SEASON meets: Thebe Magugu, award-winning fashion designer, on designing the most beautiful adidas Orlando Pirates kit

Words by Naomi Accardi

The very first time I landed on Thebe Magugu’s website back in 2020, I was immediately swept up in awe. Every aspect of the brand, from the beautiful clothing and the innovative artistic direction, down to the storytelling bits, resonated with what I look for in a fashion label. Apparently, I am not the only one.

Hailing from the city of Kimberley in South Africa’s Northern Cape, Magugu’s climb to the top of Europe’s most prestigious fashion circles started at an early age. As a child, he would study the very runways he would grace with his refined creations years later, fantasising about creating his own collections and influencing the world with the kaleidoscopic essence of African culture. And he did just that. After graduating from LISOF, where he won ‘Best Graduate Collection’, he launched his eponymous label and stole the hearts of the fashion elites to the point of winning the renowned LVMH prize in 2019 and making it to the final rounds of the 2021 International Woolmark Prize. More recently, this week, Magugu was given the Franca Sozzani Award for his work in cultural preservation through fashion by Fashion4Development during the United Nations General Assembly Week in NYC.

South African designer and adidas collaborator Thebe Magugu

My own interest in Magugu’s label intensified after seeing ‘Counter Intelligence’, his Spring Summer 2021 collection. Specifically, a midi knitwear polo dress in a deep shade of green featuring a big Matisse-like artwork (turns out that’s his logo) on the front that I became enamoured with because reminded me of an elongated jersey. Overtaken by a childlike frenzy, I instantly felt compelled to share it with Felicia and express the excitement I felt—we had to post it on SEASON zine’s socials. In Fall Winter 2022, Magugu released his first womenswear collaboration with adidas. Inspired by his South African roots, kinship, and inclusivity, the line featured flattering workout kits in an elegant floral pattern. The crimson red and sky blue items reminisced of the bold colours so characteristic of his environment. It was a hit.

Fast forward to a few months ago, while routinely checking my email, an unexpected subject popped through the hoards of junk emails I get daily. It read: Thebe Magugu x Orlando Pirates. Opening the email, my jaw dropped. It was the most beautiful kit release I had ever seen. Who would think to style a photography backdrop in the shape of a huge shell? It reminded me of Botticelli’s Venus—elegant, effortless, emotional. Naturally, I had to know more.

After exchanging a few emails with Room—the creative studio behind the production of this incredible photoshoot—I got to talk to Magugu and discuss what it was like to work on such an important item.

The Orlando Pirates x Thebe Magugu 23/24 Home jersey

Naomi Accardi: Hi Thebe. First of all, congrats on the collaboration. The kit release campaign was one of the best this year. The creative use of a backdrop to mimic the shape of a shell was very exciting. I loved it. This is obviously not the first time you collaborate with adidas, but it’s the first time you’ve approached a football project. How did the opportunity come about and what was your reaction? Are you a football fan?

Thebe Magugu: Thank you! It’s been one of the most exciting projects I’ve been a part of because it falls outside of the core output of what the brand has historically done—which is always a recipe for something quite disruptive and progressive; because I believe in the power of cross-referencing and juxtaposing things together to form something newer.

I was asked by adidas if I would be open to designing the kit and I said of course—the majority of my family are Orlando Pirates fans (some aren’t, who we are still trying to convert). Before I started designing though, I wanted to get a sense of the club firsthand so I called a meeting to get to know them more. I was incredibly taken aback by their inspiring but arduous journey to get them where they are today, and this made me think of a maze of a labyrinth, which became the motif I focused on when cross-referencing this with their iconic skull and crossbones emblem. It’s so funny but I have gone from watching soccer at a distance to always updating my diary with the next set of matches, so I picked up a new hobby during all this as well!

Naomi Accardi: The Orlando Pirates are a legendary South African club, yet it’s not often that teams from the continent of Africa get to shine at the international level. What was the most important thing to highlight given the international appeal of this launch?

