Cool Campaign: MDINGI COUTTS A/W 16 Shoot

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo IMAGES Travys Owen ART DIRECTOR/STYLIST Gabrielle Kannemeyer

In our April/May issue (VISI 83), we featured a snippet of the MDINGI COUTTS A/W 16 collection, which showcased the collaboration between these two young designers, namely Lukhanyo Mdingi and Nicholas Coutts.

They debuted the collection at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy before bringing it home to show it two weeks later at South African Menswear Week in Cape Town. Photographer Travys Owen and Art Director Gabrielle Kannemeyer have now collaborated to create a photographic campaign for the collection.

 “Gabrielle Kannemeyer and I conceptualised this story last year while traveling for a job in Middelburg, South Africa,” explains Owen. “Both Lukhanyo and I are from the Eastern Cape just on the border of the former Transkei, an area that I visit twice a year. I have been waiting years to find a story that I could shoot there. As soon we saw the MDINGI COUTTS A/W 16 collection, we knew it would be a perfect fit.”

The shoot takes us on a majestic journey through rural peaks and valleys of the Eastern Cape coastline, weaving an African tale that juxtaposes textures to celebrate the artisanal skill of the designers, as well as the African landscape.

Model: Daniel Phaalha @ Loys Models. Assistant: Neville Sleigh. Belts: Ilundi. Commissioned Knit-Bags: Krafthaus