"It's the intangible feeling you get in a location; a sense of peace, joy from loved ones, or an environment where everyone knows they're welcome. Home isn't easy to define, but you know when you're there," says Imprint designer, Mzukisi Mbane.
This was the inspiration behind Imprint’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Ikhaya, launched last month in collaboration with Airloom Decor.
As an extension of their AW23 collection, Buyel'ekhaya, which means home coming, both collections are a calling for us to find and go home.
“I found myself questioning and trying to understand in a broader context what home really is. Do we understand what home really for each and everyone? Do we really know the feeling of finding home from a perspective outside of ourselves and our spaces of privilege?
There are so many of us who have had to leave places we once called home because those places never felt like home for us. Some of us left places of birth in search of better lives, while for others it's as deep as feeling like they are not at home in the bodies they are born into. Thus, finding “home” becomes a lifelong journey of self-discovery.
With this understanding that home is more than a structure or a place of birth, I was inspired to create this collection, create awareness, and start a conversation.
It’s a collection that inspires individuality, with gender fluid pieces, rooted in celebrating African stories. This collection is very nostalgic - taking us to a place and time where things were easy and the concept of home was whatever made us feel happy and safe.“
To emphasise the concept of “home”, Imprint has collaborated with Airloom Decor on their first-ever home range. A collection of rugs, ottomans, lampshades, couches and scatter cushions, the items are produced in the same vibrant prints that form part of the SS24 garments.
According to Mbane, Airloom was the perfect collaboration partner, aligning with their goal of keeping everything locally manufactured and at affordable price points.
“This is also something I have been very passionate about - being able to have my work live in the home space,” he says. “It is my hope that you find home in our craft and in our stories, and that it inspires you to be a space where others find home.”
