The Purity and Craftsmanship of Fashion with Studio Mapalo

From the warm landscapes of Zambia and rolling hills of Yorkshire to the bustling streets of London, the journey of a fashion designer is often as diverse and rich as their creations. For our featured designer, Mapalo Ndhlovu, this path has been marked by a blend of cultural influences and an unwavering passion for his art.

Growing up in the picturesque countryside of Yorkshire, Mapalo found a creative haven in London. His story is one of resilience, creativity, and an ever-evolving love for sartorial expression.

Mapalo’s unique ability to intertwine African culture with the edgy, avant-garde elements of London streetwear has set his brand apart in a highly competitive and oversaturated industry. This distinct fusion not only highlights his heritage but also bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary fashion, creating pieces that are both timeless and forward-thinking.

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial pressures of sustaining a fashion brand, he has consistently showcased his dedication to craftsmanship and innovation. The pandemic, which proved to be a formidable obstacle for many, became a period of introspection and growth for Mapalo. During this time, he honed his skills, developed his sewing techniques, and conceptualized his brand's unique identity.

Mapalo's journey is also marked by significant inspirations and influences. From his early fascination with the architectural elegance of Issey Miyake's designs to the ground-breaking collections of Nazim Azhar, these influences have shaped his vision and fuelled his ambition to present something truly original in the fashion world.

His deep connection to his Zambian roots is evident in every piece he creates, seamlessly blending traditional African elements with modern aesthetics. This cultural tapestry is further enriched by his experiences in Yorkshire and London, where he absorbed diverse styles and trends. The result is a captivating collection of work that tells his life story through garments, merging the past and present, the traditional and the contemporary.

As we delve into Mapalo's journey, we uncover the inspirations, struggles, and triumphs that have shaped his path in the fashion world and led Studio Mapalo to where it is today. His brand stands as a testament to the power of cultural fusion, relentless passion, and the pursuit of creative excellence in the face of adversity.

NW: To start with, could you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and how you found your way into the fashion world?

Mapalo: Sure. So, I was born in Zambia. I lived there for about three or four years, until my parents took me to Yorkshire. I grew up there, spend most of my life in Yorkshire.

Then I think it was during sixth form that I decided that most of my attention was spent on getting dressed, looking at different fashion magazines, I'd started gravitating away from the subjects that I had chosen to study and was pretty much spending all of my time either vintage shopping, putting outfits together, styling, my friends, or myself.

I came to the realisation that like, I could actually navigate a life where this passion could be the main thing that I focus on, and I could try and make a career out of it. 

So, I decided to literally leave my levels, went to college and did an art and design degree. And from there my only goal has been fashion. After I finished my art and design degree, it became really clear that the only way that I would ever get to where I wanted to be was to move to London. Everything that I was seeing and everything I was interested in was coming out of London. I applied to the three main universities within London and got accepted into London College of Fashion. 

I studied there for three years, it was really interesting, really challenging as well. When I first came to university, I didn't know how to sew, I'd always just imagined that it would be easy. I was always really good at art really good at drawing. I think the technicality of fashion design had never really crossed my mind at first. 

Unfortunately, graduated through COVID. But by this time, I'd actually learned how to sew, and I was starting to get good at it. I told myself, there was no way that I was going to stop just because of COVID and actually used the time to think about my brand, think about how it would look the sort of styles that I'd put out. And from there, I've just kind of run with it.

NW: Who would you say are your main inspirations? Who motivated you to pursue a career in fashion?

Mapalo: When I was looking into fashion when I was younger, I was obsessed with Issey Miyake. I love the idea of fashion having a duality between almost architecture and construction and wearable clothing. It always made me want to push for something new or create something new within fashion. 

Nazim Azhar was a really big inspiration for me as well, when I was coming into fashion. Around that time, he was doing his collections at London Fashion Week. I remember just looking at the collections and having never seen anything like that at all. It really made me want to go and show other people something they'd never seen. 

I think I would have to credit my parents as well. Even when I was in school, I was literally always taking my dad's clothes, being in a pair of Armani jeans that were two, three sizes too big for me. They've always loved that designer clothing so like it's something that I've always been around. I've always seen fashion around me but just in different ways.

NW: Is there any particular subject matter that's inspiring your work at the moment?

Mapalo: It’s a real mixture actually, I'm trying to tell my life story through clothing. I want there to be aspects of Zambian culture, aspects of northern culture and aspects of London streetwear.

I think everything that I design is based off the idea of Zambian culture and heritage. I mean, not specifically Zambian, but, it's more the African tribal culture, I look into different tribes within Africa for inspiration.

The London aspect of it, that's where the futuristic elements come in. It's this really avant-garde sleek way of dressing. The northern aspect of it is, I guess, more the traditional tailoring aspects of it. When I was growing up, everyone in my sixth form used to be a mod. Everyone's in these, like, almost flared jeans, really fitted shirts, crazy patterns.

So, I'm trying to tie together all the elements of the different cultures that I've been exposed to while growing up. 

