5 African Spring/Summer 2022 Collections to look out for

SS22 collections

Written by The Native - 31.Oct.2021

The fashion calendar is off to a very great start. All across the world, established and emerging fashion houses are unveiling the world around their daring spring and summer collections, whetting appetites for the upcoming fashion season which seems to feature bold and colourful prints and patterns.

Here in Lagos, Nigeria, one of fashion busiest capitals, all eyes have been heavily focused on the fashion runway which has made its welcome return to the city after the break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. While the busy Lagos Fashion Week calendar has breezed by this weekend, there are still a number of African fashion designers unveiling their latest collections, to incredible fanfare. From Thebe Magugu’s ‘Genealogy’ collection to Orange Culture’s ‘Peacock Riot’, here are a few SS22 collections to look forward to by African designers on the continent and in her diaspora.

Thebe Magugu

The South African designer and former LVMH prize winner, Thebe Magugu unveiled his collection titled ‘GENEALOGY’. The new collection is inspired by the history, experience and heritage of the Magugu family. From the colours to the style and fabric, each look has its own unique story and reinterpretation. “Our home in Kimberley was a temp built from Debeers, who provided settlement for their miners(my grandfather). We were one of the first houses on the settlement and seen here my mother with an oversized trench coat on our street, now known as Ipopeng- which translates into “make yourselves pretty,” Thebe explains as the backstory behind one of the collections’ vibrant pieces.

Kenneth Ize

The Nigerian designer debuted his SS22 collection during Paris Fashion week earlier this fashion season. His looks have always been known for his craftsmanship, colourful versatility and asooke technique, which makes it extremely wearable for anyone. In this collection, we see a lot of fringe, stripes, patterns and so much more.

Sindiso Khumalo

The South African designer, the LVMH joint prize winner, unveiled her collection during the Milan Fashion week. The collection pays homage to the University of Cape Town Jagger African Studies library that was caught in a mountain fire in April of 2021. Some of the pieces are also filled with hand illustrations of maps, political history and stories of African legends lost in the fire by a South African artist known as Snalo Ngcaba. Since the launch of her fashion brand in 2015, her designs and textiles in her collections are handmade with watercolours and collages. Her colourful aesthetic is also inspired by her Zulu and Ndebele heritage.

Xuly Bët

Lamine Badian Kouyaté, the Malian/Senegalese known for his cool and casual take on his designs took a different approach for his SS22 collection. This features many body-hugging, nylon and sports-like design items, a welcome return to his brand’s essence. “With this Spring-Summer collection, I wanted to be radical, I wanted to come back to the quintessence of Xuly.Bët. A quintessence that has been purified,” says Kouyaté. The looks are all inspired by the 1995 collaboration between Xuly Bët and Puma. He translates the modern nature of the avant-garde looks to that of today through his use of colours, fabrics, stitches and design.

Rich Minsi

Milan fashion week witnessed the unveiling of the South African designer Rich Minsi’s Spring Summer 2022 collection titled ‘Mafamaba Yexe’. Minsi explains that “Mafambe Yexe finds its inspiration in a microscopic view of Bumba’s purge, made up of cells that, like so many others, cut up aside to multiply. Pain on the skin, aches on the within, discomfort in all places. From that discomfort, cells made echoes of their own likeness, and Bumba birthed the world”. The colours yellow, green and red are at the forefront of the collection. His aim is to push the conventional fashion boundaries not only through his designs but also his personal style rocking mini skirts and other unconventional looks.