KuGompo City (formerly East London) is in the spotlight again, and this time it is for fashion.

Zazi Holdings Clothing Factory is a kasi brand from the Eastern Cape that started small, and is now putting premium Xhosa-inspired designs on international stages.

The label is known for high-end traditional garments and contemporary African luxury wear that still feels rooted in home.

The brains behind Zazi is Onwaba Mvele, also from East London. Her journey did not follow a straight line. She studied accounting, worked at Deloitte, and then got retrenched. After that she became a sangoma. And that is where the designs started coming through.

“I love to support local and sustainable enterprises. I then became a sangoma and would dream of all kinds of different designs while I was sleeping. I dream most of my designs, so the design part of my business is a gift, and that’s how I got the name ‘Zazi’, which in Zulu means recognition, confidence and wisdom. The stars aligned and showed me the path I was supposed to take,” Onwaba told TimesLIVE in a previous interview.

Zazi Holdings is based in East London, but the vision is much bigger. The factory focuses on premium pieces that take Xhosa culture and give it a modern luxury twist. Think traditional cuts, beadwork and fabrics, but made for runways, events and global buyers.

This is part of a bigger wave of kasi fashion brands that are proving you do not need to be in Joburg or Cape Town to make it. Designers from the townships and smaller cities are taking local stories, local craft, and local pride, and selling it to the world.

 

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Zazi is one of those brands leading the charge. It stayed in the Eastern Cape, it supports local and sustainable production, and it is showing that world-class fashion can come straight from EC.

Why people are paying attention

It is not just the clothes. It is the story. A retrenched accountant turned sangoma turned designer. A brand named after recognition, confidence and wisdom. And garments that honor Xhosa heritage while speaking to a global audience.

Zazi Holdings is proof that when you stay true to where you come from, the world will come to you.

As more international eyes turn to African fashion, East London’s Zazi Holdings is making sure Xhosa design has a seat at the table.

 

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