Tailored To Thrive

He established himself early in his career as a new visionary ready to take the local and global fashion market by storm, while she reigned supreme as queen of serving enviable looks and championing SA fashion. Now, designer Rich Mnisi and business mogul Bonang Matheba are at the forefront of showcasing the country and the continent’s style, diversity and local fashion talent.

- Shannon Manuel

STORYTELLING THROUGH DESIGN

Rich Mnisi has accomplished a lot for a 27-year-old. His designs have featured in international publications and been worn by a host of international icons, including Beyoncé, Ciara, Imaan Hammam, Adonis Bosso and Naomi Campbell. The LISOF graduate and AFI Young Designer of the Year winner is a creative genius who has been masterful at collaborating and adapting his brand to live with other brands on international campaigns, such as with Coca-Cola and Miller Genuine Draft, and his Rich Mnisi x Style by SA collection has retailed at Woolhworths since 2017. He is currently in partnership with Lexus. To top it off, he made the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list this year. It was a much-deserved accolade, considering his brand, originally OATH Studio, has grown phenomenally since its creation in 2015.

“Under OATH, I collaborated with stylist Gabrielle Kannemeyer and photographer Kristin-Lee Moolman on my spring/summer ’16 campaign, which we shot in my late grandmother’s house in Chiawelo, Soweto. I was proud of that,” says Rich. “The name change came about because I was done hiding behind the brand. I had reached the point where I wanted to be a full-time designer and I was ready to take on that responsibly. That’s how Rich Mnisi was born.”