Last night, designer Thebe Magugu debuted his Spring/Summer 2022 womenswear collection via a screening at Paris Fashion Week.
The collection is titled Genealogy - and safe to say, Thebe Magugu is keeping it in the family.
Set up as a roundtable discussion, the designer, along with his mother Iris Magugu and aunt Esther Magugu, pour over a box of old family photos that illustrate important moments and cherished memories in each of their lives.
Using the outfits in the images as reference points, Magugu reinterprets and reimagines them in innovative ways - creating Genealogy to pay homage to “the women who always get him through.”
“It’s this idea of memory as a reservoir for optimism,” he says on the collection.
The looks pull from a number of eras and locations: His uncle wearing a pink Basotho blanket in Lesotho becomes a modern-day poncho throw-over and skirt paired with knee-high leather boots, while a red knitted evening look takes inspiration from his Aunt Esther’s dress worn at her high school gala evening.
Other standout references include his grandmother’s pleated skirts and blouses from the 50’s, his mother’s puff sleeves, and feather accents from the 60’s.
In the collection, Magugu also introduces a new show - and only his second shoe ever designed. The pointed kitten heel is called After Tears - an ode to South Africa’s customary post-funeral tradition, while shape and sling-back design is a thoughtful nod to his late grandmother.
“We tend to subconsciously transcribe whatever hangs in the air into output. This season, I wanted to disengage with mounting pressures of having to create work that considers and reflects the times and to create a personal body of work that - even if niche - looks inwards at the part of my life that always gets me through: My family.”
Watch Thebe Magugu’s SS22 collection showcase below:
