Local designer Thebe Magugu goes global with luxury website gig

2019 has been an epic year for local designer Thebe Magugu — and it just keeps getting better

Designer Thebe Magugu made SA proud when he was chosen as the first African to win the prestigious LVMH prize.
Designer Thebe Magugu made SA proud when he was chosen as the first African to win the prestigious LVMH prize. (Thulani Mbele/Sunday Times)

It has been an epic year for local designer Thebe Magugu — and it just keeps getting better.

First, the Kimberly-born creative was catapulted on to the global stage when he won the International Fashion Showcase at London Fashion Week in February.

One of Thebe Magugu's striking designs.
One of Thebe Magugu's striking designs. (SAFW/Eunice Driver)

Next, he was named one of eight finalists in the running for the 2019 LVMH Prize, one of the world's most prestigious awards for young designers.

Now Magugu's landed a gig with 24 Sèvres, the online arm of Paris's iconic luxury department store, Le Bon Marché.

Covetable garments from his latest collection, African Studies, will not only be available to ultra-chic Parisians via the website, but international shoppers too.

On his collection, Magugu says: “It’s about merging motifs and references, prints and cues from my heritage and South Africa in general. I paired that with really tailored and modern shapes.

“The global eye is on South Africa right now, so I wanted to create a collection that paints South Africa and that vision of Africa in a very contemporary way.”


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