NW: You touched on it a little bit earlier, but the fashion industry is a notoriously hard one to break into, especially launching your own brand. What have been the biggest challenges for you so far?

Mapalo: I think one thing is definitely financing. What do you do? I think the two biggest challenges that any creative in any kind of field will face is time and money. With fashion, in particular, you can find ways around spending money, but there are certain things that are big costs, that you just can’t avoid.

I feel like the main thing has been balancing my time around a full-time job and also having to use the cash flow from that job to then put back into my brand and also, you know, stay sane and have a life.

I guess the thing is when you want something enough, it doesn't feel like a burden. You know? when I'm financing stuff for my brand, when I'm paying for shoots, I actually love doing it. So, I guess at this point, it doesn't feel so much like a burden. 

NW: Then on the other side of things, what would you say has been the most exciting thing that fashion's allowed you to do? Your biggest accomplishment? The thing you're most proud of in your career so far?

Mapalo: I feel like every project that I work on, is my biggest accomplishment. Purely from the aspect of, like you were saying, it is such a challenge in the fashion industry, it is so hard to manoeuvre through, so even to still be creating work, it just makes me proud of myself.

I've seen huge brands not be able to generate work anymore. I've seen brands that were there when I started fashion, brands that I looked up to, that don’t exist anymore. Regardless of the scale that I'm doing my work at, just being able to maintain, to keep putting work out there is huge.

I think also I have having gone from not being able to sew to being in a position where I am constantly able to think about the next project and the next project is a huge accomplishment. So, for me, it's always been being able to continue putting out new work that is my biggest accomplishment.

NW: We were lucky enough to have you showcase your work at our Fashion Week Event earlier this year. There is so much about the work you exhibited that was so refreshing and unique and very personal. Could touch on what you feel sets your work apart from other brands?

Mapalo: I think for one material and focus on craft. One reason that I've stayed away from manufacturing is I want to I want to show essentially, the maximum output that I can produce as a designer.

Sometimes manufacturing holds you back from that, because it either isn’t commercially viable, your best design might not be able to be replicated, because you're relying on somebody else to replicate that work. I wanted to do was make one of ones so that I can put as much as myself and my skill set into each garment.

I'd like to hope it translates. But I feel like each piece, each garment I'm doing is like a piece of art. And I feel like in the current climate where we're seeing so many brands appear out of nowhere, and just generating so many, so many clothes. I'd like to think mine stands out because it's more considered work and, you know, really takes things back to the purity and craftsmanship of fashion. 

NW: As you were saying before, just continuing to be able to create and put your work out feels like a real success. Could you delve more into what your vision of success would be? What does success mean to you?

Mapalo: I think success for me would be to reach a point that this would become my only focus and take the majority of my time.

I think it's easy to say, to give like an event or a milestone but once you've reached those milestones, there's always another milestone to reach. The biggest success for me would be to reach a state of, I guess, consistency with my work, for my work to become everything that I do rather than something that I have to fit time in for. 

NW: This is a tough question, but if there was one thing in the current fashion world that you could change, what would that be?

Mapalo: Um, it's quite a broad answer. I think people's approach to sustainability. Not only in terms of material use and manufacturing, it's more in the sense that I feel like it's been so normalised to have three, four, five, six collections a year.

Working within fashion, the deadlines that this creates and the pressure that there is on people to just constantly churn out new ideas is a real detriment to the industry and the people in it.

You know, we live we live in a world where you have credit crunches, we’ve got war torn countries, yet fashion kind of operates in a bubble. 

Regardless of the world around it, fashion never really seems to adapt to the schedule or lifestyle or finances of, you know, the everyday person. I think most sustainable approach would be to slow things down massively. I think that's where the focus on craft would come back in. 

If companies did two collections a year rather than four then I used to say that those two would be twice as good.

NW: I totally agree, this rapid pace, putting out collection after collection, it's really limiting creativity, not just in the big brands, but also the need to put out so many collections is stopping so many brands, smaller brands, from being able to put themselves into the upper echelons of the fashion world.

Mapalo: Yeah, also, I don't know anyone that can buy something from say, for example, Louis Vuitton, four times a year. I think Louis Vuitton have eight collections in a year. The type of person that can actually afford something from each of those collections makes up such a small percentage of the world it is crazy. Yet every brand seems to follow; the whole world is looking at them. It's the biggest brands that set the pace for all this. 

NW: And they're the only ones that can maintain it really. 

Mapalo: Exactly. Yeah, it's a shame.

NW: To finish, I wondered if you could speak a little bit about anything exciting you have coming up in the future, any pieces coming out that you're particularly excited about, or anything you're getting up to that's exciting you at the moment?

Mapalo: I have recently released the second volume of my latest collection ‘Black Infinity’. This collection emphasizes advanced technical fabrication and intricate pattern cutting, all crafted from recycled fabrics. This approach has enabled me to create truly unique and innovative looks that I am incredibly proud of. So probably that.