Blanket approach gets reward

COMBINE recognised fashion design talent and sought-after Eastern Cape mohair and what you get is a mixture of luxury with a hint of creative flair.

Two big names in knitwear and mohair have come together to create a range of blankets which will be on show at the Design Indaba at the Cape Town International Conference Centre at the end of the month.

Jackie Gant of Hinterveld said the collaboration with Laduma Ngxokolo was born out of a Xhosa tradition – much like Ngxokolo’s MaXhosa knitwear range.

"At the Hinterveld factory, we used to see a lot of Xhosa ladies coming into the shop wearing these blankets that the OoMakoti wear and these blankets are really treasured in the Xhosa tradition.

"I then approached Laduma because I knew him from Mohair South Africa and asked him to work with us to create this range and create a truly authentic Eastern Cape product. The result is this luxurious product which is doing very well for us,” she said.

The Design Indaba Conference will see more than 30 international speakers take to the stage and the expo that follows the conference regularly attracts South Africa’s big name designers and creators. 

Ngxokolo, who works from his alma mater, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, said the collection is a uniquely Eastern Cape product.

"The thing that I really love about this range of blankets is that they are completely manufactured in the Eastern Cape.

"Everything from the design to manufacturing was done in the Eastern Cape. I worked on the design here and the manufacturing was at Hinterveld in Uitenhage,” he said.

His designs have won him several awards, including the prestigious Bradford-based Society of Dyers and Colourists annual international design award in 2010 and the Marie Claire emerging designer of the year award.

Added to the collection of blankets that he will be showing with Hinterveld, Ngxokolo will also be presenting his new MaXhosa knitwear range.

"I will be showcasing my new collection. It really is just a development or advancement of what I’ve done previously with MaXhosa and I am really looking forward to that,” he said.