The Looks To Love From Rihanna-Favorite Thebe Magugu’s AZ Factory Collection
As his collection for AZ Factory launches at NET-A-PORTER, discover the majesty of A-list-favorite THEBE MAGUGU, the designer renowned for his cerebral references and an elegance that feels almost regal. By DIVYA BALA
Ask Thebe Magugu who he would like to see in his collections and it’s no surprise he names a queen – specifically, the 18th-century African monarch Queen Nandi Bhebhe. “[She was] Shaka Zulu’s mother, the king of the Zulu people; a very modern woman, with modern thoughts and ideals, living in a very backward time. She was spirited, intense and fearless, which I hope this collection invokes in people,” the designer says.
If Queen Nandi were still alive today, it would be easy to imagine her draped in Magugu’s innovative pieces. After all, modern stars from the worlds of pop, film and publishing gravitate towards them. Most recently it was Rihanna, who, after her impossibly chic tour of Paris, wore Magugu’s designs to announce the arrival of Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin in Africa with a pre-partum post. Elsewhere, writer and actor Michaela Coel chose Magugu for an Emmy Awards afterparty, wearing an ivory, half-cape wool suit, while Dionne Warwick selected Magugu for a film by Solange Knowles and Saint Heron. Then there was poet laureate and activist Amanda Gorman, who was photographed wearing a shirt dress by the designer on the cover of PORTER in July last year.
Magugu describes his signature as a celebration of South African and African spirituality and excellence, and his collections remain an open, universal invitation for any woman seeking the rich spirit of storytelling woven into each piece. “My identity has shaped the brand in a very interesting way,” says Magugu from his base in Johannesburg. “The brand addresses politics that might be specific to South Africa, but I think everyone across the globe can relate to at least one element of the story. For example, the SS22 collection deals with very specific photos from the past, but the idea of family is a universal one; FW21 was about African healers, but the idea of spirituality is a universal one; SS21 looked at South African spies, but the idea of espionage is one that fascinates the world.”
“Winning the LVMH Prize was completely unexpected – and maybe that was a bit of the insecurity I had carried from being so outside the industry
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Born in Kimberley, a historic mining hub in South Africa’s Northern Cape, Magugu describes a childhood punctuated by a restlessness to move to one of the fashion capitals. “My mother let me know that we couldn’t afford even a quarter of [the cost of a move], so I settled for Johannesburg. In hindsight, this was a blessing because I gained an appreciation of fashion’s cerebral side paired with all the history and culture that comes with being African – the perfect premise for the existence of my brand, which now operates as a sort of encyclopedia of African stories made available for the world to appreciate and learn from.”
In 2019, Magugu was awarded the prestigious LVMH Prize, just three years after launching his eponymous label. “Winning the LVMH Prize was completely unexpected – and maybe that was a bit of the insecurity I had carried from being so outside the industry,” he admits. Yet his left-of-center approach continues to create demand. Case in point: last year, Magugu was invited to be a guest designer for Pitti Uomo; he was also asked to be the first guest ‘Amigo’ (read: creative director) for the late Alber Elbaz’s AZ Factory, creating a collection that expresses both designers’ styles in symbiosis (the results of which you can see and shop here).
With this synergy in mind, Magugu lent on craftsmanship and storytelling – themes that are central to both his work and that of Elbaz. Titled ‘Intersection’, Magugu’s collection simultaneously asks, ‘What if Africa were the birthplace of couture?’ and provides an answer in garments that synthesize African and South African cultural aesthetics with the principles of couture, through the designers’ shared expression of considered fabrics, bold prints and hybrid silhouettes. Alongside Elbaz-inspired draped, voluminous shapes, for example, there is Magugu’s signature asymmetric pleated handkerchief skirts and hand-painted animal prints across tailored separates and tees. Meanwhile, Magugu’s logo – a “sisterhood emblem” featuring a pair of women holding hands – punctuates the collection as hardware.
His is an aesthetic that is hitting a chord universally, with cultural and spiritual references realized in a pastiche of colors and traditional craftsmanship, deftly tempered into modern lines by Magugu’s careful hand. There are surprise elements in his work, too, such as the use of actual plants to create fauna patterns, knitwear with a raised braille surface to communicate secret messages, and collaborations with traditional spiritual healers whose involvement in the creative process included posing the question ‘What now?’ to the ancestors.
The designer’s family ties to institutions also inform his penchant for uniform-dressing (his grandmother wore uniforms as a medical nurse and as a member of the church, as did his mother, who preferred wearing coordinated sets), which lends a sense of functionality to his work. The mix provides an intoxicating, stop-you-in-your-tracks feast for the eyes; meaning imbued in every stitch and silhouette.
“In terms of imaging, I find that the [Western] world has quite dated ideas of what it means to be African or South African,” Magugu says. “We are an incredibly nuanced continent, with our own unique, inimitable knowledge systems. For [the FW21 collection] ‘Alchemy’, I spoke with Noentla Khumalo, a traditional healer, who shared experiences like being underwater for three days and things that don’t necessarily make sense to a Western audience, which might interpret traditional practices as something akin to magic or make-believe. Getting to hear her accounts, as someone who can swing between our reality and another plane, was just so fascinating,” he adds. “I’ve met people from unique walks of life. They inspire the collection, but they also have a big role in how it turns out in the end. It becomes a first-hand account through their participation.”