Johannesburg designer Nompumelelo “Mpumi” Nhlapo, founder and creative director of Gadat House, is rewriting the language of African luxury. She is a visionary refusing to design within the limits imposed on young Black women, especially those from the townships that birthed them. For Mpumi, “community is luxury” — not an afterthought, but the very foundation of her craft. She believes that Africa’s own stories, especially those rooted in ordinary Black life, carry an inherent value of their own. In her words, “our local stories are luxury.”
This philosophy comes alive in Amalahle: A Vaal Story, Gadat House’s fashion film, which is a cinematic homage to the Vaal region where Mpumi grew up. The film uses performance, portraiture, memory and couture to elevate the everyday. Luxury, as Mpumi defines it, isn’t the price tag; it’s the impact. She’s recentering luxury as a force for dignity, safety and access rather than exclusivity and distance.
Her aim is to expand what African luxury can be. Not merely clothes, not merely film, but a growing universe where craft, culture and community build legacy. She is shaping how the world sees African luxury: story-driven, spiritually anchored and culturally intentional.
YLA: What early influences or environments shaped the artist you are today?
Mpumi: I come from a resource-limited background, where creativity becomes a survival tool. My biggest influence was my mother. She’s very good at using whatever she has access to and leaning on community. That’s made me believe in the power of personal stories and using what you have access to build the world you want to see. And honestly, I got into fashion because I played with paper dolls!
YLA: Who first recognised your creative gift?
Mpumi: My mom always tells me I’d write on walls, beds — anything — the moment she looked away. My stepdad worked in toy sales, so I was always surrounded by objects that encouraged creativity. The adults around me constantly said, “You’re creative, what do you need from us?” That kind of support builds confidence.
YLA: What memories from childhood still influence your aesthetic?
Mpumi: My gran’s house. She had this velvet maroon couch — it’s always stuck with me. The Vaal’s dusty streets and unpredictable electricity. These things shaped a kind of gothic, dystopian influence in my work.
YLA: How has your creative identity evolved since launching in 2020?
Mpumi: When I started, it was just: “I have something to say.” Now it’s: “How can what I have to say impact the world?” I’m realising creativity is also legacy.
YLA: How would you articulate the brand’s creative philosophy?
Mpumi: Community is luxury.
YLA: What did you want to immortalise on screen?
Mpumi: What I wanted to capture was the tenderness of Black men, especially poor Black men. I was struck by the care I witnessed growing up: men who loved their horses and their pets deeply, who saved part of their meal to share with a dog, who formed quiet, intimate bonds that rarely make it onto our screens. It began with watching Black men in my community and their relationship with the horses and wagons they drove every single day. There was affection, responsibility and a softness that is almost entirely absent from mainstream portrayals. That is what I wanted to honour. I also never wanted to romanticise poverty, because poverty isn’t luxury. What the film seeks to show is the beauty that exists within what people have access to — the dignity, care and humanity present even in constrained circumstances — while still advocating for a future where those communities have access to more.
YLA: How did you collaborate with the community in production?
Mpumi: Almost everyone came from the Vaal — runners, catering, locations. We’re not “giving back”; we’re working together. A young boy held the photographer’s camera, and we discovered he loves photography. Moments like that are why Gadat House exists: to unlock access.
YLA: What comes first in your creative process: design or story?
Mpumi: Story first. Then characters. Then I dress the characters. I wanted to challenge stereotypical township aesthetics — couture silhouettes where you don’t expect them. I’m from the township, but I’m also from the world.
YLA: Do you see your work as cultural preservation?
Mpumi: Definitely. Film is one of the best archives of history. A runway can’t always communicate the why. Film explains identity: who we are and why we’re telling the story. Clothes tell a story; film gives that story clarity.
YLA: What do you hope audiences feel after watching Amalahle?
Mpumi: Hope and inspiration. Hope that the youth can carry new legacies. Hope that African fashion houses one day have the resources to support the arts like global maisons do.
YLA: How do you redefine luxury from an African perspective?
Mpumi: Luxury has always been ours: community, intentionality, slow craft, generational skills. We get to set our own standard. And that becomes luxury.
YLA: How does sustainability show up in your work?
Mpumi: We don’t overproduce. We’re made-to-order and limited stock. Sustainability is built into our model — intentional creation only.
YLA: What other creative avenues do you want to explore?
Mpumi: Furniture. Theatre. A theatre play as a fashion show would be incredible. Costume designers and fashion designers need to collaborate more.
YLA: What keeps you grounded creatively?
Mpumi: Journaling. Tea. Music. Crying — I feel deeply. Coming from the township, you don’t always have the privilege of time to check in with yourself. So having that space now is a gift.
YLA: How would you describe your style?
Mpumi: Super basic. A good shirt, trousers, comfortable shoes, and I’m good. When you interact with fashion all day, you want simplicity.
YLA: What is your boldest dream?
Mpumi: To be a billion-rand fashion house so I can have a billion-rand impact.
YLA: What’s next for Gadat House?
Mpumi: My first independent fashion show — 15 to 30 looks. I have so much to say as a designer and can’t wait to show it. Also, a studio space. Right now, my apartment is both home and atelier. Next year, I want a distinct creative space.
In an industry obsessed with gloss, Mpumi chooses truth. She rejects the idea that African excellence needs outside validation. Instead, she is building a world and inviting us to witness its becoming. Her rising fashion house is not just dressing bodies. It is dressing histories. It is shaping futures. Standing on Vaal soil, Mpumi Nhlapo is quietly declaring: We are here. We have always been luxury.
