For the opening of Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027, MaXhosa Africa presented Izihlwele Zivumile – “The Ancestors Have Approved” – marking the brand’s sixth season in Paris and its first full runway show on the official Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Ready-to-Wear calendar.
It represents a defining moment in MaXhosa Africa’s 16-year journey. We sat down with founder Laduma Ngxokolo to reflect on the brand’s historic Paris Fashion Week runway and his vision for the future.
YLA: Laduma, sixteen years after founding MaXhosa Africa, you’ve now become the first South African brand to stage a full runway show on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar. What did that moment mean to you personally?
Laduma: We applied for an official runway for many seasons and were declined, so to finally be there, sixteen years after starting MaXhosa, felt like everything had happened at the right time. The collection is called Izihlwele Zivumile, “the ancestors have co-signed”. For me, that runway was the stamp. It felt like the ancestors were saying, yes, this is the time. We have had five presentations in Paris, and this was our sixth and a runway show. So it felt like a culmination of sixteen years of building, learning and believing in what MaXhosa could become.
YLA: You called the collection Izihlwele Zivumile, “the ancestors have co-signed”. What did you want Paris and the world to understand about Africa through this collection?
Laduma: I wanted people to understand that Africa is not simply a source of inspiration. Africa is a place where ideas, creativity, craftsmanship, and luxury can be conceived and built at a global level. The culture is still at the centre of MaXhosa, but culture is living. It evolves, it modernises, and it moves forward. I wanted the collection to reflect that – an Africa that is confident in its own perspective and does not need to translate itself to be understood.
YLA: MaXhosa Africa began with your interpretation of Xhosa heritage and has evolved into a luxury house with a much broader pan-African voice. As the brand becomes increasingly global, how do you retain that authenticity while continuing to evolve?
Laduma: By remaining connected to the source while allowing the work to evolve. MaXhosa started with my interpretation of Xhosa heritage, but as the house has grown, the conversation has naturally become broader. What stays constant is the perspective. We can evolve the language, the silhouettes and the way we present the work without losing where it comes from.
YLA: You’ve spoken about wanting the world to look to Africa differently – not simply as a source of inspiration, but as a place where world-class luxury is conceived, created and built. What do you hope this Paris moment means for MaXhosa Africa, and perhaps for other African designers coming behind you?
Laduma: I hope it shows that there is no ceiling on what can come from Africa. For MaXhosa, this is about being recognised as a global luxury house that happens to come from Africa, rather than being defined by geography. And for the designers coming behind us, I hope they see that it is possible to build from where you are, remain true to your perspective and still occupy the biggest stages in the world. If our runway makes the next designer believe that their own vision belongs in that room, then that is meaningful to me.
YLA: And after such a pivotal moment, what is the next dream for Laduma Ngxokolo and MaXhosa Africa? What does the next chapter look like?
Laduma: The dream is bigger than the runway. The runway is a moment, but we are building a house that can exist for generations. The next chapter is about strengthening MaXhosa globally, continuing to build the product, the infrastructure, our stores, our teams and our ability to reach customers around the world. I want MaXhosa to be recognised simply as a great global luxury house, with its roots proudly in Africa. There is still a lot to build. The runway was not the destination; it was a stamp on the journey.
