NOMBIDA: Expressing identity, individuality, and resistance

NOMBIDA is a premium African brand redefining the modern uniform as a powerful tool for self-expression.

Launched in 2021 under the name NOMBIDA LUXE, the brand began with a sharp focus on non-branded leather biker jackets. Today, NOMBIDA is grounded in artisanal product development that fuses ancient African techniques with contemporary design. “NOMBIDA LUXE started to feel too common and too expected. As a brand built to last for generations, we needed something original and deeply connected to our heritage,” says Thando Nombida, Creative Director and Founder of the brand. “Dropping ‘LUXE’ allowed us to reclaim authenticity and clarity. NOMBIDA on its own feels timeless, grounded, and powerful, just like the work we’re creating.”

At the heart of the brand is a commitment to sustainability, using primarily discarded leather materials to create handmade collectables that speak to a global audience. What began as a small production has evolved into a design house known for its meticulous construction, evolving design language, and elevated craftsmanship. “It’s almost impossible to work in fashion today without noticing how fast fashion has overshadowed true craftsmanship,” Thando says. “My mission is to change that by preserving ancient African techniques through contemporary design. By creating modern pieces rooted in tradition, we spark a global dialogue about value, heritage, and purpose. Each product becomes more than an object; it’s a conversation about what it means to build something that has an impactful reason to exist.”

Thando’s creative process always begins with a few key questions: How can this change someone’s life? How can it be functional and still address a social ill? How can it pour back into the local micro-economy? How can we make it using the raw materials already available here in Johannesburg? To answer these questions, he always considers the impact on people, on the environment, and on culture. “Sustainability is at the core,” he adds. “I focus on minimising waste while preserving traditional African techniques and translating them into modern design.”

NOMBIDA has collaborated with Johannesburg-based brands on high-impact product development, including Ntwana’s debut hero coats in 2022 (worn by the likes of Bonang Matheba, Trevor Stuurman, Kefilwe Mabote and rapper Maglera Dope Boi), two full leather collections for Boys of Soweto in 2023, and artisanal contributions to BOYDE’s leather coats and jackets for New York Fashion Week in 2024. Additionally, in 2022, NOMBIDA was invited by Neo Serati and Didintle Ntshudisang to feature in their concept pop-up shop CHURCH in Blairgowrie, and in 2024, the brand held its first exhibition at August House. Together, these brands form part of NOMBIDA’s extended creative community, embodying the brand’s spirit of collaboration and authenticity.

“This work isn’t done by me alone; it’s a collaboration with my ancestors and the greater forces that guide me,” he concludes. “I see myself as a vessel, part of a much larger puzzle. The ideas flow through me, and my job is simply to give them form and to bring the unseen into the physical world.”

You can find NOMBIDA pieces at IFUKU (44 Stanley Avenue, Braamfontein Werf).