Artist Spotlight: S. Khumalo

Artist Spotlight is a fashion-focused segment that takes a deep dive into the unique backstories and their creative processes. Highlighting the fashion industry's hidden gems and innovative talents.

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Sindiso Khumalo is a textile designer and owner of her namesake sustainable fashion brand. Khumalo studied architecture at the University of Cape Town before moving to London and graduating from Central Saint Martins with Mater’s in Design for Textile Futures. Khumalo’s designs capture the design and essence of the black African experience through the medium of clothing. Khumalo also recently was a joint winner of the LVMH prize which allowed her to go from being a small-town brand in Cape Town to a well-known brand in the industry. She also won Vogue Italia’s "Who's On Next Dubai" competition in October of 2015. The fashion brand is not only conscious of the political landscapes, but also the pressing climate change. Khumalo’s work has been published in Vogue UK, Vogue Italia, Elle Magazine, and "Africa: Architecture, Culture and Identity. Having sustainable textiles and manufacturing systems allows the brand to create clothing made from combinations of organic waste and recycled cotton. The brand's recent 2022 Spring collection, Jagger, was featured with a fashion film by the same name that was dedicated to the University of Cape Town Jagger Library. The film was centered around the mountain fire that consumed the Cape Town Jagger African Studies Library. The collection included contrast of bright and dark colors to help convey a story of hope from a dark time.

Sources:

About. (n.d.). Sindiso Khumalo. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.sindisokhumalo.com/about

Homepage. (2021, April 6). LVMH PRIZE. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from http://lvmhprize.com/designer/sindiso-khumalo/