Yamkela Mahlelehlele with mentor Julia Buchanan. Image: Supplied.
Nicola Mawson
While studying back in 2014, Julia Buchanan went from a side hustle designing a swimwear brand, JULIA, to putting her third limited collection onto the racks at Pick n Pay Clothing, and now mentors up-and-coming designers as part of the retailer’s Futurewear initiative.
Buchanan was the first designer to join Futurewear, which the retailer runs in partnership with designer Gavin Rajah to nurture emerging fashion talent.
Since its inception five years ago, the programme has identified several other young designers.
One of them is Yamkela Mahlelehlele, who was recently named the first 2024 designer for the Futurewear incubator programme. Mahlelehlele has also benefited from Buchanan’s pay-it-forward philosophy.
Mahlelehlele’s design career, which wasn’t her first choice, started when she began repurposing things she found in her childhood house. Her fondest moment is turning her mother’s bra into a bag.
“I really thought I was into something,” she said.
Having grown up in the Eastern Cape, she now lives in Cape Town and has created a limited-edition collection, under her label Maison KOTR, called “Kolours of the Reignbow”, which launched in 40 Pick n Pay Clothing outlets last week. The range includes tailored waistcoats, skorts and relaxed pants.
Another Buchanan mentee is Cinani Nhlapo, who has always been keen on fashion, having dressed up with his cousins as a youngster before progressing to sewing his clothes by hand. His first collection was launched in 2023. CN is a clothing brand that specialises in custom made and ready-to-wear clothes.
According to Buchanan: “My journey within the programme, from being its first emerging designer to mentoring Cinani, has given me an in-depth understanding of how this initiative serves as a powerful catalyst for young designers, offering them a pivotal launching pad for their careers.”
Other designers who have progressed through the programme include Kiav Mitoo, who initially wanted to be an aeronautical engineer before deciding to study graphic design at Vega School in Cape Town.
Over the space of a year, the 20-year-old designed prints for two designer collections and launched his own range in Pick n Pay Clothing stores.
Mitoo’s range is a crop top and oversized t-shirt, each in four different “streetwear” prints, which are designed by him, merging art and fashion.
“I got Pick n Pay’s attention by painting clothes. My art style is surrealist minimalist, and my clothes have a graffiti look to them, in bright summery colours.”
Last year, Mitoo collaborated with Thando Ntuli to launch an exclusive summer range for Pick n Pay Clothing. The two had never met in person, but created a fusion of youth, creativity and empowerment in the range.
Their collection aims to inspire female empowerment, with Ntuli being influenced by women’s strong role in shaping the economy, and Mitoo’s flower motif print symbolising the multi-faceted nature of women.
“The outfits are designed to empower both the young and the mature, combining strength and femininity. These pieces effortlessly transition from the office to the comfort of home,” said Ntuli.
Hazel Pillay, executive of Pick n Pay Clothing, said the Futurewear collaboration was developed “in a fresh, new, innovative way to support local designers and local production, as often this tends to be produced in China”.
Pillay said the retailer “wanted to create a platform for young designers or talent with really good creative and artistic skills who want to break into the fashion area. They would learn from the commerciality of producing for the masses, while ensuring all the products are manufactured locally to boost local manufacturing in the South African economy”.
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