On Friday, the American Church in Paris was the backdrop for a renaissance of sorts. Following some last-minute drama courtesy of the Frankfurt airport customs authorities, MaXhosa Africa made it to PFW with a spring lineup that transposed history, symbolism and craft techniques like beading into light, modern silhouettes. Backstage before the show, creative director Laduma Ngxokolo said he was inspired by traditional artifacts and motifs from his native Xhosa culture, which produces some of the most magnificent beadwork on the continent.
But he also cast farther afield to incorporate elements from an array of African cultures. Borrowing, transforming, and reinterpreting those archetypes is a delicate practice, the designer allowed. "We are trying to approach it in a way so that the result is not obvious,” he said.
“If you know, you know. And if not, that’s OK too. We want people to wear these clothes on a daily basis and not just associate them with traditional ceremonies.
” Fashion, he noted, offers a means of rewriting history in the correct way. “We have a responsibility as Africans to define our future, and not let others come in and do it for us” he said. Hence, resurrection.
Having turned the altar into a stage, Ngxokolo sent out a tableau of the house’s signature knitwear. Cardigans might suit corporate settings as much as the beach, while a Venus-on-the-half-shell halter top, with tiers of iridescent fish scales and a swingy pearl fringe, was a party all.