“I have so much that I want to address, but I often fail speaking about it. I share my opinion through my collections—that’s how I feel heard.”
As quoted by Huber, writing on behalf of the Met
Thebe Magugu got his start in womenswear because of the inspiration from the women who raised him. He strives to make clothing for women, without a specific muse in mind, instead striving to create beautiful designs that will work in their everyday lives. He wants his fashion pieces to tell a story that goes beyond just beautiful clothing. Truthfully, that level of storytelling which has captivated a museum, won him international prizes is what continues to draw many to his designs. Here is a breakdown of the stories behind his collections to date.
SS 2017 Geology
This collection, his debut, allowed Magugu to reflect on his own experiences and look back to the past. As he worked through his own personal journey through design, he also included colors pointing towards the landscape surrounding him.
Autumn/Winter 2018- Home Economics
In this collection, Magugu offers a response to the contrast between a literal on-paper expression of gender equality in the South African constitution and the continual domestic abuse and confined gender roles women experienced. A standout piece from the collection is the Girl Seeks Girl dress, inspired by a case of domestic abuse. The year prior, a woman, Karabo Mokoena, was murdered by her boyfriend.
The image printed on the dress was drawn by Phathu Nembilwi. It depicts two women holding each other, one consoling the other who is crying in her arms. The color palette echoed the colors of the cleaning products you would find under the kitchen sink. In a way bringing in the expectations for women as the homemaker, in the face of men choose to abuse them to get what they want. The combination of the image and story behind the colors chosen conveys the sense that women need each other as they bear this heavy weight and fight the challenges they face together.
(Photo credits Aart Verrips, Thebe Magugu)
SS 2019 Art History
Magugu emphasizes the power of art to help one process trauma and pain. This collection features a Nightmare Journal set. He reproduced the nightmare journals from his youth on pleated satin, literally turning his own trauma into art.
(Photo credits Aart Verrips, Thebe Magugu)
AW 2019 African studies
His vision of what Africa is, taking back ownership of that image from the often “voyeuristic” journeys there to exploit and distort its beauty.
SS2020 Prosopography
Aligning with the definition of the collection’s name, he focuses on telling the stories of women who are often left out of the history of South Africa. He describes tracking down and recording the stories of the women who were part of the Black Sash movement and participated in what was referred to as hauntings, silent protests against pro-segregation leaders.
AW Anthro 1
This collection is intensely personal, as he draws upon his background, family, and hometown as inspiration. The collection was presented as a photo series, “Ipopeng.”
Couterintelligence SS21-
During the pandemic he began researching the idea of conspiracy theories, which led to him reading Betrayal: The Secret Lives of The Apartheid Spies. He decided to learn more and interviewed former spies, including Olivia Foresyth.
The idea of espionage and its “hidden-in-plan-sight” aspect inspired him to use trompe-l’oeil in the collection, details that appear one way from far away, but take on more detail when viewed up close. In particular, one the dresses in the collection appears to be covered in polka dots, which upon closer inspection turn out to be the fingerprints of Olivia Foresyth. Other hidden details include a polygraph test and written confession from a well-known spy.
AW21 ALchemy
Alchemy focuses on the changing face of African spirituality. He worked closely with Noentla Khumalo, a woman who actively practices traditional spirituality. He also had her throw bones (a divination process), photographed those bones, and used the image for a print design. He was intentionally about honoring her voice throughout the process and provided her a percentage of the sale of each garment.
The collection also includes a scarification jacket, which reproduces the scarring practices of local tribes into a form of knitted Braille, which allowed him to stitch in additional meaning.
(Photo credit Kristin Lee Moolman, Thebe Magugu)
SS22 Doublethink-
Corruption was the inspiration for this season’s collection. Magugu’s growing frustration and presentation with this commentary coincided with civil rest in his home country. This solidified the timeliness of his work and the astuteness of his commentary. This season also featured the debut of menswear as a “project” which meant that he didn’t necessarily believe he would need to continue with it.
SS22 collection, Genealogy
To say that Magugu was inspired by his own family would be a watered-down explanation. The collection features some reproductions of outfits in family photos, with his modernized twist. The collection was debuted via a film screening and is available on the brand YouTube channel.
8 dresses
Magugu wanted to design a collection that showed appreciation for the 8 main tribes in South Africa: Zulu, Tswana, Swati, Vhavenda, Pedi, Xhosa, Tsonga, and Sotho. The designs highlight specific aspects of each culture in the designs, with paintings Phathu Nembilwi. Modeled by friends of the designer and other South African creatives, each look tells the story of each culture, with the help of Vuyolwethu Reoagile, who provided more details in writing, available on the site. The project helped the designer learn more about each of the cultures and develop a deeper appreciation.
For more information, please see the Collections page on the Thebe Magugu site. There you will find even more backstory on the making of each collection.
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More sources
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