The man reshaping South Africa's luxury fashion through identity and heritage

Laduma Ngxokolo, who founded MaXhosa Africa in 2010, is on a mission to embrace his country’s history and traditions, rather than hide from them. Photo: The New York Times

Spending hours observing Laduma Ngxokolo, one can tell that he has long been haunted – and propelled – by a single question: What, exactly, makes a man?

Ngxokolo, 38, who created MaXhosa Africa, a luxury knitwear label that has found fans in Michelle Obama and Beyoncw, grew up in Port Elizabeth, a coastal city in South Africa’s poorest province that changed its name to Gqeberha in 2021.