GQ chats to award winning designer Rich Mnisi about his new collab with H&M
The long-awaited print collaboration between H&M and RICH MNISI is now available at selected stores and online in South Africa.
The collection is available at various locations, including V&A Waterfront, Sandton City, Mall of Africa, Menlyn Park, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Cavendish Square, Rosebank, Canal Walk, Mall of the North, and Superbalist.com.
RICH MNISI is a contemporary multi-disciplinary brand founded in 2015 by the South African designer, Rich Mnisi.
The brand's inception was driven by Mnisi's desire to connect more deeply with his unique culture and heritage, narrating a captivating tale through his art—one that weaves together a mysterious past, an intriguing present, and a reimagined future.
Rich Mnisi expressed the motivation behind collaborating with H&M, highlighting the opportunity to make their designs more accessible to a broader audience who has been immensely supportive of him, his team, and their work with the brand.
The collaboration with H&M allows them to extend their appreciation and love to their loyal supporters.
Caroline Nelson, Country Manager of H&M South Africa, spoke about the brand's commitment to fashion, quality, sustainability, and affordability.
Collaborations like this embody H&M's business concept, showing that design and sustainability can be achieved without compromising on price.
The partnership with RICH MNISI represents H&M's celebration of South Africa's abundant creativity, and the collaboration also involved working with a local screen-printing supplier to support local businesses.
The RICH MNISI and H&M collection boast original streetwear designs adorned with iconic RICH MNISI illustrations.
The lineup includes high-quality basics with relaxed and oversized fits, available in six seasonal colours inspired by autumnal hues such as warm shades of brown, orange, and beige, alongside black and grey mélange.
Notably, the collection is designed to be gender-neutral and caters to sizes XS – XL.
To promote sustainability, the collection features materials that are more responsibly sourced, including cotton pieces made from 100% in-conversion cotton—fiber grown by farmers transitioning to organic farming methods.
Rich Mnisi revealed that his growth as a designer and the journey undertaken with his team and supporters served as inspiration for the collection.
With life and work moving rapidly, this collaboration with H&M offers a moment to celebrate their progress and honour their loyal followers from the beginning of their journey.
GQ South Africa, had a quick sit down with the designer to chat about the collaboration and more.
GQ: How and when did the brand start?
Rich Mnisi (RM): At the end of my design studies, after I won the AFI Young Designer of the Year award in 2014. I’d convinced my family to let me study fashion design at LISOF and I worked hard to make them proud and build something meaningful.
GQ: What is the ethos and vision for the brand? /Describe the brand and product offering
RM: It’s really about a bold, modern celebration of heritage. The brand and its designs are a call to be bolder, inside, and out.
The storytelling I engage in comes from many heritage sources, from African mythology to my own Tsonga heritage to my late great grandmother.
It’s all about bringing together who we come from, where we are, and what we want to say with our lives and our style in one fluid connection.
GQ: What is the idea behind this collection/illustrations and what pieces can we expect from the collection?
RM: The collection brings together 24 of our favourite graphics, prints and shapes from across recent collections and reinterprets them on key pieces for the season.
GQ: Describe each piece in the collection (names/inspiration/illustrations)?
RM: There are layers of coordinated pieces, which I love, that use the season’s neutral tones as a backdrop for some of our favourite illustrations, graphics and symbols.
They are perfect for the South African winter season but will work in your wardrobe well past that.
I particularly love the brown sweater with a green and black monogram graphic on the back, and the cream hoodie that features our intersect illustration.
GQ: What influenced the collection?
RM: My growth as a designer and the journey I’ve been on with my team and everyone who loves this brand. Life and work move so fast that it’s hard to stop and celebrate where we’ve been sometimes and this has been a way for us to do that - celebrate our day one’s.
GQ: How do you as a brand support local? Why is this important to you?
RM: We tell some of Africa’s forgotten stories through our collections, and we collaborate with exciting South African talent like PR$DNT Honey, Zhi Zulu and Martin Magner.
I really believe in doing things together and supporting each other, it’s how I got through design school with some of my favourite South African creatives and it’s how many of us got where we are today, community.
GQ: Why did you decide to take the opportunity to collaborate with H&M?
RM: We were drawn to this opportunity because of the responsible sourcing, repurposing existing materials/pieces to make something beautiful that reduces waste.
We also wanted to extend the accessibility of our designs to more of the people who have been so vocally supportive of me and my team and the work we do with this brand.
I am so grateful for everything we have and the people who have helped us make that happen, and this collection with H&M helps us show love to them.
GQ: Why do you think H&M is initiating this collaboration?
RM: I think H&M has been in South Africa for long enough now to understand just how special our local talent is. I hope these collections continue, bringing more local and global exposure for South African creatives.
GQ: How do you see your brand benefitting from this project?
RM: We try to paint vivid new worlds with each collection, and I believe this collaboration will extend an invitation to more people to join us in those worlds.
GQ: Where do you see your brand in the future?
RM: Everywhere. Everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. I think the brand’s call to boldness has so many more friends to find, across the world, and we are pushing to grow to a stage when we can meet them where they are globally, and offer them even more.
GQ: What can customers expect from the collaboration?
RM: Bold but wearable graphics and shapes that will bring a piece of our brand’s personality to their wardrobe in a way they can make their own.
GQ: Who do you see buying your products and what customer do you have in mind when designing?
RM: People who live boldly and people who want to live boldly. We give them a way to embrace the power of fashion to help them do that.
RICH MNISI is also for people who want to wear and carry their heritage in a fluid, modern way, and in a way that brings individuality to the beautiful uniforms of traditional culture.
GQ: What is unique about your illustrations?
RM: This collection of illustrations is an expression of the fluidity that is part of our brand’s core.
We explore some form of it in many collections, and look at the way it acts as a bridge that connects very separate things and how it is a freeing state of being.
So you’ll see shapes that don’t have a firm form, expressing their fluidity as they interact with other shapes that do.