How a Zimbabwean designer is bringing the forest into fashionbird agency

By IOL

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AT her workshop in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Nkanyeziyethu Malunga crafted colour into fabric, using plants, tree bark and other natural materials gathered from the environment. Choosing a color or designing a pattern is only one of the processes. Each material carries details on how it was gathered, prepared, and transformed, which Malunga is incorporating into contemporary fashion.

“My dyes are mainly extracted from plants such as mnyii and hibiscus. Although I also use many other plants, including tubers, that have properties suitable for dye extraction. I love hibiscus not only for its petals, which produce beautiful dyes, but also for its tea.”

The 37-year-old designer is challenging conventional notions about what defines a fashion collection and where creative knowledge originates. Through her clothing business, GANU, she transforms indigenous materials and skills into clothes and accessories, demonstrating how knowledge passed down through generations can inform modern design, provide opportunities for rural women, and conserve cultural practices.

Her method is based on teachings learned from her late maternal grandmother, Ngatsha Nkatha, who resided in Tsholotsho, a rural district in Zimbabwe. During the school vacations, Malunga and her siblings traveled from Bulawayo to visit grandma, witnessing as she turned sisal, sedge, and reeds into winnowing baskets.

“When I was a child, I often visited my grandmother in the village with my siblings. She was very dexterous with her fingers, and that passion eventually became mutual.”

Malunga started experimenting with fashion in her teens before launching Ganu in 2013. The name is derived from iganu, the Ndebele term for marula fruit, and represents her connection to local resources and African identity. Her creations blend basketry, crocheting, batik, and beadwork with natural dyes, leather, and other locally produced materials.

For Malunga, the importance of these materials goes beyond their appearance. Bamboo, sisal, reeds, and sedge are used in basketry, and she breeds Angora goats for their fur, which she straightens and dyes to make garments. Cowhide obtained from local abattoirs is softened in a tannery before being mixed into leather designs.

“I keep Angora goats for the fur needed in garment production. However, for raw materials such as cowhide, I usually source these from local abattoirs while sisal and tree barks are either harvested by me or sometimes extracted by colleagues I work with, who are based in the rural areas.”

Desmond Ntini, a cultural entrepreneur based in Bulawayo, sees Malunga’s work as part of a broader shift in how African history is perceived and used.

“Malunga is redefining the fashion industry by blending traditional African influences with contemporary creativity. Her work explains how our cultural identity can inspire modern designs while opening doors for sustainable fashion, business opportunities, and the celebration of African heritage.” Ntini said.

Her ventures also go beyond her own label. In 2024, she founded Matobo Goes Fashion And Beyond, working with Matobo women in partnership with Ekhaya-gaia, my beautiful home in Zimbabwe, and the Amagugu International Heritage Center. The concept transforms traditional hut paintings into contemporary clothes.

The project addresses the issue of cultural preservation. Rain can remove paintings from traditional dwellings, putting communities at risk of losing patterns that are not often documented. Reproducing these designs on fabric provides another way to record and disseminate them, as well as introduce the patterns to audiences outside of the communities where they originated.

The initiative also provides opportunities for women to share their knowledge and engage in the interpretation of their cultural legacy. Rather than interpreting traditional decoration as something that solely belongs in rural dwellings, the concept incorporates it into a new context while maintaining its connection to the communities that created it.

This approach opens up the possibility of adding value to Zimbabwe’s resources and abilities rather than regarding them as apart from the official fashion sector.

Zimbabwe’s cultural and creative industries contributed an estimated US$2.7 billion to the country’s economy in 2024, equivalent to 5.92% of gross domestic product, according to a study whose findings were reported in June 2026. The sector accounted for an estimated 22,223 jobs.

Dr. Florence Sebele, a senior lecturer and acting chair of the Department of Art, Design, and Technology Education at the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, studies indigenous knowledge in textile technology. She sees Malunga’s method as an opportunity to challenge assumptions about African creativity.

“By taking indigenous knowledge that has long been undervalued and transforming it into modern fashion, Malunga speaks to our identity, culture and heritage as Zimbabweans and also as Africans. Her work is a powerful reminder that we have so much to take pride in, while for the wider world, it challenges the dominant narrative of what fashion is and where innovation comes from, showing that authentic, rooted African knowledge has global relevance.”

That dilemma is especially important in an industry where African cultural references can be seen on international runways yet the expertise and people that support them receive little recognition. Malunga’s work begins with techniques and materials rooted in local culture and then adapts them for modern applications.

Sebele feels that this work has applications beyond fashion, such as cultural tourism, research, and creative enterprise. Its significance stems from making indigenous knowledge visible, as well as demonstrating how it may be used to inform future research and commercial activities.

Malunga’s grandmother died before she could pass on everything she knew, leaving Malunga to seek out other custodians of traditional skills.

“My grandmother’s death came early, before I could master everything on the use of indigenous knowledge in creating contemporary fashion. As a result, I have also learned to tap into the wisdom of various elderly women that I have come across since embarking on this journey.”

Her creations have been showcased on platforms beyond Zimbabwe, including the Durban Fashion Fair in South Africa in 2016. She was nominated for Outstanding Fashion Designer at the 2018 Bulawayo Arts Awards and has worked with markets in Ghana, Europe, and the United States. She displayed under the ZimTrade pavilion at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in April of this year, and the organization’s SheExports initiative has helped her explore international markets.

However, the greater relevance of Malunga’s work rests in what occurs before a garment reaches a buyer. Plant dyes, basketry skills, traditional paintings, and rural women’s expertise all contribute to a creative process that bridges generations and creates new avenues for cultural expression.

“…we learn everyday, we learn as we go, and we learn from everyone,”Malunga reflected.

Malunga’s challenge is to ensuring that this expertise is retained, that the communities that contribute to it are acknowledged, and that the opportunities it offers extend beyond the runway.

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