Chandeliers overhead, cream boiserie on the walls, and down the centre of the parquet a path of woven grass mats. Before a single look appeared, Laduma Ngxokolo had made his point with the set: this was Paris, but on MaXhosa’s terms. After five seasons of static presentations in the city, MaXhosa Africa opened the SS27 calendar as the first South African fashion house to stage a full runway show at Paris Fashion Week. The 60 looks, titled Izihlwele Zivumile (“the crowds, or the ancestors, have approved”), had the confidence of a house that already knew the answer.
Knitwear, the foundation of the brand, was pushed further than ever. Jacquards drawn from Xhosa beadwork came in a Spring palette of lavender, dove grey, aqua and cobalt. The MXS monogram was knitted into polos and skirt suits with heritage-house polish. The real thrill was texture: diamond and zigzag motifs shot through with feathered fringe, so they seemed to lift off the body. It showed in a dusty-pink lattice set, a black lurex polo and shorts, and a double-breasted jacket piped in electric blue that reworked the bouclé suit into something rougher and entirely Ngxokolo’s own. Scalloped bralettes over pencil skirts, a burgundy column dress and a molten orange-and-turquoise silk drape rounded out the women’s side. The easy knit shirts and shorts for men will be on the street by next summer. A polo knitted with the silhouette of Africa and a striped set spelling out country names made clear the address this season was continental.
The styling was the exclamation point. There were beaded MXS crowns strung with cowrie shells, towering shell-studded hats, and turquoise bead curtains veiling the eyes. Surreal eyewear ranged from gear-trimmed goggles to a sunburst headdress anchored by a single oversized eye. Kaleidoscopic oversized totes, horsetail whisks, grass brooms and beaded loafers carried ceremony and street in the same hand.
Plenty of designers arrive in Paris hoping to be absorbed by it. Ngxokolo arrived to change the room, and largely did. At 60 looks some of the co-ords repeat themselves, but the craft is undeniable and nothing reads as costume. This is a living wardrobe with a long memory and a clear eye on the future. Judging by the phones held aloft along the grass-mat runway, the crowd approved. The ancestors, one suspects, did too.
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