Clothes fit for our nation

Stoned Cherrie, established in 2000, is an afro-urban luxury lifestyle brand, expressive of urban culture in South Africa. Their vision is to be the African luxury lifestyle brand pioneering a fashion and cultural revolution in Africa, and to redefine what had historically been a very narrow definition of what it means to be ‘African’ in the 21st century.

Nkhensani lists her role models as Dolly Radebe and Miriam Makeba, which is evident when considering her designs. The single item that boosted her to success was colourful flared A-line skirts, which have been enormously popular with broad-hipped women. Her designs also incorporate traditional African beadwork, Venda prints, the Xhosa traditional skirt, and the German print Seshweshwe, reflecting our diverse African cultural influences.

Nkhensani points out that most people have a very stereotypical idea of what African clothes should look like, but that her brand had taken the idea and modernised it, adding African 21st century flair.

Stoned Cherrie has also started a campaign to teach history through their clothes. The designs are reminiscent of the struggle, the celebration of past eras of the 50s, the Shebeen Queens, and the suppression of our cultures. The streetwear range has its origins in the era of ‘hippies’, ‘necklacing’ and the low level civil war we were engaged in from the 60s up until the early 90s.

In 2002 Stoned Cherrie introduced the Drum Campaign in partnership with the Bailey’s Historical Archives. Fashion was used as a canvas to convey iconic historical imagery to foster an interest and pride in our history and heroes. Setting out to produce timeless art pieces, this added a new dynamic to the Stoned Cherrie vision.

“Part of my thinking when I approached Bailey’s archives was to make history part of popular culture. In the beginning it was a pure test to see if people would wear clothing with a picture of a black man with a fist in the air, but in the end it was hugely successful, to the extent that clothing franchises started replicating the look,” says Nkhensani.

Nkhensani first saw an opportunity for a brand like Stoned Cherrie in 1999 when she was travelling extensively through Africa. She recognised a gap in the market that no one else seemed to have tapped into. She felt that the urban energy that exists on the continent was not being branded and packaged into products. She realised that there was an opportunity to build an African brand that celebrated South Africa’s new sense of identity and explored in a creative way what it means to be African in the 21st century. She decided it was time to set up a new and now popular African urban fashion label.

Having been featured on BBC, CNN and Australian Television, over a period of just four years, the brand has managed to gain significant recognition amongst South Africans and people abroad.

Nkhensani says that her clothes represent a projection of a future that is multi-cultural; a world that is a fusion of different influences, traditions and spiritual belief systems. “We are currently negotiating our identity as South Africans. There’s a new kind of consciousness about. I would like most people to learn about the history of their country from my clothes and see the freedom that we as South Africans have achieved in all spheres,” she explains.

Stoned Cherrie has grown from a small ambitious company to one of the most celebrated local brands, and Nkhensani has received numerous awards for her efforts. Stoned Cherrie currently has one flagship store based in Rosebank, Johannesburg. In 2004, in an effort to enhance accessibility, Stoned Cherrie formed a strategic partnership with Woolworths whereby their designer labels would be sold in seven Woolworths stores across the country.

This month Stoned Cherrie will be part of the South Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, the same event that launched Nkhensani’s career six years ago.

The Stoned Cherrie 2006 fashion show will take audiences on a pilgrimage to the soul – Stoned Cherrie style. Highlighting some exciting achievements in the brand’s evolution, the first act will include a revolution range, which has a strong military grounding with streetwise undertones of 50’s jazz savvy and fashion sensibility. In sun-soaked reds, dust beat yellows, and military greens; this range presents a punchy delivery of Stoned Cherrie’s statement military shirtdresses. The second act heralds the Stoned Cherrie Icon Range, packed with beautiful iconic classics that are synonymous with this brand. The third act is an econography range that is an ode to self: my conscience, my understanding, and my self-preservation. The last act illustrates how from revolution comes evolution, whereby the designs take a futuristic approach to today by looking at it from the past.

Stoned Cherrie has produced eye-catching garments from their very first appearance in South Africa. They have inspired new trends in African clothing and we can only wait in anticipation to see how Nkhensani Nkosi will interpret the next ten years in South Africa.