As one of Africa’s most established independent designers, Lukhanyo Mdingi is charging ahead, both as a creative and a growing consumer enterprise. As Nataal debuts Mdingi’s new collection, simply titled ‘Capsule’, we take a look into the aesthetic and pragmatic elements of a brand whose fans first hailed from Cape Town and now stretch across the world. The South African label has long embodied the possibilities and potential of African fashion. Now it’s all about momentum – especially in the context of a international fashion industry that often eats away at a designer’s vision with a voracious calendar and wholesale demands. In many ways, Mdingi’s time to shine is now.

“I think there's a much larger conversation that should be had within the context of independent brands coming from Africa, especially those trying to grow their businesses within the global market in the current climate,” Mdingi notes. “We’re a brand that is coming out of two prizes and understanding what it's like to be in a system that's within the Northern Hemisphere, but still very much based in the Southern Hemisphere, literally Africa's most southern tip. There's been a lot of conflict with how the two can be managed. We’ve had really extraordinary experiences but also very challenging ones too.”

This latest capsule answers business questions without distorting Mdingi’s design integrity and soulful dedication to craftsmanship. With the brand so clear and understood in its style, silhouettes and target buyer (all of which are shifting), there is a strong commercial imperative. In 2021, Lukhanyo Mdingi won the coveted LVMH Prize, and most recently, the Amiri Prize in 2023, which comes with $100,000 and a year of mentorship. Speaking in Vogue Business in 2023, Mike Amiri spoke about the partnership: “Lukhanyo has already done an amazing job of gaining international acclaim and we hope to help him further this. We want to provide him the guidance and resources to maintain his commitment to local craft while at the same time establishing a strong foundation and infrastructure to scale his business.”

The first foray into this ballooning era is this capsule collection. Wearable, accessible and relatable to a broad range, it speaks to the way Mdingi responds to the “larger conversation”. Rightly known as a dynamic, detail-oriented designer, the creative essence is still clear. But in efforts to pull off this accessible approach, design was not the only consideration. “I just really wanted to create everyday offerings; to show that the brand has the means and capabilities to create designs that are incredibly desirable but are also practical. So that is the whole point of view of this collection, which is also based on how we will distribute it, leaning onto our first two wholesale partners and seeing how the e-commerce platform can work for our business,” Mdingi explains.

Visually, this mindset comes through clearly with campaign images that speak to the brand’s timeless, essentialist style. Mdingi worked with photographer and long-term collaborator Rudi Geyser to craft a feeling almost reminiscent of legendary singer and activist Miriam Makeba’s now-famous Drum Magazine cover from 1957. “There was a simplified, tender, pared down approach to this project. Shooting in grainy black and white, and crafting the images from natural light, created the nostalgia we were after,” shares Geyser.

With the product and creative direction in place, the challenges Mdingi speak about are complex. Does an independent brand simply ride it’s international success alone? What does the Lukhanyo Mdingi woman want now and going forward? And most crucially, who is the new community looking to connect with the brand? With infrastructure, scale and this international support, a market friendly capsule collection must take a logical approach.

For one, let’s consider size inclusivity. The fact is that runway sample sizes are not the centre of the new fashion world, and so this capsule has taken the route of meeting the world where it is. Size inclusivity is a huge topic abroad, where the brand is visible, but far more resonant in Africa. For the most part, consumers have to make do with Western and Eastern sizing. Indeed, even a lot of local designers are not designing for the body types they’re surrounded by. In most retailers, an XXL is the nth degree for maximum sizing effort, which makes little sense considering that retail research shows that sub-Saharan African women are on average a UK size 14-16.

“Within the offerings that we have, we wanted to be really smart with the use of raw materials. And that's why with our dress offerings, which is a huge category, they're all stretch except for one, which is leather. And that goes hand in hand with just having a more diverse point of view in terms of form and sizing. In the lookbook, we have one look shot by someone who's a size eight and someone who’s a size 14 and it's one dress. So, it says 8, but we have a far larger size curve for each of our sizes,” he explains

Similarly, there is an inclusive process of creation, which is deeply communal. Like many African philosophical ideas of community as central, Mdingi highlights how much he and his peers talk through and shape ideas of the dynamics of their industry. South Africa boasts fellow LVMH prize winners Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo, as well as other celebrated designers including Rich Mnisi and Mmuso Maxwell. Recently, as part of showing up differently, the Lukhanyo Mdingi brand expanded outside of fashion design for the Provenance II exhibition project at The Manor. Bringing together African literature, music and textile design and supported by photographer Trevor Stuurman, it lent on their combined thinking to connect with new audiences in a new space.

This is just one example of how the creatives that orbit Mdingi’s world support each other. “We are creating a community where it feels safe enough for us to engage with one another fully and have a better sense of what not to do based on everyone’s previous experiences,” he says. “Fundamentally what's important to recognise is that we're all friends. So, it makes the communication easier and there isn't that sense of gatekeeping or fear of holding onto something.”

This evolution is not just about a new collection, but a bigger mission. Certainly, a connection to African identity and origin, and a commitment to responsible local sourcing remain central – from the design inspiration, down to who the brand is designing for, even in this new iteration. Now, as the capsule makes its way into the hands of everyday shoppers, Lukhanyo Mdingi will reap the rewards of exposure, expertise and genuine love for design. This is an extension of its success and a project that shows how African independent brands can bloom on their own terms, pursuing business and real beauty in one stride.

The collection is available from the Lukhanyo Mdingi website.