A Thrilling Conversation with Rich Mnisi
Courtesy of Ricardo Simal/Southern Guild.
Born in Johannesburg in 1991, Rich Mnisi’s broad design vision embraces fashion and functional sculpture. His work flows according to the themes and motifs he returns to and continually pushes forward: the women in his life, queerness, and the VaTsonga tribe.
Mnisi graduated from Johannesburg’s LISOF School of Fashion in 2014, following which he was named Africa Fashion International Young Designer of the Year at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa. He founded his eponymous label in 2015, creating genderless, seasonless collections infused with his own personal narrative and heritage.
His first solo exhibition of sculptural furniture, titled Nyoka (meaning snake in Xitsonga), was a bold exploration of shape and fluidity, brought to life through vivid contrasts of forms and materials, including bronze, wool, resin, and glass. Mnisi’s work has been presented by the Southern Guild at Design Miami and Investec Cape Town Art Fair.
UZOMAH: For your current solo exhibition, Dzuvula, you expand on the cosmology of duality that emerged with your debut collection, Nyoka, in 2021. How important was it to link that collection to your current exhibit?
RICH: Of late, I’ve been leaning toward creative expressions that reflect where I am both personally and creatively. The idea of duality is something that has been floating throughout our work since the brand was founded - something I only realized when we created our magazine RICH, the publication which served as a catalogue for the Nyoka collection as well as an insight into the creative process behind its creation. We recently brought the important common thread of duality into the identity of the brand with our new emblem, also called ‘Nyoka’. Nyoka gave birth to a world so vast that a single collection wouldn’t explore everything it has to offer. Dzuvula is less about creating a link and more about furthering the exploration.
Nyoka II (snake) Courtesy of Ricardo Simal/Southern Guild.
U: What is a fear that, through creating art, has helped you overcome?
R: My inherited fear of snakes. I've found it so liberating because I realized that exposure can be a harsh but productive way of facing my fears. Exploring duality in my work has allowed me to see a snake for more than just its danger to me — I now also see it for its beauty and wonder.
U: Widely considered a designer at the very forefront of African fashion, how do you maintain the styles and traditions of yesteryear while combining them with today’s fashion?
R: I look back at what made me who I am and I live in the now. I think it’s beautiful, to be able to reference everything that gave you all the knowledge you have and use it creatively to address current needs. I think a large part of it is that while their differences are obvious, I don’t see these modern and traditional elements as enemies, really. Tension can be conflict, but it can also be harmony.
U: Who is one of your favorite fashion designers, and why?
R: JW Anderson - I think he’s extremely smart and you see it in his offering at both JW Anderson and Loewe - innovative, intuitive, campy, and conversational. Intellectualism often scares people off, but his expression of it is so inviting.
Shiluva (flower)Courtesy of Ricardo Simal/Southern Guild.
U: How is fashion art?
R: It just is. Everything we look to art for, we can look to fashion for, too. Fashion as an idea is able to speak to the same parts of us that art does.
U: What is your go-to fabric when making a piece of clothing that you want to stand out and make a statement?
R: I wouldn’t say I have a go-to fabric for a desired statement, but I love designing prints and seeing them come to life on a variety of fabrics. When it comes to fabric selection, I just try to pick the right medium for the message, and for the lifestyles the clothes are meant to serve.
U: Fashion often makes statements not just commercially but often politically, culturally, and socially. With issues like sustainability, what can designers do to respect the changing demands when making clothing that respects the environment?
R: The only way is to put a magnifying glass onto your process - the only way you can be ethical and sustainable is by knowing the process and the conditions of each manufacturing step, and understanding the relationship between each step and the resources it requires. That’s how you make changes that are better for nature and better for the overall process as well.
Mbhoni (witness) Courtesy of Ricardo Simal/Southern Guild.
U: What made you want to pursue fashion/design/art as a career?
R: I always wanted to be part of the conversation and I knew words weren’t my strong suit. Clothing has become my medium, and I am continually surprised and empowered by what I find it allows me to say. I’m also honoured by how people respond to the work because if not for their response, I would be talking to myself.
U: Where do you see the future of African designers?
R: Leading the industry in inspired practice across their respective categories. For example, our parents and parents’ parents have taught us for generations to preserve our clothes and pass them down — an idea that has only recently re-entered the conversation on sustainability in the global north.
U: Are there any art or fashion trends that have caught your eye recently? If so, why?
R: I’ve been paying attention to how fashion’s relationship with its enabling technologies is evolving. I’m really interested in how new tools like Apple's new Vision Pro will integrate into the art and design process and how they may change it.
For more information about Rich’s artwork and fashion, please visit his site and follow him on Instagram. For more information about Rich’s recent exhibition, Rich Mnisi: Dzuvula (Shedding Skin) with Southern Guild, visit the showcase here, and the gallery’s website here.
