From 15 June 2024, New Yorkers have been able to walk away owning their very own MaXhosa Africa garments, as the luxury clothing brand opens it’s doors on international territory.
Born in Port Elizabeth in 1986, Laduma Ngxokolo, founder of the luxury clothing brand Maxhosa, was taught by his mother how to use a knitting machine.
He had his first hands-on experience of textile designing in 2003 when he studied at Lawson Brown High School. Ngxokolo’s flair for knitwear design earned him a bursary from both Port Elizabeth-based Cape Wools South Africa and Mohair South Africa during his Btech studies at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2010. The same year Ngxokolo won the South African national leg of the South African Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) Design Competition, which earned him a trip to London where he was awarded first prize internationally for the competition. The title of his competition entry was “The Colourful World of the Xhosa Culture” that consisted of men’s knitwear that is inspired by traditional Xhosa beadwork.
The store in New York City’s SoHo District is yet another milestone for the clothing brand in 2024 alone. They kicked off the year by debuting at Paris Fashion Week, where they showcased their AW collection titled My Conviction. The luxury clothing brand then returned to Mzansi with the My Conviction collection that launched at their fashion and musical festival, MXS Kulture Festival. This follows shortly after the clothing brand debuted at Paris Fashion Week.
However, the store opening was delayed due to inconveniences faced by the clothing brand. “It has been a tedious process working on [this] project. A lot of logistical processes have delayed [us]. We had to internally deliberate on choosing the best opening time for the store,” the fashion designer further states as he explains how there were inconveniences faced that led to the delay of the store opening.
“I think MaXhosa deserves to be in New York because we have taken extra care in everything that we do, which is what I believe the true definition of luxury should be. New York is on top of the world and we are in New York as a stepping stone for us to be on top of the world,” Laduma concludes as he affirms that MaXhosa Africa is a high end fashion brand which priorities luxury and quality. Thus well deserving to be in a globally recognised city such as New York.