Some brands are influenced by art movements such as Afrofuturism, while others are challenging what it means to be a man in Africa. They want to question people and start conversations about their preconceived ideas of what a man should wear or how a man should be seen. Using limited resources and materials, these designers are pushing their creative boundaries and reflecting on a contemporary outlook of African apparels and heritage.

Ikiré Jones

Founded in 2014, Ikiré Jones is a socially aware design company that marries West African aesthetics with artistic influences from different cultures across the globe. Ikiré Jones menswear is the brainchild of musician and lawyer Wale Oyéjidé and fellow musician and tailor Sam Hubler. Their elegant creations from casual and sport wear to clothing accessories are well-tailored and convey a unique artistic signature. Storytelling is an integral part of the design process. The designers aim to give each piece they create a history of its own. With every collection, the brand places a strong emphasis on societal issues that affect immigrant and transient populations all over the world. Ikiré Jones seeks to weave together a tighter global community through clothing. The brand’s design and tailoring are done in the United States, and its accessories are printed and hand-rolled in United Kingdom.

Dent de Man

Dent de Man is a menswear brand created in 2012 by British-Ivorian designer, Alexis Temomanin. Dent de Man’s approach to luxury style is defined by mixing classic tailoring with colourful patterned fabric. The brand’s lifestyle is defined by freedom, quality, and aesthetic, empowering individuals to dress for themselves. Self-expression is core to Dent de Man’s philosophy. The menswear label prides itself on the use of vintage fabrics and a celebration of ancient printing techniques. The brand blends a simple approach to menswear with a traditional Javanese soul in prints and fabrics—each fabric having been individually sourced and possessing its own story and meaning. Dent de Man pieces are perfect for stage or street-wear, enriching the personality and individuality of its wearers. The prints are not trend-led, and so blur lines between formal and casual wear.

Lukhanyo Mdingi

Lukhanyo Mdingi is a South African designer born and based in Cape Town. He studied Fashion Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, from which he graduated in 2014 a year after winning the ELLE Rising Star Competition. Lukhanyo Mdingi designs distinctive fashion for his eponymous label, using locally sourced and ethically produced textiles. He interprets minimal aesthetics with his clothing, finding the balance between line, form, and texture. He creates minimal looks that are distinct and powerful for everybody, with a flare of contemporary elegance and sophistication. One of his recent collections aimed to identify the meaning of avant-garde aesthetics with regards to fashion design, specifically focusing on menswear. It was an investigation of how innovation and craft can be used to achieve the avant-garde, as well as a study of form and the use of unconventional materials.

Nicholas Coutts

Nicholas Coutts is a South African fashion designer from Cape Town. He studied Fashion Design at Cape Town’s Design Academy of Fashion, graduating in 2013. The same year, he won the prestigious ELLE Rising Star 2013 award, which catapulted him into the South African fashion industry. Nicholas Coutts eponymous brand’s signature is creating garments that are textured and uses fabrication to create a pleasing contrasting visual. Influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement and his craft oriented mother, Coutts specializes in using handwoven fabrics and hand knitted items. His initial inspiration always comes from nature. The overwhelming natural beauty of the elegant landscapes and waterfalls of the Western Cape inspired the simple forms and strong colours of his last collection. He focused on volume and silhouettes as well as high quality fabrics that create a highly polished and mature collection.

Orange Culture

Founded in 2011, Orange Culture is a contemporary menswear brand created by Nigerian designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal. He describes his label as a movement more than a clothing line, for a creative class of men who are “self-aware, expressive, explorative, and art-loving nomads.”  Orange Culture previously produced womenswear options, but has since decided to focus on menswear. Combining classic and contemporary Westernsilhouettes with African sensibilities, Oke-Lawal creates offerings for modern men interested in telling a story with the way they present themselves. The brand is a heady mixture of Nigerian inspired print fabrics, bold colors, and contemporary urban street wear. All pieces are manufactured in Lagos, from ethically-sourced fabrics of local Nigerian textile designers.