Sindiso Khumalo is ethereal; one can tell this by how she speaks about herself and her art. But it’s also impressive to describe her as the who built a decade-long fashion brand recreating a historical fashion aesthetic with a contemporary twist. Khumalo’s path into fashion was very unplanned.
She had started out with a career in architecture, working under the British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye in London. However, she got obsessed with fashion magazines and before she knew it, she found herself pursuing a master’s degree in textile futures at London’s Central Saint Martins and then as a stylist, working at different publications. In 2014, she started her eponymous brand, and for her, it was quite an interesting year, considering she birthed her son and went on a hiatus.
But motherhood came with a great plot and many questions: she was very concerned about waste management in regard to baby diapers and its results. Then, she questioned the concept of fast fashion and how she wanted to make a change. All these gave her the zeal to be intentional about her brand, its ethos and how it was important to explore sustainability.
However, one thing was eminent. She wanted to make a female-centric label and not just in terms of garment making or brand positioning; she wanted to tell the stories of all the muses that had inspired her. First, her grandmother, an optimistic tailor who was known for her craft in suit making back in the ‘60s and whom Sindiso says she’s luc.