South African musician Sho Madjozi is making waves on the international stage with her Global Citizens 2018 outfit.
The xibelani dress inspired by her Tsonga culture is displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance.
It was designed by Onder Die Invloed.
Real name, Maya Christinah Xichavo Wegerif, Madjozi says she likes wearing xibelani when performing because it connects her to her roots.
“My Tsonga culture is a huge part of what forms who I am. When I wear xibelani to perform, I imagine that all the Tsonga women in my family, past and present, are there with me on stage. How many of my fore-mothers wore this same garment and didn’t break or shrink in the face of tremendous challenges? I feel like I can do anything.”
Other South Africans who have their pieces displayed at the V&A Museum include Maxhosa Africa and Thebe Magugu.
Maxhosa has the ‘Tussles' dress (2017) and 'Imboylsa' shawl and shorts (2015). Meanwhile, Magugu’s first international runway show was held at the Museum. The fashion show saw the designer exhibit his latest collection titled: ‘Discard Theory’.
The Kimberley-born star says the collection was inspired by the informal thrift culture.
“The collection was built by sourcing discarded clothing at Dunusa*, bringing it into the studio, where I analysed silhouettes and proportions, cut into them to expand, and then refashioned them in updated materials. There is a ‘soft decay’ about the collection from a design POV – as if once magnificent clothes are seeing the early stages of damage. Fraying appliqué, gashes of slits, and pleated skirts that seem torn into are motifs that communicate this direction,” Magugu said.