Maxhosa debuted their Spring/Summer 2021 collection in a virtual showcase for New York Fashion Week last night. The design house’s third time showing at NYFW, the title of the collection is “INGUMANGALISO IMISEBENZI KATHIXO” (‘God’s work is miraculous).
Named after a song written by designer Laduma Ngxokolo’s grandfather, Mike Ngxokolo, the designer gave context to the title of the collection, saying, “For me, during lockdown, in the midst of sadness I felt like it is very important to give people hope with my craft. In my case, I love colour. So with this collection, I wanted to showcase happiness so that people would feel pretty excited about summer. Because with what we went through as a world, there is nothing to look forward to. So with the overall theme, I wanted to ultimately say that happiness is the new luxury.”
Giving hope with his craft, the brand opened its second boutique at the V&A Waterfront during lockdown, the first being at the Mall of Africa in Johannesburg. In an interview with WWD Magazine, he said, “It’s rare to find Black-designed collections in retail spaces. That’s an issue that should be rectified because it’s what sustains our businesses.”
The runway had some of SA’s most loved personalities showcasing Laduma’s work; Riky Rick, Maps Maponyane, Tshepi Vundla, Warren Masemola, Babalwa Mneno, and Athi-Afikile Myataza included, as well as a host of talented runway models.
Black Motion’s “Prayer for Rain” provided the backing track for the latter part of the show. The duo said of the album that “Prayer for Rain” can be found on, “Moya wa Taola represents a body of work that is guided by the spirit of the bones.” In that regard, “Prayer for Rain” is an incantation by a traditional healer for rain to return and heal the land during a period of drought. As the backdrop to a collection that aims to give people hope, this was the perfect fit.
Check out some of the pieces from Maxhosa’s SS2021 collection, and watch the NYFW showcase, below.
All pictures by Dart Photography.
