Africa’s Leading Lights In Fashion: Confections X Collections At Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel

As Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, celebrates 125 years of slow luxury travel, its 2024 calendar brims with a vibrant curation of events spanning contemporary culture. Among the most eagerly awaited is the third edition of CONFECTIONS x COLLECTIONS (CxC), curated by Twyg. Taking place from 5–9 November, this sartorial showcase brings together some of Africa’s foremost slow fashion visionaries for a salon-style showcase of their latest creations. We sat down with a select group of this year’s designers to explore the concepts and influences guiding their work ahead of this year’s dynamic celebration of African fashion.

Lukhanyo Mdingi: Crafting Connection Through Consideration

Known for his thoughtful approach to design, Lukhanyo Mdingi is a creator merging heritage and modernity within the African fashion landscape. His collections showcase meticulous attention to detail and a strong emphasis on sustainability. Inspired by the rich cultural narratives of his homeland, South Africa, Mdingi creates pieces that resonate with authenticity and purpose. As a proponent of slow fashion, he highlights local craftsmanship while reflecting a commitment to ethical practices and community engagement, inviting wearers to thoughtfully engage with their clothing.

You are building a community with the wearers of your garments and with your collaborators. Why do you put so much care into fostering these connections?

LM: For me, it’s about people using their time, talent, and trust as a means of service to others. I value the importance of design, but I find that both human ingenuity and trust are characteristics that I’m grounded by, so I have woven them into the fabric of my career, through the best and most challenging of times.

Through a very slow, intentional approach to textiles and design, you humanise fashion, making it kinder, and gentler – was this intentional?

LM: Over time it has been. And this has been yielded by those who support the bigger picture of the label’s point of view.

As an event dedicated to celebrating slow and ethical fashion from Africa, how does CxC support your unique design practice?

LM: It’s nuanced and keeps the value of consideration in mind. This is a sentiment that we are continuously in pursuit of within the context of design, collaboration, and community.

Rich Mnisi: Redefining African Luxury

Rich Mnisi is a visionary designer renowned for his bold and innovative approach to African fashion. His eponymous label embodies a commitment to celebrating African heritage while challenging conventional notions of luxury. With a focus on storytelling and craftsmanship, Mnisi’s collections are imbued with cultural significance and a modern aesthetic that resonates on a global stage. Through his work, he aims to amplify African voices in the fashion industry, paving the way for a new narrative that highlights the richness and diversity of African culture.

Your work has been recognised for its bold approach to redefining African luxury. How do you see your designs contributing to the future of African fashion globally?

RM: We’re committed not only to celebrating African luxury, but also to reshaping its narrative on a world stage. Our designs are deeply rooted in African heritage, using storytelling, craftsmanship, and bold aesthetics that speak to universal themes of identity and self-expression. Our hope is to create space for African voices and craftsmanship to be celebrated globally, setting a new standard for what African luxury means.

Your brand celebrates your culture and heritage, and you often state your sustainability intentions. Are these two objectives easily aligned?

RM: Not easily, but they are both essential parts of our philosophy. At Rich Mnisi, honouring our heritage also means respecting the land and the communities that inspire us. We work with local artisans, sustainable materials wherever possible, uphold traditional techniques and reduce our environmental footprint. To us, sustainability is not just a trend; it means respecting our resources, our culture, and the future of our planet.

Can you give us a teaser about the collection you will be showing at CxC 2024?

RM: Nambu (River) captures the river’s duality as a lifeline and a force, gentle yet unyielding, flowing constantly and with purpose and shaping everything in its path. Our collection reflects on this unstoppable momentum, harnessed through structured tailoring that mirrors the river’s strength. Through clean lines, earthy hues, and fluid silhouettes, Nambu allows wearers to embody the strength of the river. Each piece is a tribute to life’s constant evolution, urging individuals to carry their journeys with grace and purpose, flowing forward and leaving renewal in their wake.

Bubu Ogisi: The Art of Storytelling Through Fashion

Bubu Ogisi is the creative force behind IAMISIGO, celebrated for her fusion of artisanal craftsmanship and contemporary style. Drawing inspiration from her motherland, Nigeria, and her travels across Africa, she crafts pieces that narrate the continent’s diverse cultural heritage. Committed to sustainability, Ogisi emphasises traditional techniques and the stories within materials, aiming to deepen the global understanding of African fashion and invite audiences to appreciate the artistry in her designs.

Your fashion design responds to and is deeply inspired by your research and travels through Africa. How do you decide what histories and knowledge to use in your design?

BO: Our research has systematically explored West, East, Central and Southern Africa. We aim to connect these places and understand the ancient techniques that have been used and preserved across objects, design, and craft, using the body as the ultimate canvas. In answering questions such as “how do we embrace our histories and move forward”, we look to the notion of connectivity and bring together multicultural processes to create free-minded pieces.

How do you conceptually balance artisanal crafts with contemporary fashion trends in your design?

BO: The ideology is to highlight and promote cultural crossover without compromising identity. Our work at IAMISIGO is 100% artisanal and handmade, focusing on ancestral techniques, while incorporating waste and other unconventional fibres to create wearable artwork. In doing so, we highlight the importance of preserving handmade processes and upcycling.

What significance does showcasing in Cape Town at Mount Nelson hold for you, and how does it align with your vision as an African storyteller in the fashionscape? 

BO: It speaks to our brand ethos of borderless ideologies. We aim to open people’s minds to a new language of materiality with this collection, expanding our audience by showcasing a performance installation in Cape Town that illuminates the work and its processes. As an entirely handcrafted brand, we also believe in the connectivity between hands and materials and value every time and space in which our works and practices are showcased.

Adeju Thompson of Lagos Space Programme: Exploring Heritage and Futurism

The fourth and final designer featured in CxC’s 2024 solo shows is Adeju Thompson, founder of Lagos Space Programme—a boundary-pushing designer known for fusing Yoruba heritage with avant-garde sensibilities. Recognised globally, Thompson won the 2023 International Woolmark Prize for innovative craftsmanship, using sustainable and artisanal practices to explore identity, history, and futurism. His work positions the body as a vessel for storytelling, blending cultural narratives with contemporary design and brings a fresh lens to African fashion with pieces that are both intellectual and wearable art.

CxC: Celebrating African Fashion

As the excitement builds for this year’s CxC, fashion enthusiasts can look forward to an exceptional line-up of showcasing designers. On November 5, RICH MNISI will take the stage, followed by Adeju Thompson of Lagos Space Programme on November 6, Bubu Ogisi of IAMISIGO on November 7, and Lukhanyo Mdingi on November 8. Coupled with an elevated iteration of The Nellie’s Afternoon Tea ceremony and bespoke confections cued by each collection, CxC pays homage to the meteoric rise of African fashion and its diverse sartorial storytellers. The event culminates in an exclusive, invitation-only finale show on November 9, where all aforementioned designers, as well as CxC alumni, including VIVIERS Studio, CHULAAP, Wanda Lephoto, MANTSHO by Palesa Mokubung, Sindiso Khumalo, MmusoMaxwell, and MAXHOSA AFRICA, will come together to celebrate the vibrant tapestry of African fashion.