Atlas of Fashion Designers

Sun Goddess

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Sun Goddess

Sun Goddess is more than a brand; it is a declaration of purpose—the fi rm intention to sit-

uate South Africa in the world of fashion at long last in a durable and honest way without

sacrifi cing roots or foregoing trends radiating from the neurological centers of fashion.

 is label is the fruit of the knowledge of what identity and fashion mean in an image-

saturated society, of the understanding that fashion is an excellent vehicle for the creation

of identities, of the awareness that recognition of the elegance of African aesthetics is fun-

damental to a strategy aimed at creating value in a world that craves authenticity, of the

sense that fashion connects with something larger, with personal style, and that fashion is

in fact the radiography of cultural identity, of a position in the world.

For all of the above, Mr. and Mrs. Mangaliso founded Sun Goddess less than ten years

ago with the clear purpose of participating in the reconstruction of their country’s identity

while simultaneously referencing what they consider to be its glorious past, one which they

hope to recover with pride and joy through their creations.

Sun Goddess came into being with the hope of providing and exporting the experience of

luxury and African style through clothes, accessories and perfumes.  e brand, in addition,

has a new, indispensable business line for marketing fashion, one of an advisory nature

regarding African imagery for diff erent sales lines. All of this makes Sun Goddess a kind of

visual consultant whose aim is to communicate Africa to the world. Clothing conceived for

African goddesses but accessible to women of this world.

Photography courtesy of Sun Goddess

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Sun Goddess

Few labels have as clear a brand philosophy

as Sun Goddess, created to demonstrate to

the world of African creativity, the beauty

of African culture, the continent’s ancestral

richness, and, more than anything, the

pride of being African. Images from the

Spring/Summer 2008 collection.

Photography courtesy of Sun Goddess

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Sun Goddess

Photography courtesy of Sun Goddess

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Sun Goddess

- What inspires you, Mr. Mangaliso?

A lot of things: working with people, cutting clothes, designing clothes, combining materials, diff erent kind of materials.

- What is your dream as a designer?

Having my own company and working with great people.

- What has been the most important achievement of your career?

Designing for my own label.

- How important are trends?

If I can take trends, I make it. I prefer to create for everyone.

- Fashion has always refl ected a certain era. What does fashion refl ect in the twenty-fi rst century?

In my case, it refl ects African culture, the African feeling, and it wants to be fashion for everybody, black or white.

- What book would you recommend to every fashion designer?

Pattern books. You can fi nd fashion in every book; every book includes fashion.

Sun Goddess

Regent @  e Zone, 2nd fl oor

177 Oxford Street, Rosebank 2196

South Africa

www.sungoddess.co.za

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Sun Goddess

Photography courtesy of Sun Goddess