Thebe Magugu

Discourse often pits modernity against spiritualism, but the concepts aren’t opposed. As new generations assert themselves, their relationship to sacred ideas and expectations evolve. In the last several years, South African designer Thebe Magugu noticed that shift within his social circle. Friends and relatives overhauled their lives while studying traditional healing. Compelled by their connection to their ancestors, these young creatives began to learn practices with roots in antiquity, an experience that altered their perspectives. “It’s called ukuthwasa, and the way it manifests itself is quite interesting because it starts as a sickness, a kind of spiritual illness,” explained Magugu on Zoom from Johannesburg. “It causes people to take this monumental journey where you leave for months on end to train under a traditional healer. [In the past] it was something that felt far away from me, but now, as peers have received those sorts of callings, it’s fascinating. Once they return, they are completely changed.”

This movement within African spirituality served as Magugu’s starting point for the season. The tension between old and new is a familiar fashion theme. Still, it has rarely been approached through the millennial South African experience, and never with healers as creative collaborators. Stylist Noentla Khumalo’s background in the subject adds a layer of authenticity and the collection’s key print. It’s through the articles used within her divination—goat knuckles, bones, seashells, and dice among them—that the pattern comes together, each element photographed by Magugu against a bed of straw. Abstracted from their original purpose and transferred onto pants and blouses, the items make for a kinetic design that draws the eye closer. The tale behind the floating dice and textured stalks isn’t instantly evident, but Magugu strives to create pieces with the kind of visual impact that requires no explanation. “With my collections, I always hope you can appreciate the fabrications or the construction even if you don’t know the whole backstory,” he says. “The story is an added plus.”

Despite his claims to the contrary, Magugu is a detail-oriented storyteller whose pieces could come with footnotes and citations. Instead of extra reading material, he has for the past three seasons been treating his audience to mini films by the director Kristin-Lee Moolman that serve as cinematic accompaniments. This time around, the pair created a guerrilla-style short with influences that ranged from jidaigeki slasher film Lady Snowblood to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. “We didn’t have the luxury of rehearsals; it was just us getting in a van and going to a mine dump,” says Magugu of the clip, which features a cast of friends. “There are parts where it feels like a fever dream, which is exactly what some of the traditional healers experience. They get a passing feeling, an inkling of someone they don’t know touching them, and they’re transported into this other world.”

That surreal sentiment carries over into the clothes. An ombré cape dress laden with fringe was originally intended to be a costume, but Magugu decided to include it in the mix at the last minute. “It was conceived as the film’s opening look, and originally I wasn’t going to offer it as a commercial proposition,” he says. “It has a tactile feel to it, and it’s really a garment that showcases all this handiwork.” The importance of touch became a recurring theme, with tufted fabric from famed Japanese textile maker Mr. Adachi San and textured eco-prints by Larissa Don that utilized botanical transfers of imphepho, a flowering licorice plant used in traditional medicine. The materials also served to reference scarification, the raised surfaces on blazers imprinted with a proverb in braille that read, “What you do for your ancestors, your children will do unto you.”

With cozy, straightforward pieces currently in demand, Magugu’s refusal to go humdrum was admirable. Sure, the buyer-friendly essentials are present—a blue and white shirtdress feels ready for a post-lockdown street style moment—but the excitement lies with esoteric pieces. Hot pink suits with oversized belts and trousers detailed with contrast stitching bring a ’70s flair, while fringed knit sweaterdresses offer a twist on a staple, as do the lengthy cricket sweater-tunics in shades of jade green. Knits have come to the forefront, with a portion of the collection serving as Magugu’s entry in this year’s Woolmark Prize. Even his first foray into footwear is an exercise in erudition. After years of hating the longline loafers worn by local pastors, he decided to turn his disdain into inspiration. “I hated them so much, but I also wanted to explore them,” says Magugu. “I think we’ve all seen something that we’ve hated at first, then down the line, we become convinced. Never say never in fashion, because you don’t know when things will be decontextualized and become exciting.”