Finweek English Edition - October 24, 2019

l

ast year, Palesa Mokubung, founder and creative director of

the local fashion label Mantsho, received a call that would

change the trajectory of her business. Swedish giant retailer

H&M wanted to partner with Mantsho to release a collection

celebrating the elegance and vibrancy of Africa, with modern edgy

designs created for the stylish confident woman – exactly what

Mantsho is premised on. It would be the

clothing retailer’s first-ever collaboration

with an African designer.

While a brand collaboration of this

magnitude was not an easy decision to

make, Mokubung decided to go for it.

She felt that she had a lot to learn from

a 72-year-old, billion-dollar retail house

with 4 958 stores (as of February

2019) across the globe. Also, saying no

would mean betraying her brand ethos

of being a bold and confident woman.

Cue launch day, and the Mantsho x H&M merchandise sold

out at several local H&M stores within hours. #MantshoxHM

trended at the top spot nationally on Twitter, garnering

widespread media attention from Teen Vogue, Essence, CNN

and Bloomberg, among other outlets.

46 finweek 2 4 October 2019 http://www.fin24.com/finweek

on the money entrepreneur

Mantsho x H&M:

Making fashion history

Fifteen years ago, then-junior fashion designer Palesa Mokubung took the plunge to start her own fashion label.

The hard work has culminated in fashion history, as she became the first African designer to collaborate with giant

Swedish retailer H&M.

“What has been happening is that we’ve been getting a lot

of new clients and Mantsho is now a fully-fledged international

brand,” she tells finweek.

How did you end up studying fashion?

I’ve always known that I’m a creative; so are my father and

brother (who designed the Mantsho logo). So

when I finished school, I didn’t worry much

about what I was going to study — I just knew

that it would be in arts.

How was Mantsho established?

I started out in the design industry at Stoned

Cherrie as a junior designer. After entering a

national design competition and winning in the

fashion category, I parted ways with Stoned

Cherrie on good terms and went on to travel the

world. Part of the prize included shooting a 13-episode televised

series, after which I set up my own fashion label.

I put my best foot forward and relied on my talent, experience

and all the knowledge I had received from Stoned Cherrie and had

a go at it. I wanted a name that is natively South African. Mantsho

means ‘black is beautiful’ in Sesotho.

By Timothy Rangongo

Palesa Mokubung

at the official retail launch

of Mantsho x H&M in

Sandton City, where the

new range sold out.

“I’ve never had funding or

help. My business is 100%

owned by me. I built it

from dress to dress, skirt

to skirt, top to top.”