Chris Ngalu's vision for the future of fashion is slow

DW (English)

Malawian designer Chris Ngalu is defining African identity through fashion — and keeping it totally sustainable. DW takes a look.

Transcript

00:00Back to the future with old clothes? Sure, with sustainable fashion.

00:06It protects the environment and is therefore also socio-politically effective.

00:11How and why can it also create identity?

00:14And what does all this have to do with visas?

00:16Let's ask Chris Mgalu.

00:18It was during that time when there was war, so there was a lot of migration.

00:21So my grandparents came from Mozambique and settled in Malawi, deep down in Chikwau.

00:27For me, being multicultural and having that kind of a history,

00:30it influenced me to create one of the collections that I have, which is called No Visa.

00:40This Afro-futurist from Malawi has founded a sustainable clothing label

00:45to shape the future the way he thinks it's worth living.

00:50What makes him believe that fashion in particular

00:52has the power to change identity, environment and society?

00:59I have a responsibility to do social commentary for my community and for my race

01:05and to make sure that whatever work I put out is of substance

01:09and that it represents something more than just looking good when you wear it.

01:13It needs to have a message behind it and needs to stand for something

01:18that is just much bigger than us.

01:20So this collection, No Visa, literally is just a collection that talks about

01:25how Africa is the same, we are all multicultural,

01:28not everyone is really family from where they think they're from.

01:32If you try to research your history, you'll find out that your parents

01:35or somewhere down the line, they came from somewhere.

01:39So being that, there's a lot of things that make us unite than divide us.

01:49For Chris Ngalu, fashion is more than just clothing.

01:53It is a way for people to communicate with the world.

01:56Beyond sustainability and cut, the names of Chris' collections

02:00are more than just titles.

02:02Anxious, No Visa, etc.

02:05What is his focus here?

02:07We have Jika'u and Vizuazua, which are mostly sustainability-based collections.

02:15We also have Ofulu, which is also about representation,

02:19and Lodafinu, one of my recent ones, which is a dedication to my grandmother,

02:24but it's mainly about heritage and cultural identity.

02:32Sometimes I do collaborate with leading artists in the country,

02:36so we work together and shoot these fashion films and stuff,

02:39which I post on my YouTube.

02:41Sometimes we get news articles that write about us as well.

02:44Across the continent, Malawians are known for their immaculate tailoring,

02:48and their luxury designers are gaining increasing international visibility.

02:53Chris' base streetwear is the contrary.

02:56What makes clients come to wear upcycled, thrifted clothes?

03:00I don't think you'd find something like this brand new,

03:03but also you wouldn't find something like this in the market or wherever,

03:07just because these are different materials that have been woven together.

03:12So you can see there's some parts that are knitted,

03:15and then there's some parts that are stitched,

03:17some parts that are embroidered, actually,

03:19and I kind of appreciate that as a consumer.

03:26Kancuka, which means clothes sold in a heap in Chichewa,

03:30are very popular in Malawi.

03:32The term is a collective term for used clothes,

03:35mats, bedding, and even household items.

03:38New goods are often unaffordable and of poor quality.

03:42Kancuka, or second-hand thrifted clothing,

03:45is seen as a quick solution for obtaining fashionable and high-quality clothing.

03:51So how does Chris manage to work with this?

03:55People look at it as, this is old stuff,

03:57so for me to actually change that perception

04:00so that people know that when we restyle it and repurpose it,

04:05this is still as worthy as anything else that you can get in a shop,

04:10that's one of the biggest challenges.

04:12But as of now, I managed to convince the people,

04:14and they understand now how all these things are also,

04:19even though they are from Kancuka and we restyled them,

04:22they are just as worthy as something which is new in a shop.

04:25As a trained graphic designer,

04:27Chris has won several awards

04:29and has also exhibited his clothing on the European continent.

04:32Chris Ngalo's streetwear brand, BASE,

04:35is an acronym for Bold African Striving for Excellence.

04:39Does he think he's still striving,

04:41or are his clothes at the level that he wants them to be?

04:44Sometimes we get quite a lot of orders

04:47so that we may need to make maybe 50 pieces a day,

04:50so that's why we need to diversify

04:52and to make sure that we widen our production scope

04:55by engaging with different organizations

04:58like the way we are here at Judith Foundation,

05:00of which we can have like, for example,

05:02here there's maybe 10, 11 tailors,

05:05they can all get a garment each,

05:07maybe by the day we finish up maybe like 50 to 60 kinds of garments

05:12and make sure that the production is just moving at a good pace.

05:16And we're still pushing the boundaries

05:19and increasing the production line.

05:21We're also venturing into luxury kind of branding,

05:26so some of the clothes now, we've switched them up,

05:30the way we package them, the way we sell them,

05:33including our retailers.

05:35As of now, we are working on an order

05:37that is going to Belgium right now,

05:39so that's kind of like where the mind is at.

05:41In a world that is increasingly

05:43In a world that is increasingly

05:45dominated by outward appearances,

05:47Christopher Ngalu wants to encourage

05:49the young generation of Malawians

05:51not only to look good,

05:53but also to take a responsible approach

05:55to clothing and their origins.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended