Nengovhela goes back to her roots as Rubicon turns 20
Fashion label founder says pandemic helped her to refind herself and brand
SA top fashion label Rubicon is getting ready to celebrate 20 years next year. In preparation, founder and creative director Hangwani Nengovhela is retracing her roots – and the historical Mapungubwe kingdom in Limpopo is written all over her DNA.
What does two decades of Rubicon mean?
It has been all about dedication and resilience. It’s been a journey and my biggest highlight has been about the brand understanding its target market and remaining consistent in how I come up with the designs. Being a Mbokodo Award winner in 2016 has been another highlight.
We have also showcased internationally a number of times and those relationships are still standing. Rubicon is now ready to sell globally, almost two decades later.
How was Rubicon born?
I have always been passionate about clothes and designing. I love beautiful things. I used to buy clothes to sell from my car boot or house. A group of young designers around 2002 advised me to design and manufacture my own stuff.
Do you remember your first Rubicon store?
Yes, I had to sell property I owned and used that money to open a store in Pretoria. It was the most beautiful boutique.
Unfortunately, I was pregnant with my son and it was a difficult pregnancy. I was put on bed rest by my doctor and people were managing the store on my behalf. That project failed after three years because money was being syphoned out of Rubicon.
What happened then?
I went into a garage at home and put my seamstresses in there. But I quickly realised I can’t continue because of bylaws. We then moved to a building in Randburg. We were close to the taxi rank and it was very noisy, but we were accessible. I couldn’t function with my creativity too because of that noise, but our costumers didn’t care where we were located. After nine years, we then moved to Ferndale and it has been amazing.
What is one of the secrets for lasting this long?
The thing about Rubicon is I focus more on the ready-towear than the bespoke because for sustainability, it makes more business sense.
I realised later on that couture is the one thing that will attract people to your brand. If you look at many international brands, they make the most money from accessories, fragrances, etc. Even if they bill themselves as couture, behind the scenes read-to-wear and accessories is where they are making the money.
How has the pandemic affected Rubicon?
We have managed to retain all our staff I have worked with for all these years. I did not retrench as a small business and I’m grateful for that because the economy is not good.
What has been a wakeup call with the pandemic?
The lockdown got us to understand who we are. I then revisited who I was and where I came from. I realised I wasn’t honouring the people who made me who I am. That is my mother, grandfather and now late dad. My parents were fashion icons of note.
Tell us about your grandfather, Prof Victor Ralushai?
My grandfather re-wrote the history of Mapungubwe and after his report it was declared a world heritage site. He was even honoured by the now former president Thabo Mbeki with the order of Ikhamanga (bronze) and he sent me to go collect it. I have his report and since the pandemic I have been referring back to it. Hence we launched the collection Myth of Origin. Going forward we are going to be exploring our roots. We are who we are because of the people that brought us up.
Basetsana Kumalo is one of Rubicon’s biggest muses. How did that happen?
We started collaborating in 2016 because I felt like we are ready to target that high LSM (Living Standard Measure). She held my hand and said ‘let’s do this’. She spoke life into our collaboration and it has been awesome.