Khensani Mohlatlole

ATTENTION JOBURG PEOPLE! I'll be hosting an upcycling workshop for Fashion Revolution Week at Museum Africa. We've been lucky to pull some pieces from the museum's archive so we'll have real, historical African garments with us while we work. A lot of this is thanks to the African Fashion Research Institute, whose pop-up space we'll be using PLUS Dr Erica de Greef, the co-curator of the Fashion Accounts exhibition, will be leading a private tour AND be there to chat and sew with us. It's going to be a really beautiful day of making new friends, enjoying the museum, and crafting.

The workshop's open to crafters, artists and material girls of ALL skill levels. We'll be providing all materials, tools and supplies. You just have to bring yourself, a packed lunch, and a piece from your wardrobe you want to transform. I'll be there along with other Fashion Revolution volunteers for hands-on guidance and assistance!

Really hope to see you there!

You can purchase tickets for the Sewcial Workshop on Quicket: www.quicket.co.za/events/310784-sewcial-workshop-f…

See you this Saturday, 26 April at 9:30 AM at Museum Africa (121 Lilian Ngoyi Street, Newtown, Johannesburg)

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6 months ago | [YT] | 93

Khensani Mohlatlole

coming out this afternoon (3PM) is a tier ranking of almost every miss universe South Africa national costume from 2002 to 2022! editing this almost broke me and I am regretting the choice to look through TWENTY YEARS of outfits but here we are.

2 years ago | [YT] | 29

Khensani Mohlatlole

a deep dive into the South African maid/domestic worker uniform. I've been thinking about this one for a while and I'm currently researching the history of domestic service, the use and meaning of uniforms, and also why they've looked like *that* for so long.

I'm also toying around with whether or not to refer to these women as maids, domestic workers, or helpers. there's a complicated history around the term 'maid' in South Africa but I'm still on the fence about whether or not it's an appropriate title (also thinking about SEO here)

do you think using the term 'maid' is offensive

2 years ago | [YT] | 12

Khensani Mohlatlole

vintage black glamour but make it african. my next video is on south africa's first superstars: dolly rathebe, miriam makeba and dorothy masuka. it's currently uploading and somehow ended up being like an hour long, probably because i just had to include the songs these women made. i was intending to just look at 1950s glamour in the local context but ended up discovering how these women pioneered black beauty under apartheid, would become powerful influences to the resistance movement, and helped shaped black, urban and township life. I know there are definitely more black women who shaped pop culture in the 20th century but it was easiest to focus on these three for now. I'd love to find out what you know about dolly, miriam and dorothy - or other 50s superstars - and what you think about them!

2 years ago | [YT] | 78

Khensani Mohlatlole

18th-century Cape Town was the site of conspicuous consumption and the kind of social climbing you'd find in any period drama. My next video is all about the competitive and excessive fashion culture of the Dutch Cape Colony and how settler women established and maintained social hierarchy through dress.

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2 years ago | [YT] | 35

Khensani Mohlatlole

Hi everyone! Just an update for anyone who cares but below are some videos I have lined up. They're filmed, just need to get around to editing. But the main reason for this post is to see if anyone is interested in some South African Fashion Week commentary. I'm going to all the shows and will be speaking to designers backstage but I don't know if it's all that interesting? 

Anyway, here's what's on the schedule

- A look at the conspicuous consumption of 18th-century Dutch settlers in the Western Cape (this one is hard because there are like NO images/paintings and I feel bad to have a video of just me talking
- An interview with the costume designer for Blood Psalms (the African fantasy series on Showmax)
- What Galxboy teaches us about loneliness

- The use of African aesthetics/culture in sci-fi and fantasy
- Unpacking why luxury fashion is recession proof

3 years ago | [YT] | 65

Khensani Mohlatlole

Hey hey! I'm talking about fashion's contribution to the water crisis in South Africa for the docu-series Blue Gold. The episode airs Monday, 17 October on SABC 2 AT 7pm. I'll make a video about it later next week as well. Please give it a watch if you can - I don't have a TV lol so it would be great to know how everyone finds it.

3 years ago | [YT] | 88

Khensani Mohlatlole

I'm trying out a new thing where I get over my speech insecurity and just make stuff so here's a new video coming tomorrow. I'm going to push myself to upload at least once a week until the end of the year (or at least my version of the end of the year which is 5 December).

3 years ago | [YT] | 47

Khensani Mohlatlole

I'm featured in the latest episode of ‪@sister_party‬, discussing fashion media in South Africa!

3 years ago | [YT] | 5

Khensani Mohlatlole

Quick question: what day do you think is best for uploads?

3 years ago | [YT] | 11