Thebe Magugu: The beauty of community I think is one of the most incredible things about South African football in general. I think everyone all over the world is incredibly familiar with our gruelling and tough history, but - apart from music - sports (particularly football) has been one of those things that almost acted as a refuge for us to take to. So in many ways, football was one of the lifelines we used to survive and upkeep our spirits - and I want the international audience looking to this launch to remember it. I also want to showcase how incredibly progressive we are with our product and imagery.

Naomi Accardi: The local sports–meets–fashion scene is quite prolific. In the past we worked with and covered quite a few local realities: KasiFlavor, the Lover Boys and your own namesake brand, just to name a few. Were you inspired by any of these collectives and their work?

Thebe Magugu: I admire all my peers in South Africa for proudly taking our story and realities, modernising it so that it lives in a digital world, and putting all out for the world to see [and often educate themselves on as well]. My work is all about capturing key people, moments and events that run the risk of being forgotten in the face of the more classic “South African stories” (i.e. Nelson Mandela, Apartheid, etc.) Kabelo from KasiFlavor has dedicated a substantial amount of time to grounding up these nice stories, and it’s what’s keeping our culture alive. Preserving what was for today’s and tomorrow’s audience is critical.

Naomi Accardi: Let’s talk theme of the shoot. Directing a kit launch for such a big company can be quite tricky at times, there are strict parameters and guidelines to follow. Where does the inspiration for the shoot come from and what did you want to convey with it?

Thebe Magugu: I love the idea of ‘magic in the mundane’—a theme I riff off quite a lot in my work. I love this idea that it’s shot in a classic stadium but with moments of bizarre, unbelievable camp - those two opposites are forced together, creating quite unique and confrontational work. We also shot as subjects elder women, younger children, the players themselves, and some friends of mine, so bring familiarity to this world.

I think sometimes South Africans —or the continent really—realise what strange and contrasting realities we have to not only live in but thrive off of, and I think this shoot was my way of gesturing towards this - the beauty in things we take for granted and strength we have shown throughout. For the background, the idea was to mess up and morph the shape of the conventional backdrop to reframe the bridge between fashion and football. Traditionally, all of adidas’ kit launches around the world use this concept of backdrop on the pitch and we wanted to bring the shapes that are recurrent in my own collection.

The Orlando Pirates x Thebe Magugu 23/24 Away jersey

Naomi Accardi: Do you think the fact that the Orlando Pirates is not as popular internationally in terms of fandom—although it has a great local following—allowed adidas to grant you more creative freedom?

Thebe Magugu: I think it had to do more with adidas’ understanding of my work having worked together on two previous collections. I studied fashion design, photography and media so I could tell a 360 fashion story—I love pushing imagery as far as possible because it contextualises the clothes. It didn’t take much convincing, because they trust in the overarching story we are telling.

Naomi Accardi: Are there other areas of the sport you’d like to explore in the future? In Spring Summer 2021, you released a fabulous knitwear piece that resembled a football jersey. Can we expect to see more football influences in your upcoming collections?

Thebe Magugu: I’m a magpie designer - always collecting and integrating into my work, so this influence will certainly continue to grow within the Thebe Magugu universe. My previous collection, titled ‘Discard Theory’, looked at how strange the South African style identity is - mixing vintage styles, classic items and a huge majority of sports kits to form something I am not even sure we have named. It’s unique and seemingly all over the place, but done in such an edited way that it powered my entire collection. Also, I believe in fashion that is both aesthetic and functional—which is everything sports kits should be!

Photography
Agency: Room Studios
Art Director: Chloe Andrea Welgemoed
Creative Director : Ashley Benn
Producer: Eden Toohey-Ogle
Concept Lead: Dune Tilley
Photographer: Paul Samuels
Set Designer: Francois Ferreira
Digital Assist: Zwele Buthelezi
Lighting Assist: Thato Mabaso, Prince
Asst. Stylist:Jana-Marie De Jager
Hair: Zinzi Ndwandwe
Make Up: Annice Roux Gerber