Fashion labels Rareblaq and Urban Zulu are shaping the visual identity of South African music, with artists like Bokang Ramatlapeng using clothing to make statements as bold as their sound.
A Skirt as Manifesto
On a Wednesday night in Johannesburg, Ramatlapeng walked into the Jozi Gold venue for the second night of her first tour, celebrating her debut album Qalo (Sesotho for “beginning”), released last December. She wore an elaborate, overflowing lace skirt by Oracle Dynasty that required two assistants to carry its train along De Korte Street.
Inside, at the Your Weekly Touchup showcase, anticipation was high. Ramatlapeng later took the stage with a quintet of bass, drums, keys, and two horns, performing to a crowd that sang every word. The skirt, however, remained a focal point under the lights.
“A lot of people were shocked by the big, elaborate skirt,” Ramatlapeng said two weeks after the performance. “But essentially, I’ve been constantly put as ’emerging’ and ‘newcomer,’ and I was like, no, it’s done. I’ve won a Mzantsi Jazz Award, that’s it! I’m not re-emerging, I’m not coming out of the woodwork. People know me, but have been very intentional about shunning me, or pretending that I don’t exist. So that skirt was me saying, hey, ke kopa le nkeng seriously (please take me seriously).”
She added: “The orange goes with some of the colours on the album. I’m introducing myself as a Basotho jazz priestess. I’m done. Ha ke sa kopa hore le mpulele litsela (I’m no longer asking for permission). No, I’m here.”
Fashion’s Evolving Role in South African Jazz
As artificial intelligence disrupts music cover art, visual artists and fashion designers are reinforcing the importance of physical, wearable identity. In South African jazz, the sharp suit has given way to looser silhouettes, and sequinned dresses have been replaced by flowing gowns that function as sculpture and manifesto. The current generation’s stylistic register includes:
- Bold, bright seshoeshoe prints
- Ancestral adornments such as beadwork
- Head wraps, robes, and kimonos
This visual ecosystem has been cultivated by clothing labels that understand both the business of fashion and the music itself.
The Labels Behind the Look
Papy Kaluw of Urban Zulu says the label’s connection to music was organic. “I think it was natural, it was not something [planned]. I’ve been a product of natural development,” he said. Growing up in Durban, he frequented the BAT Centre, an arts hub where he encountered musicians like Madala Kunene. “I grew up in South Africa, but I’m not South African. The flavour of African unity was one of the core subjects, and when musicians were accompanying my journey towards [stability] as a brand, it was good. I use fashion as a tool to unite the African continent.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo-born, South Africa-raised entrepreneur noted that Urban Zulu’s distinct fabrics, style, and lower Durban-based manufacturing costs helped the label gain market trust quickly. “Our fabric was different, our style was different, and our price was different. Jozi prices are high, but coming from Durban, where prices were lower, we knew how to manufacture faster at a lower cost. People discovered that we had a dope style with affordable prices. So we gained the market’s trust faster.”
A Continental Aesthetic
Kaluw points to a specific genre of music that his clothes almost soundtrack, epitomised by Busi Mhlongo‘s album Urban Zulu. The record’s line-up mapped a corridor across the region:
- Brice Wassy (Cameroon) – drums
- Hilaire Penda (Cameroon) – bass
- Jack Djeyim (Cameroon) – electric guitar
- Sydney Thiam (Senegal) – percussion
It is a template Miriam Makeba formulated, Mhlongo perfected, and artists such as Thandiswa Mazwai and Simphiwe Dana have since carried forward.
