Inspired by a spirit of adventure, Lulasclan’s new Milala Collection is an ode to the multifaceted visual language systems rooted in African history, symbolism, and mark-making.
INTERVIEWED BY Steve Smith
We’ve previously featured Lulasclan’s collaboration with furniture brand Popstrukt, and recently interviewed founder Bonolo Chepape to learn more about the brand. Through pattern design, Bonolo explores her relationship with her roots by honouring and celebrating the diversity of Africa. The Milala Collection is a vibrant continuation of that journey.
What inspired the Milala range?
“The Milala collection takes its name as an eponym derived from the film The Lion King. We reimagined Milala not as a fictional landscape, but as a utopia—an imagined place celebrating both Africa and its people. At the heart of this collection lies a deep appreciation for African design and architecture, which became both an anchor and a point of departure for our creative journey. Through this lens, we sought to construct a world that could visually represent Africa in its diversity, multiplicity, and cross-cultural design influences.
What emerged from this design process was the recognition that there is no singular or definitive way of representing Africa. Instead, I developed a visual language that embraced varied techniques, styles, and applications inspired by the continent’s rich history, cultures, and people. This process moved Lulasclan away from a homogeneous, uniform aesthetic towards an eclectic assemblage of individual pieces—each contributing to the central inquiry: As a people, what would our collective utopia look like?
The result is a collection that encourages a journey of discovery. It invites viewers to engage with a design language that is simultaneously grounded in African heritage and open to multiple interpretations, enabling each person to encounter a piece that resonates with their own vision of Africa.”
How do you feel you have progressed/advanced the Lulasclan aesthetic with the range?
“The Milala collection marks a significant evolution in the development of the Lulasclan aesthetic. It serves as a departure point for articulating a unique visual language that encompasses the elements that make Africa what it is: historically rich, culturally significant, artisanal, diverse, and multi-dimensional.
This range challenged me to reconfigure the way we engage with our own established brand elements—particularly the bold black lines that have become synonymous with Lulasclan. In this collection, these lines evolve into new expressions of fluidity and growth, signaling the brand’s ongoing transformation. Moreover, Milala expanded my capacity to showcase the breadth of my textile design discipline. By combining craftsmanship with narrative storytelling, I demonstrated that our work can respond to diverse stories while remaining rooted in the essence of the brand.”
Do you have a favourite piece in the collection? Why?
“My personal favorite piece is the Zaariah Throw Pillow. This design integrates multiple cultural and architectural references: the color-blocking tradition of Pedi attire, the Ndebele ankle bracelet’s form and colour usage, and the scalloped flaps and triangular motifs derived from Hausa-influenced Zaria architecture in Nigeria. Collectively, these elements embody the ethos of the Milala collection: a synthesis of place, people, and culture. The Zaariah piece exemplifies how design can serve as a vessel for layered narratives, connecting diverse African traditions in a singular, yet multifaceted, object.”
And do you have any plans to expand the collection?
“I approach every collection as an ongoing research project and exploratory body of work. Rather than envisioning Milala as a finite collection, I see it as the opening chapter in a much larger narrative. Each piece contributes to an evolving archive of learnings and design explorations that I aim to preserve in physical form.”
The concept of “home” will continue to underpin my creative practice, reinterpreted through varied forms as we experiment, learn, and build upon our visual language. In this way, the Milala collection is not a conclusion, but a beginning—an invitation to continually reimagine what an African visual language of home might look like in the present and the future. | lulasclan.com
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