Mami Wata Partners With Moncler
African Surf brand Mami Wata is set to make waves internationally following its recent selection by Italian luxury clothing brand Moncler to be part of the 2 Moncler 1952 Genius range. Moncler’s first African collaboration with Cape Town based start-up Mami Wata, in operation for just two years, was announced at a party in Paris last week.
Launched in 2017, Mami Wata is a premium surf brand that designs and manufactures all of its own range of apparel products in South Africa. Comprising of shorts, tees, sweats and caps known for its mischievous patterns, the selected range is going to be sold in two hundred Moncler stores globally, as well as in some of the world’s top department stores and boutiques. The collaboration range featured the Moncler logo, Mami Wata’s banana graphic and signature surfing zebra graphic.
“Moncler emailed us out of the blue. They saw the brand and liked the African surf story and our quirky designs”, says Nick Dutton, CEO and co-founder, “The Moncler Genius project is one of the hottest things in global fashion, so it’s humbling and also very exciting. Anything that shines a light on African surf culture is good.“
Moncler, headquartered in Milan, Italy, is one of the world’s leading luxury brands and their celebrated Genius project is now in its third year of collaboration with top designers from around the world. Since launching in 2018, Moncler’s Genius collaboration project has become a juggernaut for the Italian outerwear company, and its 2020 presentation once again proved it.
Moncler designer Sergio Zambon likes to involve external players, engaging in rich creative dialogues. The spirit of this collaboration is energetic and youthful and according to designer Zambon, Moncler is an icon that is real and routed in youth culture.
“The power of African surf culture is redefining the identity of global surf culture in its entirety,” adds Sal Masekela, Mami Wata co-founder, surf media icon and son of legendary South African musician Hugh Masekela. “Mami Wata being chosen by Moncler shows the brand is also a fresh voice in global design and fashion culture. It’s a real honour to have been chosen to be a part of Moncler Genius, it’s a global celebration of design, fashion and creativity”.
