The South African designer finds the perfect pairing for his AW19 collection in the adidas Originals P.O.D S3.1

Tell us about your collaboration with adidas Originals.
adidas is a brand that is always playing a role in South African youth culture, making sure to support and encourage a new South African narrative while balancing high quality sportswear with fashion. As a young South African brand I was attracted to what they stand for as a global brand and knew that was great synergy between our visions. This has been such an enjoyable collaboration, working with the adidas team has really been a pleasure.

What appeals to you about the adidas Originals P.O.D S3.1?
It is comfortable and easy to wear. Combining three heritage technologies in one, I know attention to detail was closely looked at while creating a creative and fluid design. These are the attractive qualities that drew me to this nostalgic silhouette.

How did this style compliment and inform your AW19 collection?
Fluidity is an important part of my design process. I always want my clothes to be able to be worn by anyone and beautiful on everyone. I also saw parallels in the slightly traditional silhouette confronted with new age design.

The collection looks at the traditions of weddings. Why?
Weddings and marriage in general have pretty set ideas across the continent and the world, but what happens when you don’t fit into the mold? What happens when your idea of family and love don’t look like what the world wants? With this show we wanted to focus on the celebration. No matter what the marriage might look like, we wanted to create a happy festive feeling to the unknown of new love stories.

What are your key silhouettes, fabrics and colours?
We looked at a bright winter this season with very loud and strong colours, with acid lime green taking the lead opening up to bright pinks and yellows and closing the show with a sun lit cloud print - all colours of joy and strength. I also used traditional wedding fabrics like satin and sequins but reimagined them in non-traditional items.

Why did you present the collection at SAMW?
I have a very good relationship with SAMW - they gave me a chance to show at a very early stage in my career and that really pushed me to think bigger and better. SAMW is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the South African fashion showcases. They curate the week to a high standard that I’m honoured to be a part of.

You, and adidas Originals, always look to the future while respecting the past. What message do you hope this gives your customer through this approach?
We can’t forget who we are, it’s in our blood. It’s important to me to remember where I come from when I create - it’s where all the best memories are stored. And with that respect of the past in my pocket, I look to the future always asking myself what’s next and that comes through in the garments.