In luxury fashion, recognisability does not always begin with a logo. Sometimes it lives in the cut of a garment, the finish of a seam, or a visual language that becomes inseparable from a designer’s name.
For Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana, that identity is rooted in the Thabo Makhetha logo, a pattern inspired by her grandmother’s praying stick, and the Basotho blanket, which remains central to the label even as her work evolves.
Thabo explains, “Looking at the blanket and asking questions like, ‘Where does this actually come from? Is it Basotho? What were we wearing before it was introduced?’”
Her research led her to the discovery that Basotho were wearing hide and had become experts in its use.
Enter: The Leather Collection
“When it comes to what you see on the runway, most of the time, it’s an idea. Take the leather garments, for example. I physically sewed that. I’ve never sewn leather before, but I was trying to prove the concept.”
Thabo’s search for materials worn before and alongside the Basotho blanket led her to leather. Her process often begins with curiosity and evolves through what she learns along the way.
“Someone comes to me and says, ‘I work with leather. This thing of yours, I can show you how to make it.’ Then I say, ‘Let’s try it.’ We’re now also printing on the leather. It’s the same as the Dikeledi pattern on the cotton.”
And Then There Was Dikeledi
“Some customers wanted something lighter than the blanket. Then we came up with the Dikeledi textile, a 100 per cent woven cotton jacquard. The pattern takes inspiration from the Basotho blankets. From that, we’ve created beautiful kimonos, shawls, dresses, shirts, and things that we weren’t able to do with the blanket itself.”
Even as the label expands, the blanket remains the starting point.
“The Basotho blankets are not going anywhere. There are people who are still going to experience them and their story for the first time. They will still get to enjoy it. But now I am also exploring new textiles. That’s another story I’m telling.”
What Remains When the Thabo Makhetha Label Is Removed
“We’ve always held the craft of the work that we’re doing as a thing that singles us out. That’s what you feel when you touch the garment, when you try it on, and turn the garment inside out. We’ve had people copy our work in the past, and the immediate giveaway is that you can feel the textile is not the one. You can see that Thabo wouldn’t do seams like this.”
When Craftsmanship Is the Brand Identity
For Thabo, branding carries more weight when the garment itself reflects consistent quality and craftsmanship.
“I have no problem with my name. I think with Thabo Makhetha, what we wanted to do was have the logo be all over the branding, not so much my name. You can be bold enough to put your name on garments because people have done it all the time. Look at Louis Vuitton. The pattern is the branding.”
In that case, branding becomes a mark of authority rather than the only thing that makes a garment recognisable.
“Some people say they are designers, but they just have someone producing T-shirts, caps, hoodies, and putting a brand on them. That’s a person selling a concept and trying to put a group or a culture together, I suppose, but it’s not a fashion designer. It’s not the way we brand,” explains Thabo.
Kwinana
The Story Behind Her Favourite All Stars
Her design instincts are also visible in her personal taste for durable, textured, and well-made items.
“I bought a pair of All Stars in Brazil just after the 2014 World Cup. The fabric on these sneakers looks like weaving. I have hiked in them. I’ve gone through a period of my life where I didn’t have other sneakers because I was so offended by their poor quality. I think I’ll be in an old age home wearing those shoes.”
Travel, including the Brazil trip during which she bought her trusted All Stars, is how Thabo detaches from work.
“I like new experiences, and I’m inquisitive by nature. If I’m on an island somewhere, I want to know when the last one of their volcanoes erupted. You know, I’m always asking interesting things.”
She has ticked off destinations including France, Germany, and Thailand.
“And of course, there’s Disney World for the inner child in me.”
More Than Visible Branding
The same curiosity that sends Thabo looking for the history behind a blanket or asking questions about the places she visits also shapes how she approaches design.
As Thabo Makhetha evolves, visible branding may remain part of the label’s language, but it is unlikely to be the only thing telling its story.
