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City Press, in collaboration with spree.co.za, brings you Craig Jacobs, the second designer taking part in our three-week long, gift-wrapping promotion that offers you, the reader, stylish wrapping paper to collect and use as part of our free festive insert.
Jacobs is the brains behind the elegant clothing label, Fundudzi. Speaking from Joburg this week, where Jacobs is based, I discover that this colourful geometric pattern, shown above, is the start of something long term for his brand.
“The print is our first ‘house print’,” he says.
“Gucci has a house print with the famous double G, and Louis Vuitton has its flower monogram, so we are following suit.”
The inaugural Fundudzi print uses a limited palette of blush pink, teal and coffee-brown to create a pattern that is distinctly African.
“The thinking behind it is inspired by traditional Shweshwe print and wax prints,” Jacobs explains.
“What’s important about a print is the elements that do not make it boring to the eye. If you add different elements, it intrigues the eye, hence you see some zigzag lines. It isn’t uniform and has a bit of a flow to it. If everything was symmetrical, it wouldn’t give that feeling to the pattern.”
The Fundudzi aesthetic uses traditional African forms in an updated way, adds Jacobs.
“To someone unfamiliar with the label, hopefully the first thing they will think is, ‘That’s an African print’ – and then, hopefully, ‘That’s also a really modern print.’”
Christmas will be spent at home in Joburg this year. “My mother always cooks up a feast for Christmas lunch. She commutes between South Africa and Australia, so it’s always special when she comes home.”
What’s on the menu for the family feast? “It used to be all about the turkey, but in this climate, who knows? There is a family recipe, handed down from her grandmother – a pickle recipe – which we eat with the gammon each year. I cannot wait to eat it again.”
Jacobs’ latest limited edition collection for Spree is selling fast, so if you’re looking for something special to pack inside this week’s wrapping paper, browse the site now. And, look out in next week’s edition for our third designer in the series: the fabulous David Tlale.
