Contemporary Design as Heritage Preservation and Engagement

This panel discussion will address how top South African designers are drawing on their heritage and celebrating and reviving traditional craft practices.

Moderator: Emilie Gambade (South Africa) – Multimedia journalist and Editor Maverick Life, Daily Maverick

Panellists: 

• Nkuli Mlangeni-Berg  (South Africa) – Founder and Creative Director at The Ninevites 
• Mbali Mthethwa (South Africa) – Founder and Creative Director at The Herd Designs
• Lukhanyo Mdingi (South Africa) –   Founder and Creative Director at Lukhanyo Mdingi
• Thebe Magugu (South Africa) –  Founder and Creative Director at Thebe Magugu  
• Dr Erica de Greef (South Africa) – Managing Director, The African Fashion Research Institute

With a film screening of Genealogy by Thebe Magugu, 2021

For Thebe Magugu’s S22 collection, Genealogy, the designer created a personal body of work that looks at the part of his life that always gets him through: his family. The collection, which was built around old family photos, was paired with a documentary. Set up as a roundtable discussion, Thebe Magugu, Iris Magugu (his mother) and Esther Magugu (his aunt), proceed to unpack a box of family photos illustrating significant moments in all their upbringings. The brand has always cited very specific references and motifs, which are all chronicled and broken down in this documentary.