Designers

Design Brand To Know: Mmuso Maxwell

By Isa King | July 29, 2022

After a two year internship with veteran South African designer David Tlale, South African Fashion brand Mmuso Maxwell was born. The brand, founded by the young duo Mmuso Potsane and Maxwell Boko, has since established a name for themselves in the African fashion industry. With successful works with A-list artists like Beyoncé — on her Black is King album — they continue to set the bar on what it means to be a successful emerging designer brand.

The duo first started to make noise in 2017, when they won the South Africa’s Fashion Week’s Sunglass Hut New Talent Search. Two years later, they came second at the 30 Under 30: The New Stars Arise Fashion Show competition held in Lagos, Nigeria. The duo walked home with $50,000, helping them establish their presence on a global landscape.

Potsane and Boko won the biggest award of their career: beating out 200 designers throughout the world, when they took home the The Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, after presenting a Merino wool collection for their Autumn/Winter 2022 line.

Maxwell and Mmuso both describe their brand as one that it is inspired by African heritage, but, the most important part is that it is mixed with contemporary culture. It’s basically their point of view of African heritage. They describe themselves as modern young people who are living with technology and science, and are influenced by those things. “So even if it’s still our African heritage, it’s still our own interpretation”

“Our brand is a modern interpretation of who an African woman is. Our brand sees itself as a global brand, and we do not want to limit it to look like an ordinary African brand, but it is positioned to be like a global brand, while maintaining our African roots, interpretations and experiences.”- Mmuso says in an interview with OkayAfrica

Maxwell Mmuso is a sustainable brand that utilizes local crafts and local artisans. It’s something the duo is passionate about since they started the brand. They use homegrown yarns for production, and working with artisans makes them follow the route of slow fashion.

“We’ve always had an affinity for natural fibers since we started. As an African creative, you’re inherently sustainable because we’re not prone to waste. It’s not something we can afford. When we buy fabrics, we buy exactly what we need, and all the things we’ve done so far have been in pre-orders. We do not produce with hopes that someone will buy what we’ve made. All pieces go to our clients” – Mmuso notes

For their latest collection, Dubbed ‘ukholo – faith’, the AW ’22 collection, Mmuso Maxwell takes an innovative and creative route to address an important social issue. “An exploration of the theatrics used by deceitful religious leaders in South Africa”- said the brand while introducing the collection

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