• Beginnings, inspirations.
• Storytelling, celebrating heritage.
• Between art and business.
• Goals for the future.

Cape Town-born fashion designer, Mzukisi Mbane, is a special kind of genius. His flair and magic for textiles is lovingly evoked by the prints he imbues into the fabric he uses to create his striking garments. This is more than an aesthetic or fashion statement. Rather, his work becomes an homage to the millennia-old tradition of making clothes, the culture of prints and the stories they transfer to each generation. He is both narrator and shaper of culture, and in African fashion, he is the new face of African heritage.

Beginnings, inspirations

Born and raised in Khayelitsha, the township would fuel Mbane’s creativity and determination. Says the designer: “The township is very diverse and that’s the beautiful thing about it. In my work, there are a lot of elements that come together and should not work together, but they do to create this beautiful vibe.”

His mother of course would be the focus of his oeuvre. The designer is self-taught, but his mum’s sewing machine would be the catalyst for his creative journey.  “You can see my mom in all my collections. There’s always that softness, strength and fluidity in everything that I do; which symbolises what she stood for.”

These two threads would be part of the heft that led him to the Design Indaba Emerging Creatives incubator programme. The Design Indaba is a South African design event that began in 1995. For the last two decades, it has promoted and celebrated all creative sectors, starting with Africa, and going international. Part of its manifesto is to improve quality of life and give dignity to its practitioners and has been a vital partner in encouraging local talent to venture into global markets.

Mbane’s time with the Design Indaba would prove fundamental to the success he enjoys today. Being part of the programme instilled the robust confidence he needed as a designer, as well as selling out his stock on the first day of the exhibition. “That space of being an Emerging Creative for those few days, it transformed my business to the next level,” he recalls

It would not be his last encounter with the Design Indaba. Each year Design Indaba asks cultural influencers to choose 10 pieces that they consider extraordinarily beautiful. In 2019, Mzukisi Mbane was among the nominees for his ‘African Bridal Dress’. The gown – cast in an early South African Victorian era silhouette – amplifies an eclectic print, inspired by a rich Asian history on the continent. The Afro-Futuristic aesthetic, meanwhile, personifies an African identity and celebrates the continent’s diversity. Being nominated for the Most Beautiful Object in the South Africa was certainly the indication of great things to come, namely his luxury fashion brand, ‘Imprint ZA’.

“I want a black child born and raised in the township to aspire to be great in the township.”

Storytelling, celebrating heritage.

‘Imprint ZA’ is Mbane’s medium with which to tell stories. He began making his own prints in 2015 as a way to showcase his originality & design flair as well as his authenticity. “I always push to create a print that has an authentic connection to the African identity. For me, whenever I produce a collection it’s never really about creating beautiful clothes or models on a runway, it’s about telling a story.”

This is seen most clearly in his collection, ‘Abenguni’, a celebration of his Xhosa identity and which embodies a dialogue with his ancestors. For the collection, he specifically created the prints to represent his clan through shapes, faces and colours.