A twist on luxury African fashion from Kahindo
SANDTON – As pioneers in luxury African fashion on a global stage, African Fashion International (AFI) was established to propel and restore refined African fashion brands.
The much-anticipated AFI showcase portrays the designer’s understanding of quality and craftsmanship. This year was no different – the Sandton Convention Centre was a haven of beautiful pieces. We caught up with international designer Kahindo Mateene from Kahindo. She showcased her spring/ summer 20 (SS20) collection in Sandton and it was incredible. African-born, her inspirations often stem from her roots.
Kahindo celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and as an ode to its humble beginnings, Mateene incorporated its original style in her collection. “I took it back with this collection, I really wanted to bring it back to that whole African print thing but in a different way.
“I designed and developed my own prints. I teamed up with a Nigerian fine artist whose work is incredible. So I took on one of his paintings and turned it into a print in my collection. “It’s going to be quite bold and colourful – similar to what I did when I initially started. The silhouettes were very modern and flowing and can transition smoothly.” Not just stylish and elegant, Mateene also holds two degrees.
“I studied international business and economics because my father was a diplomat so if I had told him I wanted to study fashion he would have looked at me like I was crazy. “It wasn’t a favourable choice then. Later on, after university when I was working in marketing, I realised that I always loved fashion, people always complimented my funky fashion sense. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer and I always wanted to have my own brand. “ So I went back to school and got a fashion design degree and, yeah, here we are.” Having been so long in the game, Mateene is a seasoned professional. Her advice to aspiring designers is to always take it back to basics, “Incorporate old pieces into the new, always stick to your original design DNA.”
When asked what she likes most about Sandton she said definitely the rainbow nation. “There’s so much joy just being here, it’s very metropolitan and I really enjoy the diversity in Sandton especially because I am from New York. “People think South Africa isn’t diverse so it’s really good to be here and see all these different people and different cultures for myself. “We are all Africans so it’s really nice to be around that.”
ALSO READ: Curl up with these five thrilling reads
