& Other Stories Join hands with South African brands Sindiso Khumalo Co-launched joint series,Sindiso Khumalo The brand strongly reflects African history and culture, and is known for its rich colors, prints, and sustainable fabrics.
Founded in 2015, Sindiso Khumalo takes optimism as its brand gene and celebrates female body curves and various body shapes. It is a bold and distinctly feminine brand. Ms. Khumalo designs products by means of hand-painting, watercolor painting, and abstract cutting. Each series highlights strong African characteristics and historical traces, and takes sustainability, craftsmanship and empowerment as the core of the brand.
“As an African designer, it’s important for me to design clothes that highlight African elements and historical culture and apply to modern scenes. I like to weave cultural elements that represent me into clothes, make them become a vivid visual outline to build our collections, and the original intention of this joint series is to use more sustainably sourced fabrics. For me, using more sustainable fabrics and creating classic and durable clothing is the key It is very important,” said Sindiso Khumalo.
Sindiso Khumalo has teamed up with & Other Stories to create a vibrant collection that uses rich colors and prints to express the brand’s culture and natural background. Inspirations include the Nguni plant native to South Africa; the Nguni cattle that can be seen among the Nguni people of South Africa; Chili Red comes from the traditional Zulu Nkehli decorations used by Zulu brides on their wedding day; and in prints and accessories Presented seashells symbolize prosperity, wealth and good luck in both African and Caribbean cultures.
The collection includes ready-to-wear, swimwear and accessories in fabrics such as organic cotton, recycled cotton, linen and recycled brass. The collection focuses on dresses that combine fitted bodices with flared skirts. The puff sleeves, delicate waist ruching and ruffled skirt exude a lively femininity everywhere. In addition, the series also includes a striped sleeveless top and shorts suit, yellow jumpsuit, printed midi skirt, deep V-neck shirt, one-piece swimsuit and jacquard jacket and matching shorts.
The silhouette of this joint series is inspired by the female images of Africa and African immigrants in the 19th century in vintage portraits. Contoured to hug the female form, it is both comfortable and functional. Necklines are another Sindiso Khumalo signature: some are embroidered, others are crocheted, and some are detachable so they can be layered on top of other garments. Black, white, red, yellow, blue, and green form a cheerful palette. As for accessories, sarongs are well-coordinated with gold shell handbags, earrings and necklaces.
“Sindiso Khumalo is leading the way in the future of fashion – with sustainability at its core, creating contemporary, appealing signature products for women, in bold colors and prints, as well as thoughtful silhouettes and embellished details. We are delighted to be partnering with Sindiso Khumalo collaborated and spread the designer’s vision and craftsmanship to all over the world.” said Karolina Ekman, co-director of & Other Stories.
The Sindiso Khumalo co-branded series was launched in April at the & Other Stories Shanghai offline store, Tmall official flagship store and WeChat mini-program boutique.