The Design Indaba's curatorial process include us tracking and tracing design and creativity across the various leading universities and design/architectural schools across the world, to explore what the next generation is focused on. At the end of 2010, during our scans for young and emerging creatives, we came across... Laduma Ngxokolo's colouful Xhosa knitwear designs. We invited Laduma Ngxokolo to The Design Indaba the following year, in 2011 both as a Conference speaker under the Design Indaba Global Graduates programme and also as a Design Indaba Emerging Creative. Since then Laduma Ngxokolo has gone on to create a global fashion brand, MaXhosa by Laduma MaXhosa AFRICA™. During his talk in 2011, Laduma Ngxokolo inspired the The Design Indaba audience as he shared the beginnings and inspiration behind his design career. He started by redesigning the clothing traditionally worn by Xhosa men upon initiation. His garments were made with Xhosa beadwork and culture in mind, while also using locally produced materials such as wool and mohair. "In my childhood we always had a very traditional upbringing. My mother used to read me Xhosa anthropological books as bedtime stories, and it’s something that I’ve grown up with, that I’m still growing into, and I want to embrace it every way I can," says Laduma Ngxokolo . Ngxokolo prioritises the use of colour in his designs, as this is an important part of Xhosa visual culture. He also utilises local materials with longevity so that the garments can be preserved for future generations. MaXhosa AFRICA™ is a distinctive knitwear brand that is rooted in Laduma Ngxokolo 's journey into creating Xhosa-inspired knitwear. Using traditional Xhosa beadwork motifs and patterns, MaXhosa celebrates the rich heritage of the Xhosa culture through providing traditional clothing for Xhosa initiation rituals. The creations are modern, yet culturally relevant and bring Xhosa aesthetics into any attire. In 2014, The Design Indaba facilitated a scholarship for Laduma to study Masters in Material Futures at Central Saint Martins in London. And in 2016, Laduma won the Design Indaba's Most Beautiful Object In South Africa, for one of his MaXhosa shawls. Watch his full talk The Design Indaba Conference here #LadumaNgxokolo #MaXhosa #AfricanFashion #KnitwearDesign #SustainableFashion #TextileArtshow more

The Design Indaba

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