This year, more than ever, mixing high and low has become the chicest way of dressing with a sense of fun.
We have fully entered the era of being totally gagged over “designer x mass market” collabs. Polish designer Magda Butrym brought statement pieces to H&M with a capsule collection that blends bold femininity and floral bloom.
If that wasn’t enough, the Swedish retailer launched another limited-time only collab with Belgian designer Glenn Martens (creative director at Diesel and Maison Margiela). The off-kilter collection is one for the fashion lovers, a DIY approach to dressing that pays homage to his buzzy 12-year reign at Parisian label Y/Project.
Then, in October, local designer Rich Mnisi entered the WhatsApp group with a high-low collaboration with Foschini leveraging accessible luxury. “We want to see everyone this December rocking that collection,” Mnisi says. The collab comes at a perfect time, as Mnisi’s eponymous luxury label turns 10 this year. His juncture coincides with Foschini’s milestone centenary.
“These collabs are important. I always think of myself when I was younger and looking at these brands that were so far,” he says. “Yes, it’s inspirational, beautiful, and makes you want to work hard to access them. But I find it more beautiful that there is an opportunity for me to admire something and own a piece of it.”
From this collection, the signature Rich Mnisi flower-print T-shirt has been a hit with buyers. The bright scarf has also proven to be a versatile and wearable accessory, with Mnisi noting that consumers wear it as head-wraps, tied around handbag straps, or even styled into bandeau tops. An inspiration for the collection was his mother Daisy and the power of “triple m” dressing – manyalong (weddings), meketeng (festivals), and mafung (funerals).
“The initial email that came said 10 x10 = 100. That already was an immediate yes,” Mnisi says. “But also, the story behind Foschini — it’s home. There are a few brands that remind you of South Africa. Even the ‘triple m’ is real. All my aunts and mother would buy the window mannequin as is. Then, on Saturday, everyone would rock up in that entire look at the same event. All those memories attached to the brand made it an easy decision.”
What does 10 years of shaking up local fashion mean?
“It means time flies,” he quips. “In college, I started working for Augustine Clothing and interning at AFI (African Fashion International) — I even worked for Abigail Betz. Craftsmanship was huge at Augustine and that’s something I took away. The other places I worked at also taught me what I didn’t want to do. There was a store that used to buy clothes from international brands and at the end of the day it would sit in the stockroom and rot. That’s when I knew wholesale was not a big thing for me. From the beginning, we were made-to-order. Even with our e-commerce store, people buy online and only then do we make it, after it’s been ordered.”
One of the brand’s pivotal moments was in December 2018 when US megastar Beyoncé was in Joburg to perform at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100. Her off-duty looks included a Mnisi ensemble — Queen Bey was spotted in a long-sleeve blouse and crocodile half-pleated skirt. Suddenly, the whole world wanted a piece of Mnisi. “Trevor [Stuurman] and I were invited to a Gucci event in Dubai at the time. WhatsApp in Dubai is tricky. So my phone was going off and I couldn’t see anything. I kept seeing the same blurry photo because it can’t load,” Mnisi recounts.
“We eventually saw it and went crazy. Even with that, you throw things into the universe that you would like to achieve and you just let it do its thing. We had sent those clothes to her about nine months prior and had completely forgotten. It was such a pleasant surprise. It taught me to relax — things will happen in their own time.”
Rewind to early 2018, when Mnisi experienced another definitive career moment — another Queen B (Bonang Matheba) loosely coined him “Mister Two Million”. In the viral clip, Matheba jokingly says that she’s a huge Mnisi fan, but can’t afford his top-tier prices, which clock in at a hefty 2-million. “That one was a double-edged sword. It created this perception around the brand that was slightly bad because it made it unattainable,” Mnisi notes.
That clip has recently seen a resurgence with social media users scoring their OOTD posts rocking the popular Foschini x Rich Mnisi T-shirt with that sound on TikTok. “When the collabs happen, because 2-million is such a crazy amount, it then makes the collab pieces aspirational. I used to hate it when people called me ‘Mister Two Million’ because it was uncomfortable — now I’m fully into it,” he says.
In 2020, the world came to a standstill due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Mnisi still managed to pivot with that year’s hottest winter must-have item – the signature Rich Mnisi polo neck. Ironically, he was uncertain about the design at first. “The jersey was a game-changer and it set us off. I had designed the jersey in 2018 and wasn’t a fan of it because of the logo-mania — I thought it was too much,” he says.
“But it was the easiest thing we could produce at the time from a factory perceptive. The most beautiful part was seeing people at the factory given hope. When we released the first drop, it was only 50 units and we sold out in 30 minutes. So, the second time we walked into the factory, everyone stood up and they were clapping. They were like, ‘Thank you for saving our jobs.’ That moved me so much that I never want to move a part of our production internationally.”
