Maxhosa Africa showcases pan-Africanism at Paris Fashion Week

Maxhosa Africa creative director Laduma Ngxokolo unveiled a collection that celebrated pan-Africanism on Monday, as his label became the first South African brand to stage a full runway show on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar.

Ngxokolo said he wanted the show to highlight South Africa's diversity, beauty, and business successes.

"That's the Africa that we all want to live in, where the economy thrives, where the crimes become less, where politically it's less corrupt — that's the Africa that we're trying to showcase here," Ngxokolo told journalists after the show in the gilded rooms of the residence of the South African ambassador to France.

Maxhosa Africa clothes are produced at two knitting factories the brand owns in Johannesburg and in East London, in the Eastern Cape province where the wool used for its knitwear is also sourced. Ngxokolo said he aims to boost the country's textile industry and show it can produce high-quality luxury goods.

On a catwalk of woven straw mats models paraded outfits that echoed the pan-African theme. One featured multi-coloured knitted labels with the names of African countries, a motif also worn by South African musician and rapper Sjava, whose singing provided the soundtrack to the show.

Women wore brightly patterned bra tops with wavy hems, paired with flowing midi skirts, or matching geometric-patterned knit ensembles of pleated skirts and button-down shirts in lilac and grey. Some sported glasses by Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru, who creates eyewear from waste.

Menswear ranged from the formal, like a blue and red double-breasted suit in a checkerboard knit covered in beaded symbols, to more casual streetwear looks of baggy shorts and polo shirts in bright diamond patterns.

While Maxhosa's geometric patterns evoke traditional Xhosa beadwork, Ngxokolo said his inspirations also included Missoni, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

Ngxokolo had been planning to bring other African designers to Paris with him, but said he didn't have the resources.

"I feel honoured to be represented, I've been fighting to sit at the table for 16 years now," he said. "We feel that we are still underrepresented as the African continent."

-Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien/Reuters