Lukhanyo Mdingi’s annual archival sale at The Manor’s brand-new home

Lukhanyo Mdingi’s much-anticipated annual archive sale is set to run over the first weekend of August at The Manor’s new concept store at 44 Stanley, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg. On offer will be archival pieces from each collection that are indicative of the LM label as well as photographic prints and journal-zines.

Lukhanyo Mdingi’s eponymous label is an ever-evolving emergence of consideration, community and timeless design. Born out of Cape Town, South Africa in 2015 — the label exists as a space that moves deeply into the very essence of human ingenuity and the preservation of craftsmanship. Fundamental to the cosmology of LM is the exploration of fashion as its current lexicon through which they harness the spirit of being human. In this way, the label re-imagines and reinstates dignity and notoriety in their garment production; with a small team based in Cape Town, while continually collaborating with artisans on the continent such as the expert weavers from PHILANI in Khayelitsha, Cape Town to textile artisans at CABES GIE in Burkina Faso. Their approach to design is a practice centred around these relationships; it is from these symbiotic connections that Lukhanyo Mdingi conceptualises their collections, believing that beginning with human beings is where the essence is held for creating meaningful and intelligent design.

By incorporating photographic prints and journal-zines, Mdingi offers those who have followed the trajectory of the label an opportunity to engage with an intimate and sincere aspect of their research and documentation.

The weekend-long sale coincides with the introduction of The Manor’s new concept store in Johannesburg — a beautiful space that embodies the brand’s ethos of luxury and African art, providing the perfect backdrop for showcasing LM’s annual sale. “The parallels are aligned,” Mdingi says. “It’s a perennial and intentional partnership where both entities have points of view that are clear and specific to the sentiment of the community. As one chapter is about to close by LM releasing one-of-a-kind pieces from our history, a new one opens for The Manor, as they introduce their first maison to a larger audience.”

Award-winning photographer and founder of The Manor, Trevor Stuurman, is thrilled at the prospect of hosting Mdingi’s pop-up as the inaugural event at The Manor’s new home: “At the core, The Manor has always been about creating space and taking up space whether it being online or physically,” he says. “This is a dream come true and a milestone for our journey as storytellers to have physical, permanent space as a home for Africa’s greatest stories.”