The work of international fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo will feature alongside traditional Xhosa fashion in a new exhibition opening at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum on Tuesday, October 9.
The NMMAM presents the exhibition, "Mother Tongue: The Influence of Traditional Xhosa Fashion on Contemporary Design", for view to the public until mid-February 2019.
Guests are welcome from 5.30pm on Tuesday.
Mother Tongue celebrates local fashion and features the museum’s important collection of traditional Southern Nguni beadwork and textiles alongside selected works by Ngxokolo.
A spokesperson for the museum said Ngxokolo was an example of the power of traditional design and one of the Eastern Cape’s greatest exports. The title "Mother Tongue" also reflected the importance of women as the custodians of traditional designs and aesthetics. Specialised patterns, colour selection and the cultural significance of beadwork were passed on from mother to daughter or aunt to niece or grandmother to granddaughter. In the same manner Ngxokolo as a 21-century Xhosa man got his passion for traditional art forms and textile design from his mother.
Other local designers will also be sharing their work in the exhibition with new and historical designs displayed alongside each other.
Guests at last week’s Mantis Museum Gala were given a preview of the work, but the official opening is on October 9 at 5.30pm.
Further information from the art museum, 041-506-2000, e-mail artmuseum@mandelametro.gov.za