The concept that birthed the African ethnic fashion brand, House of Hohwa oozes depth and creativity. Surrounded around a Hohwa, native Shona for "mushroom", the brand visionary and designer Kuda Matiza's vision for the brand is to be, "like a mushroom, to grow in places never imagined".
House of Hohwa is a unique brand, trending a unique vision of not just designs, but sending messages, telling African tales, and digging deep into African concepts in all of its collections. The concepts are rooted in Africa, the diverse and yet complimenting cultures, distinctive fabrics authentic to different tribal communities, and importantly, the in-depth history and tales told from generation to generation. So rich in its concepts, it surely explains the brand's rapid growth in popularity.
Evolving on the ground of African ethnicity, the message is lauded through its two success stories to date since its birth in 2014. The first collection, Urban Shroom, was conceptualized from the South African traditional tribes of Sotho and Venda. This collection announced in style the arrival of House of Hohwa on the South African fashion arena with its urban yet deeply authentic apparel. The Mushroom concept was to grow out of its local origin of Braamfontein Johannesburg, and spread out, grow, and adapt in any land.
The follow through second collection launched in the spring of 2015, Mambokadzi, native Shona for "queen", is an exquisite collection depicting royalty as it were in a Hohwa woman. This concept is an initiative to crown every woman. Coming out of a society that has suppressed women for generations, this collection was a Hohwa way of saying to the African woman, "you are royalty, take back your pride, walk tall regardless of what you have been through. You are a queen".
It comes as no surprise, considering the trend of success stories, that House of Hohwa has attracted media attention. Already a recipient of accolades from the national broadcaster, SABC, the brand had a special entrepreneurship interview the 16th of June 2016, including radio and magazine interviews.
Dazzling prestigious runways in and out of South Africa, to name a few, KOAS Cape Town 2014, Intwasa Fashion Week 2015, Nelspruit Wine Festival 2015. The same year also saw them dressing Miss Soweto 2015, media personality Portia Moemedi, and motivational speaker, Pandori Mabai. 2016 has seen House of Hohwa designs showcased at the glamorous Zimbabwe Fashion Showcase UK, and clearly the pace is set for House of Hohwa on the global arena.
The 2016/2017 spring/summer collection, dubbed 'The Winds of Change', set to be launched on September 1, promises to take this ethnic urban brand to another level.
The theme, inspired by a speech made by British former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1960, signified the beginning of African revolutions against colonialism, saw many countries liberated.
Thus said, this collection is set to revolutionize African fashion trends globally, and be a voice worth reckoning with in this regard. It is a women's collection, and according to designer Kuda Matiza, "it is a milestone for the brand, with a mature and sophisticated touch, and come September 1st, be ready to be revolutionize."
Looking into the future, the visionary is looking forward to seeing this 'mushroom' grow in Europe where it's recently been receiving attention. Who knows where else this mushroom will grow?
Links:
https://m.facebook.com/houseofhohwa/
https://www.instagram.com/houseofhohwa/
http://zimbabwefashionshowcase.com/walk/kuda-matiza-house-of-hohwa/
