Thebe Magugu Gives The Nellie His Afro-Modernism Flair

All Photos: Courtesy of Thebe Magugu and the Belmond Hotel

For the past two years, world renowned, South African fashion designer, Thebe Magugu had been working on the Thebe Magugu Suite and its companion space, Magugu House at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. The city is one of great significance for Magugu as his first time in the Mother City was when he was just nine years old. He had taken his first trip by plane with his mother and two uncles. And it was on this occasion, that his mother bought him a camera. From there, Magugu was bitten by the photo-taking bug and never got over it, because he ended up studying photography along with fashion design and media. Now he’s using his creative talent to curate a permanent, signature suite in one of the most iconic hotels in the city where it all began for him. Such a full circle moment.

Endearingly nicknamed The Nellie and described as the Blushing Oasis, the hotel’s well celebrated aesthetic is glamorous, posh, and pink; with what we would define as vintage bones with modern innards. Magugu’s venture in interior design, toyed with these ideas and threw it further than we could ever imagine.

Designed by Magugu, himself, in collaboration with StudioLandt — the art direction being Afro-modernism —- the suite is shaped around shared rituals of gathering, dining and rest. The colour palette was earthy, elegant, yet screamed African heritage: Rich greens, indigos, and warm browns. The ground floor opens up to a grand entryway with a lounge, dining space and a discrete wet bar with terrazzo floors, stone, ochres blends, and timber finishes. On the second floor of the suite is the bedroom with a king‑size bed and bespoke textiles, a marble‑clad bathroom with a freestanding tub and a private terrace with the most magnificent view of the Mount Nelson gardens.

When speaking about the collaboration he explained that his name, Thebe Magugu, roughly translates to, “Shield Treasures”, or “He who protects our treasures”. Magugu expressed that his practice has always been rooted in the preservation of African heritage. “With the suite and Magugu House, I’ve been focused on building an environment that holds all these ideals”, he said. The suite honours African craftsmanship, art and storytelling; featuring work from Mmangaliso Nzuza, Lulama Wolf, Zandile Tshabalala, and Trevor Stuurman.

Currently, the Magugu House is housing portraits by Zanele Muholi, a celebrated South African visual activist and photographer, whose work centers around documenting and empowering the black LGBTQ+ community. Through black and white portraiture and personal visual narratives, Muholi challenges stereotypes imposed on said communities and confronts violence and discrimination against them. Serving as a gallery/ concept store hybrid, the space is designed as a halfway house for fashion and art to meet, with a focus on African talent. This is not just interior design, but an investment in South African creativity and a means of supporting the next generation of visionaries. "When I founded my brand in 2016, it was with the vision to create an Afro-encyclopaedic archive”, ten years later, Thabo Magugu is well on his way to making his vision come to fruition and living up to the path paved by the sentiment of his name.