Fashion designer Nkhensani Nkosi wants to decorate your home.
The visionary behind Stoned Cherrie, one of SA’s most iconic fashion brands, is stepping beyond the wardrobe and into the living room by launching a contemporary Afrocentric homeware range that extends the label’s celebrated legacy into interior spaces.
As Stoned Cherrie marked 25 years, Nkosi is sketching a bold new chapter for the brand through collectable furniture, statement decor and a lifestyle vision rooted in contemporary African luxury.
“It’s still Stoned Cherrie. They speak to each other, so there’ll be a lot of pieces that feel familiar,” Nkosi says.
“The idea of establishing Stoned Cherrie Home as a lifestyle brand has always been there and the home space is one we’ve always been interested in. We obviously started off as a womenswear brand, which we did for decades.
“So the decision to transition into homeware came at a time where so many factors had influenced the industry over the last couple of years, from economic challenges to the influx of cheap imports from the East, which has impacted the textile industry in SA.”
Nkosi’s journey into homeware began more than 15 years ago, when she experimented with hand-painted graphic prints and ceramics applied to distinctive décor pieces.
Now, she has come full circle, soft-launching her Stoned Cherrie Home capsule collection through Sophie’s Closet, a month-long collaborative exhibition with fashion designer Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho and internationally acclaimed artist Mary Sibande at the Everard Read gallery. The exhibition marked the public debut of Nkosi’s vision.
“Sophie is a phenomenal character and avatar based on Mary’s ancestors and the women in her life and has the persona of a domestic worker,” she says.
“So, over the years, there have been different iterations of this character, and she joined forces with Mantsho and was born off Sophie’s Closet. The collaboration became the perfect space to introduce our homeware offerings.”
The Stoned Cherrie Home e-commerce platform showcases a curated collection of cushions, ceramics, lighting and décor that embody Nkosi’s distinctive design language.
From bold graphic prints and rich colour palettes to statement lampshades and chandeliers, each piece carries forward the storytelling ethos that defined Stoned Cherrie’s fashion legacy, reimagined for contemporary living.
“It’s part of the mother brand and relates a lot to what we did in fashion, and so yes, I do think that it’s a continuation of the Stoned Cherrie legacy. In the range, you’ll see a lot of geometric bold prints, richly layered colours and atmospheric township sunsets and colourways,” Nkosi says.
But the question many fashion loyalists are asking is: Could the iconic fashion label one day return to the runway?
“Oh, that’s a trick question because if I say yes, then people hold me to it. I must admit, I flirt with the idea a lot simply because of the feedback and requests that I consistently get everywhere I go. If I made a dollar for each time a person asks me that, I’d be wealthy,” she says.
“I don’t know whether that would be a full-time thing, but I flirt with the idea of doing something to honour those requests. However, I do miss that world, and I loved putting on shows during Fashion Week, but we’ll see.”
Looking to the future, Nkosi is excited about expanding Stoned Cherrie Home beyond décor and into furniture and new brand collaborations.
“We have great partnerships and collaborations with corporates and hotels. And a commercial line is available on our online site. As a brand, we’ve always done so well in terms of collaboration, and I think the creative industries would benefit from such brand and company partnerships. Currently, I’m also excited about expanding the collection with a distinct visual language of Stoned Cherrie,” she says.
“We’re always on the lookout for collaboration; we have a shared vision and visual philosophy to do great things and engage in great projects.”
