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- Luxury brand MaXhosa hosted its first-ever sustainability festival.
- Founder Laduma Ngxokolo tells us the importance of being part of the global sustainability conversation.
- He is proud to be able to tell authentic stories that advance the South African narrative to the world.
Fashion brands often have to defend their honour regarding their involvement in advancing sustainability conversations and practices. Some are in hot water for giving lip service to the cause and unaware of how they manufacture clothing.
The likes of fast fashion brand Zara through their sustainable manifesto in 2020, vowed "a commitment to Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals for its supply chain, training all of its designers in the cruciality of circularity, and not using fibres from endangered forests."
Meanwhile, Levi's has a 2025 plan; the aim is to use 100% sustainably sourced cotton and 100% renewable energy in Levi's operated facilities while pioneering innovative, durable fabrics and many others.
South African luxury brand, MaXhosa has also raised its hand and vowed to be a healthy brand concerned about the environment as it hosted the first-ever MaXhosa Africa Sustainability Festival on World Earth Day at Nirox Sculpture Park.
Founder Laduma Ngxokolo tells us, "We don't just feel that it is important. We feel that it is an obligation to be a conscious brand, not just within the environmental space... Our brand pillar is triple Ps, but people come first, the planet comes second, and profit, of course, is what sustains into the future."
Laduma says since its inception when the brand was a thesis project at Nelson Mandela University; environmental consciousness was always top of mind.
Growing up in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, a city that prides itself as the continent's biggest wool industry producer, he always wanted to tell a story to make it known to the world.
On the day, MaXhosa broke down the sustainable supply chain through an interactive exhibition. From sourcing raw materials to superior finishings. An approach for quality and long-lasting slow-fashion. They took it further by shearing sheep on the day to showcase the manufacturing process.
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Laduma says, "We used to have many textile companies that disappeared in the nineties", adding that the impact that fashion has had in society is something they can relate to.
Storytelling is a big part of what the luxury brand stands for, and it has successfully grabbed the international community's attention by telling people about who he is and where he comes from through fashion.
"For me, it's not really about walking the road less travelled and more about being authentic because I often find that when you go out there, people find a need to be superficial and not really listen to themselves, thinking that their superficialness will appeal to the European market or the elite local market."
He credits authenticity, which has made the brand what it is. Even though there's been corridor whispers about how expensive the brand keeps getting, to which loyal customers answer, "You are not the target market". Even with that, this has not stopped the brand from growing.
"I don't really censor or sugarcoat what I have to put out there. It is something that is honest that I don't feel really anxious about whether it will be well received or not. If I didn't trust myself, my family, my siblings wouldn't have trusted me to be their business leader."
Adding that MaXhosa patrons wouldn't have trusted him and vouched for his product.
"I think simply that was what sustained us."
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MaXhosa showcased the AW2023 collection entitled The Sons and Daughters of Credo Mutwa, a homage to one of South Africa's great Sanusi and mystical storytellers.
Laduma says: "Some of my design approaches are inspired by Credo's images of the world and the continent. Since I was a teenager, I have been listening to his lectures, reading his books and viewing his artwork. I am drawn to the way he portrays a mystical world; he has a deep imagination of all the different types of human characters."
At the end of the show, Laduma walked the fashion ramp with his employees, the people who he says are an integral part of what we know the brand as today, but who are hardly ever seen.
