Laduma celebrates year of style highs
PORT Elizabeth knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo is ending 2016 in style. Not only was the Bay talent voted Most Stylish Designer in Fashion, he also won the title of Fashion Designer of the Year Southern Africa.
All this just ahead of his 30th birthday, which Ngxokolo celebrated with family and friends last week with a welcome holiday in his former hometown.
“This year has seen the best commercial success of my career,” Ngxokolo said on a visit in October, where he gave a motivational talk at his former high school, Lawson Brown.
“I’d just come from Paris where I had a pop-up show plus a showroom at Merchants Aime Paris, which was part of a viewing of contemporary African fashion and design curated by Hanneli Rupert.”
Known for his colourful knitwear garments, he was named one of 21 Icons South Africa, his Maxhosa shawl received the Design Indaba’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa Award, singer Beyonce complimented his designs on social media after admiring them at an exhibition in New York, and he was asked to design a special edition box for Chivas Regal whisky.
Then, on December 5, Abyanz Style and Fashion Awards announced his label, Maxhosa by Laduma, as Fashion Designer of the Year Southern Africa.
Just before this, the South African Style Awards announced Ngxokolo as Most Stylish Designer in Fashion.
His former home city still inspires him, and he has returned to regenerate himself and get inspiration, his manager, René Coetzer, said.
“He is also organising a ceremony on Friday for placing the gravestone on his late mother’s grave. She was a great inspiration to him,” Coetzer said.
She said he planned to build on this success next year.
Ngxokolo is continuously dreaming up new designs and will be doing an exhibition at the British Museum and in Berlin next year.