemporary South Africa." 

Image: Courtesy of Thebe Magugu.

In 2019, Thebe Magugu became the first African designer to receive the LVMH Prize for emerging talent. In the same year, he took the top prize in the International Fashion Showcase. Since then, he has produced several major solo collections, and collaborated with Adidas on the AW22 sportswear collection Finding Beauty.

Image: Courtesy of Thebe Magugu.

This month, Magugu will present his first fashion show outside Johannesburg. Showcasing highlights from his collection Discard Theory, inspired by fabrics discarded by Europe and America, the show forms part of the Fashion in Motion series, supported by Libbie Scher Mugrabi, at London's V&A.  

To create the 25 looks that will show, Magugu visited Dunuza, a site in Johannesburg where clothes discarded by Europe and America resurface (Dunuza means 'bend over', describing the action of reaching and searching). He describes the collection he has created from this source material as 'trickle-up fashion'— an inversion of the 'trickle-down' theory that presents fashion as a hierarchal and class-based industry.

Image: Courtesy of Thebe Magugu. 

Magugu says: "For this collection I thought about national identity politics, and how western influence has penetrated indigenous dress. 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 Vodafone 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 Fashion in Motion takes place during the V&A's Africa Fashion exhibition, which includes work from Magugu’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, Alchemy.

There will be four free fashion shows, at 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 20:00 BST, on Friday 7 October in the Raphael Court of the V&A.

Booking is essential, with limited tickets available here.