Directory: Wanda Lephoto

Established in 2018, Wanda Lephoto is a luxury South African fashion brand driven by storytelling, heritage, research, and process. The brand draws inspiration from the African spirit, focusing on three pillars: plurality, community, and circularity. Their mission is to create...

Features

Established in 2018, Wanda Lephoto is a luxury South African fashion brand driven by storytelling, heritage, research, and process. The brand draws inspiration from the African spirit, focusing on three pillars: plurality, community, and circularity. Their mission is to create a culture of honesty and accountability within the luxury fashion market.

Resources and materials

Works with mostly natural fibres, including cotton and mohair
Cotton is sourced from and woven in Ghana using human-powered looms

Making and manufacturing

Makes very small batches of each garment
Cotton from Ghana is transported to South Africa in suitcases by friends and acquaintances rather than traditional transportation – a dedication both to carbon impact and imbuing their pieces with human spirit and connection
Garments are cut and made in South Africa

Social and cultural

Created WL FOUND, an ongoing research project looking at products made by South African artists, designers and practitioners between 1850-1994 to learn and take inspiration from shared collective histories within design

Product and design

Garments are trans-seasonal and size-inclusive
Design that is made for repair and re–use
Offers repair services
If a garment cannot be repaired, it is either up–cycled through collaborations with friends, remanufactured, or recycled