Africa’s most anticipated designers, Laduma Ngxokolo of Maxhosa Africa, Rina Chunga Kutuma of Ri.ch Factory and Sindiso Khumalo presented Afrofuturistic elegant collections at the Vodacom Durban July on Saturday.
Inspired by the theme of Once Upon An African Future, each designer created 10 different looks that represented their idea of an African future that is optimistic, chic, vibrant and relevant, with powerful symbols of cultural transference appearing within their individual aesthetics.
Ri.ch Factory designs.
“In creating the Once Upon An African Future theme, Vodacom Red collaborated with some of the continent’s most exciting creative minds to bring about truly inspiring, world-class work. The collaboration really captured the essence of what it means to be African and excitement about the future. As a brand, we are proud to be have been a partner of this amazing project,” says Michelle van Eyden, Head of Vodacom Sponsorships.
Using prints inspired by African folktales, Sindiso Khumalo's was a combination of screen printed, reds, blues, and some other beautiful colors.
Sindiso Khumalo designs.
"The Inspiration for this collection was a combination of looking at the past but also paying homage to our roots and our unique African story telling. The materials I used like the red denim and bespoke print, designed specifically for this show, were all tributes to women empowerment - a message that the future is female," says Sindiso Khumalo.
Maxhosa designs.
The extraordinary Once Upon An African Future collections ran the breadth of style, with silhouettes ranging from cocktail to day time, avant-garde and night time garments, each receiving enthusiastic reaction from guests at the VIP Paddock, a veritable ‘who’s who’ including Bonang Matheba, DJ Zuma, Maps Maponyane and Minnie Dlamini.