Mnisi's Moment

One of the country’s most important contemporary designers, RICH MNISI, is on the rise. He chats to DANIËL GELDENHUYS about his new collection, where he finds his inspiration and what’s needed for South African fashion to thrive

- Daniel Geldenhuys

You need to stretch up high to give Rich Mnisi a congratulatory post-show hug. At almost 2m tall, the designer is a human giraffe, towering above even his runway models. The reaction from audiences when he takes his finale bow is justifiably overenthusiastic: Rich consistently delivers highly desirable collections that strike a balance between high fashion and ready-to-wear, disregard gender distinctions, and most importantly, ignite a passionate sense of patriotism in potential customers. If you’re looking to represent South African fashion on any global platform, you can’t go wrong with something Rich.

The culprit, it turns out, is his sister. ‘She triggered my desire to play with clothes,’ says Rich. ‘She looked at a pair of jeans and saw a skirt.’ Raised in Kempton Park, Johannesburg by a single mother (with five siblings), fashion design wasn’t top priority for Rich until LISOF arrived at his school’s career day.

‘I dropped my lawyer dreams; fashion was what I wanted to do, and after months of begging my mother gave in,’ he says.

Mz Mnisi probably didn’t know it at the time, but by allowing her son to study fashion she was doing the local industry a huge favour.

What sets Rich’s designs apart is that they are unmistakably indigenous in a non-obvious way. No ‘African’ prints or safari-inspired pieces here. ‘Our African heritage is multifaceted and it is important that I explore what relates to me and what I grew up seeing,’ says Rich. The most important component of embracing local heritage is what he refers to as ‘the aftermath’ – simply put, the ability to look forward and ‘embrace our future regardless of all negativities.’