"What if Africa was the home of fashion?"

This month Magugu launched its collection for AZ Factory, which will go on sale in June and September. Here he reveals how it came to be and what it means to take over Elbaz's mantle. Last spring, when much-loved designer Albert Elbaz died unexpectedly from COVID-19 shortly after launching a label called AZ Factory, the bereaved fashion world initially wondered what would happen to his new company, backed by luxury conglomerate Richemont. . How could it go on without him?

The answer came earlier this year: tasked with the lineup of designers to continue the spirit of experimentation and self-care that defined AZ Factory and to express that passion as they wish: in clothes and objects. After all, in the first installation was Tribe Magugu, a designer. 28-year-old South African, founder of the eponymous brand, and winner of the 2019 LVMH Award for Emerging Talent.

This month Magugu launched its collection for AZ Factory, which will go on sale in June and September. Here he reveals how it came to be and what it means to receive the Elbaz Coat.

A: I've never met her, but I watched her fashion shows when we first had satellite TV. Then last year, I had an email from Alex Ku, Albert's partner, saying that he and the team at AZ Factory planned this show in honor of Love Brings Love and that they had invited 44 or so brand Albert to pay their respects. He told me to come, and I said, "Of course."

It was such a beautiful show to see all the interpretations of Albert's performances over the years. Two or three months passed, and I received another email from AZ informing me of their strategy as we advanced that the company would be inviting artists from fashion, photography, what you have, to work on brand work, and I was eager to do so. However, I wanted to disturb the relationship between Albert and me, especially because we are both mainlanders: he is from Morocco, and I am from South Africa.