Having debuted his AW19 collection at Arise Fashion Week in Lagos last month, Rich Mnisi now reveals the lookbook on Nataal. This season the in-demand Joburg-based designer continues to explore ideas around the soul and strength of the African mother from previous collections but this time seeks this loving figure out in his dreams. Milorho represents a spiritually bound narrative told through his powerfully cut and coloured silhouettes.

“Milorho is a portrayal of the duality of representations within my dreams that mould into an ethereal figure,” Mnisi explains. “The most sacred and wildest dream is where the meaning of symbols are subverted. She is bountiful in interpretation and being. The mothers who keep the bad energy at bay.”

Asymmetric, pleated skirts and wrap dresses in a cacophony of clashing prints compliment pure white suiting and bee-keeper bonnets (a collaboration with Crystal Birch) but the collection’s strongest hand is undoubtedly its array of bold and sexy outerwear, ranging from an orange silk trench to a primary-hued cropped leather biker. Definitely the stuff dreams are made of.

Photography Ricardo Simal
Make-up Alice Coloriti
Models Nyagua Ruea at Fabulousdotcom, Yaw Asiedu at 20 Model Management
Photography assistance Luke Houba, Xavier Vahed
Fashion assistance Philip Morris Wesson

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Published on 20/05/2019