MaXhosa Africa’s latest ready-to-wear runway show at Paris Fashion Week was a sugary treat that surely left fashionistas with tooth sensitivity and revived the skhothane subculture in the process.
In a viral moment that was uniquely Mzansi, homegrown thick and creamy custard brand UltraMel made a splash on the ramp when models including Robot Boii staged a theatrical act that saw them pouring the classic SA dessert onto the brand’s signature rug. The moment, of course, gave a nod to the flamboyant skhothane subculture, which romanticises wealth-on-display as a fashion statement.
“The viral moment of the UltraMel custard being spilt is the foundation of the entire showcase,” Robot Boii told Sowetan.
“We showed SA culture through fashion, their [MaXhosa Africa] new designs and dance. With dancing, we had gumboots, amapiano, gqom, phantsula and skhothane. The skhothane culture has UltraMel-spilling, we can’t filter it or dumb it down because we are out of the country and on a global stage. We don’t need to ask for permission for something we are.
“If we are culture, then this is what culture is and what it does. So it wouldn’t make sense if we did the dance without the UltraMel – it’s who we are”
The luxury textile and knitwear fashion house marked their three-year succession and fifth collection as a solo African label presenting on the official Paris Fashion Week schedule.
Denoted by the iconic MaXhosa Africa calling card, the collection was an amalgamation of the vibrancy of African tradition, heritage and culture of both the present and future. Garments that walked the ramp featured touchstones from various SA cultures and tribes.
Founder and creative director Laduma Ngxokolo said local fashion is fast becoming the next biggest export of African culture after music and dance.
“The collection is a blend of many cultures and subcultures that are mainly from South Africa and some parts of the African continent,” Ngxokolo said.
“Blending them together as a means of affirming the growing influence that is coming out of Africa, as we see with the growing influence of Afro-tech music, dance and fashion in the near future.
“The collection also affirms us as SA of the role that we are playing, our influence and our connection with the rest of the continent.”
The Siyi-Kulture collection will debut in SA later this month.
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