African Fashion: Ezokhetho's latest collection Mapetla wins a jury prize in Paris.

Ezokhetho's latest collection Mapetla wins a jury prize in Paris.

A Love Letter to Home

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If you know Soweto, you know Mapetla and its neighbour Chiawelo — two communities that pulse with everything township life represents: resilience, creativity, hustle, aspiration and unapologetic self-expression. It's fitting, then, that Dhlamini named the collection after Mapetla Extension, the very place where he spent the first two years of his life, and where both his parents lived when he was born.

"The brand debuted in Paris, I wanted to revisit a place that forms part of my earliest memories," Dhlamini shares. "Mapetla represents more than a location. It reflects the spirit of Soweto — its creativity, its optimism, and its ability to shape identities and dreams."

Coming Home for the Campaign

Here's where it gets even more special: the campaign wasn't shot in some polished studio far removed from its inspiration — it was shot in Mapetla itself. The main location? The home of Dhlamini's late grandmother, his mother's aunt, a house steeped in family history. It's less a photoshoot and more a homecoming — one that threads together past and present, and honours the women and men whose stories built the foundation Ezokhetho now stands on.

'90s Nostalgia, Reimagined

Visually, Mapetla Ext. is a love letter to the 1990s — think bold, saturated colour that channels the electricity of township life, tempered by grounding solid greens that keep the palette balanced rather than chaotic.

The styling goes even deeper into cultural memory: female models wear rollers, a nod to a beauty ritual passed down through generations of South African women, while the men wear natural afros — a proud, unfiltered celebration of authenticity. Finishing touches come courtesy of socks and Ezokhetho's newly launched gold branded jewellery, signalling the brand's expansion into new creative territory.

More Than a Collection

At its core, Ezokhetho has always been about storytelling, craftsmanship and cultural preservation — and Mapetla Ext. is no exception. It's a meditation on how the places that raise us never really let us go, no matter how far our journeys take us. Fitting, then, that this deeply personal, deeply South African collection made its mark thousands of kilometres from home.

The show formed part of Africa Fashion Up, the influential platform championing African designers — established and emerging — on the international stage, bringing together the industry's biggest names in celebration of contemporary African fashion.

Awards

The brand was awarded the PRIX DU JURY 2026 Award atAfrica Fashion Up. With master classes from various luxury houses Guerlain, Boucheron, Istituto Marangoni Paris and a mentorship from Balenciaga.

From the founder: Beyond the award, this experience gave us the opportunity to meet an incredible community of designers, mentors and industry leaders, and to build relationships that will stay with us long after Paris.Thank you to the entire Africa Fashion Up team for believing in African creativity and for creating such a meaningful platform.I only wish my parents were here to experience this moment with me. This one is for them. And to my community, thank you. To everyone who has supported Ezokhetho, contributed in ways big and small, shared in the vision, and helped make moments like this possible, I’m deeply grateful. This achievement belongs to all of us.