South Africa’s Mantsho Just Became the First African Brand to Collaborate with H&M

H&M's collaboration with South Africa's Mantsho marks the first time the clothing retail giant collaborates with an African brand/designer. H&M has collaborated with French and Italian brands, Balmain and Moschino.

The H&M x Mantsho range includes women's accessories, clothes and shoes. The items use overtly (South) African patterns combined with western designs.

"Mantsho x H&M is an exciting collection celebrating the elegance and vibrancy of Africa with modern edgy designs created for the stylish carefree woman," said the two brands in a joint statement about the range which was launched on August 15.

"I hope customers around the world will enjoy this ensemble of my stand-out pieces from my last three collections," says Palesa Mokubung (38), the head of design at Mantsho about the range which she describes as her "love letter to the world from Africa."

Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M's Assortment Manager for Collaborations and Special Collections said about the range:

"Palesa's creativity with colour, print and silhouettes is inspiring as she celebrates the female form through her designs which complement the female shape in a flattering and playful way. We are so excited to share this collection with our customers across the globe,"

"Mantsho" means "Black is beautiful" in Sesotho, which is Mantsho's home language. She founded the label in 2004, and has gone on to showcase on runways in countries such as the US, Greece and India.

You can view and shop the whole range here.