Thando Mangaliso talks SA Fashion Week collection

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South African fashion designer Thando Mangaliso, owner of Sun Goddess South Africa will showcase his 20th collection at SA Fashion Week, taking place from Thursday 26 September to 28 September.

SUN GODDESS SOUTH AFRICA SHOWCASES 20TH COLLECTION AT SA FASHION WEEK

SA Fashion Week is taking place at Melrose Arch, Gauteng from the 26 to 28 September, where South African designers are set to showcase their new collections. One of the designers is Thando Mangaliso, the man behind Sun Goddess South Africa, who will be showcasing the brand’s 20th collection. He runs the business alongside his wife, Vanya Mangaliso.

The theme is Winter Safari and expresses how one navigates the cold winter months with glamour and style. The collection pays homage to wild life heritage as expressed in the fabrics and winter textures that are inspired by the Big five. Earthy tones with dashes of the beautiful African sunrise will be seen in the collection.

“It is a true testament to the notion that in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks and that when we look deep into nature then suddenly, we understand everything . They say that nature holds the key to all our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing. It is not a place but home where nothing is perfect and everything is just perfect,” as per the brand.

THANDO MANGALISO: ‘WE ROOT ALL OUR DESIGNS IN SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE’

Mangaliso explained that animal prints were used to draw the big five into the designs.

“We brought the big five into the collection with the use of animal prints that come from the wild. So, we like to use the leopard print, the giraffe print and the zebra print,” said Mangaliso exclusively to The South African.

He went on to explain that the giraffe print texture is underrated.

“The textures mimic the animal skin. So, if you think of the zebra print and leopard print – they are warm, they are rich, they are textured. They are African and we root all our designs in South African culture, and we use a lot of the icons from the animal kingdom that come from Africa. So, leopard is very strong, which represents royalty. Zebra is strong as well, synonymous . The most underrated is the giraffe print, we like the texture and the patterns the giraffe prints make,” he continued.

THANDO MANGALISO ON USING EARTHY TONES

Mangaliso went on to say that earthy tones were used for the designs and these were in correlation for winter, since it is a winter collection.

“We chose the colours of the landscape, if you think of winter, things are a bit dry, especially here in the Northern part of the country. The earth is regenerating itself if you think of the sunsets, the sunrises, the gold grass, the landscape, which is a bit parched. Which gives, play to the inspiration of our designs. So, a lot of khaki, a lot of greys, browns and black in all of that,” he said.

Mangaliso went on to say that the inspiration behind the collection is a season of austerity.

“The season is a tough one. It is a season of austerity , we wanted to celebrate that season. Yes, it’s cold, but if you think off beautiful jackets, beautiful capes, as much as we are cold we need to be glamorous and celebrate all seasons. Winter is about death but also the regeneration – that is what we are celebrating, the regeneration of a new season, looking fabolous even though there is so much austerity,” he concluded.

THANDO MANGALISO ON SA FASHION WEEK

Sun Goddess has represented South African Fashion at various Fashion Weeks Platforms such as London (UK), Atlanta (US), New Delhi and Mumbai (India), Seoul (Korea), Lagos (Nigeria), Madagascar, Stockholm (Sweden), Nairobi in Kenya, Singapore, Sicily Caltanissetta and Sicily in Italy, Utrecht and Amsterdam in the Netherlands and, Acapulco in Mexico.

“SA Fashion Week is very important to us. It just gives us a chance to pre-plan what production is going to be for the coming collection, that’s what it’s all about. It is also great for marketing, reconnecting with our clients. It just sort of gives formality and focus for what we are doing for the season coming ahead. It’s summer now but we are planning for winter,”