Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town, unveils a landmark collaboration with renowned South African fashion designer Thebe Magugu, marking his debut in luxury hospitality design. Celebrating the ten-year anniversary of his acclaimed fashion house, the opening of the THEBE MAGUGU SUITE introduces an immersive, two-storey Afro-modernist sanctuary tucked along the hotel’s iconic Palm Avenue. A fusion of African heritage and English sensibility, it welcomes guests into Magugu’s universe.
Adjoining the suite, MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN will open its doors to the public – a concept store and cultural space forming a dynamic hub for fashion, art and creative exchange. Acting as both a gallery showcasing works by sought‑after artists and a showroom presenting Magugu’s collections, it celebrates African creativity and welcomes the continent’s next generation of visionaries.
“This project has allowed me to explore how fashion can live beyond the body – extending into space and atmosphere. After two years of planning and production, the level of care is evident in the narrative layering, emotional backbone, and craftsmanship throughout. The result is a delicate balance between English grandeur and African sensuality,” says Thebe Magugu.
AN AFRO-MODERNIST SANCTUARY AMONGST THE PALMS
Renowned for his nuanced exploration of African identity and contemporary elegance, Thebe Magugu has brought his distinctive vision to one of Mount Nelson’s historic wings along Palm Avenue. Grounded in meticulous research and guided by a deep respect for African lineage, the suite reflects Magugu’s ability to blend cultural preservation with progressive storytelling, capturing the spirit of South Africa's vibrant landscape and craft.
Magugu, in collaboration with StudioLandt, shaped the Afro-modernist suite around a series of shared rituals designed for gathering, dining, retreating and rest, allowing each space to deepen the guest’s connection to place. The lower level opens into a welcoming lounge and dining area with a discrete wet bar, where sculptural forms and locally crafted details set the tone for intimate gatherings and evening celebrations.
A bespoke dining pendant, inspired by the Basotho hat from Thebe Magugu’s lineage, anchors the space with cultural symbolism, while handcrafted dining chairs – shaped by the curves of traditional pottery – bring ancestral craft into everyday use. Hand-sketched panoramic wallpaper trace South Africa’s landscapes from the Midlands to the Cape. A palette of rich greens, deep indigos and warm ochres, echoing sun-drenched savannahs and stately English country homes, sits against terrazzo floors and stone and timber finishes, lending the space a refined yet soulful warmth. Upstairs, the king-size bedroom evolves into an oasis of indulgence, dressed in bespoke patterned textiles and framed by a private balcony with views of Lion’s Head. The marble-clad bathroom, with freestanding soaking tub and aged brass detailing, evokes a sense of natural enclosure and calm.
Throughout, rotating artworks curated by Thebe Magugu in collaboration with co-curator Contemporary African Art Specialist, Julia Buchanan, transform the space into a one-of-a-kind archive of South African expression, where art guides moments of rest and repose.
Thebe’s attention to detail delves deeper with a series of exclusive in-suite touches featuring the designer’s very own bespoke gown and slippers, Rituals by Thebe Magugu bath amenities (soaps, lotions, bath salts and shampoos), Basotho fabric pouches, alongside a collection of custom teas developed with Mount Nelson’s Tea Sommelier Craig Cupido. Moving from nostalgic notes of vanilla and condensed milk to indigenous herbs such as impepho and buchu, each blend preserves cultural stories through ingredients, guided by healing, heritage, spiritual lineage and offered as part of a room experience or turn-down ritual.
MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN: A SPACE FOR ART, FASHION, CULTURE AND EXCHANGE
Designed as a living platform for cultural exchange – and created in collaboration with StudioLandt – MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN showcases limited-edition fashion, archival garments, art, photography, books and objects. Exhibitions by some of South Africa’s most influential creative voices, in partnership with cultural institutions and independent artists, will rotate quarterly, enriching the space with a deeper, more textured reading of local culture.
MAGUGU HOUSE will present its first exhibition, By Our Own Hands, in partnership with Southern Guild, featuring works by Zanele Muholi and Zizipho Poswa, alongside Thebe Magugu’s approach to fashion as ritual practice. Rooted in the idea that making is a form of self-articulation, healing and resistance, the exhibition explores creative practices shaped by cultural knowledge, lineage and intention. It highlights how every day objects, as well as found materials, are transformed into objects of beauty and meaning, framing this ingenuity as cultural authorship rather than survival. This is reflected in Muholi’s use of these as symbols of majesty and self-sovereignty, Poswa’s devotion to adornment as cultural continuity, and Magugu’s storytelling through fashion, where spirit and narrative function as primary materials. By Our Own Hands will run until the end of April.
The space will host monthly film screenings as well as salon-style conversations, exhibitions, and cultural events, further positioning Mount Nelson as the vibrant meeting point for local and global creative communities. This will kick off with a preview of Sonder, a documentary directed by Johannesburg composer and creative director Thuthuka Sibisi of Sibisi Studio, a close friend of Thebe. Sonder explores the hidden emotional lives of Black Zulu men, where brotherhood, violence, desire and love collide within an apartheid-built system that both upholds and fractures traditional patriarchal masculinity. It forms part of the House’s wider programme designed to bring culture, conversation and creativity into the heart of the hotel.
A COMMITMENT TO THOUGHTFUL LUXURY AT MOUNT NELSON
The opening of the THEBE MAGUGU SUITE and MAGUGU HOUSE Cape Town follows Mount Nelson’s long-standing collaboration with Magugu through CONFECTIONS x COLLECTIONS, the annual Pan-African fashion initiative. What began as an ephemeral runway showcase now finds permanent expression within the hotel – transforming fashion into space, and creativity into legacy.
“Mount Nelson has always been a place where culture lives and evolves,” says Patrick Fisher, General Manager of Mount Nelson. “This collaboration with Thebe Magugu allows us to go deeper – to create spaces that are not only beautiful, but purposeful and rooted in place. Both the THEBE MAGUGU SUITE and MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN reflect our belief that true luxury is slow, thoughtful and locally resonant.”
Guests of the THEBE MAGUGU SUITE can look forward to hosting intimate gatherings in the lounge and dining areas, which seats up to four guests, savouring quiet mornings on the terrace overlooking the city’s natural wonders or delving into moments of decadence.
Beyond the hotel, curated experiences connect visitors with Cape Town’s art and cultural scene, offering access to the likes of Southern Guild, Norval Foundation and Zeitz MOCAA. The hotel’s 24-hour concierge, private training sessions or a visit to the new and much-anticipated Amura by Ángel León restaurant – amongst many other personalised offerings – will create a stay that’s immersive, personal and deeply connected to the stories of the city.
Guests can now book the THEBE MAGUGU SUITE, part of Belmond’s signature suites and villas. To make a reservation, please contact [email protected].
Guests can also now visit MAGUGU HOUSE CAPE TOWN at Mount Nelson, open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10h00 – 18h00.
