TERRY THOBANI

We don’t need brand-new fabrics to produce quality

Hooked on fashion since childhood, Terrence Ngulube’s striking designs have gone from turning heads in Blantyre to putting Malawi on the African fashion map. Mark Edwards speaks to the founder of Terry Thobani about his sustainable style.

Terrence ‘Terry’ Thobani Ngulube has loved dressing up and making his own clothes since childhood. His self-styled look – long, dyed hair braided in cornrows and legs squeezed into skinny jeans “before they were a major trend” – made him stand out from the crowd growing up in Blantyre. Locals would often tease him for his radical appearance, but, in his words, “that would only amplify my resistance to conforming”. Expressing himself like this made Terry feel special. Now he is a fashion designer with his own luxury clothing brand, Terry Thobani. It’s a role that affords the 29-year-old the opportunity to “make all days feel special”.

Terry Thobani specialises in ready-to-wear and custom-made apparel and accessories created by repurposing second-hand clothes and pre-loved fabrics. Terry, who was born in born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but moved to Blantyre with his family aged 10, can trace his sustainable fashion journey back to his teenage years when he would use old bedsheets to make costumes for church plays. “It drove me to understand that we don’t need to get brand-new fabrics at all times to be able to produce quality clothing,” he says. “Now at Terry Thobani we have a zero-waste production process in which every piece of cloth has a purpose. Some people come to us to donate their old clothes and fabrics. We buy deadstock fabrics which play well with our limited-edition pieces, and we also collect discarded pieces from local tailors to add to our stock for our weaving techniques.”

The stylish second life Terry gives these fabrics is influenced by the daring haute couture of his modern fashion icons such as Alexander McQueen, Rich Mnisi, Ebuka, Coleman Domingo and Stella McCartney, but it also owes much to Malawi and its traditions. The country’s style heritage is there in the bold colours and vibrant patterns of the local chitenji cloth, which Terry often sources as off-cuts from DWS Mapeto, one of the most famous textile factories in Blantyre. Terry and his team also use African resist techniques such as tie-dye and batik to introduce their own patterns. Then there is the dramatic Shire Highlands topography of Blantyre itself. “The town has truly contributed to my work. Its landscapes and the scenery, the mountains and beautiful sunsets have had a great role in the colours we work with as well as the textures.”

These influences come together in clothes that are all about comfort, sustainability and style. Recent releases include an androgynous Afro-streetwear collection of tiedyed, short-sleeved reverse hoodies as well as the Safari baby collection’s classy Manyathi wraparound skirts available in a range of colours. Terry also collaborates with clients on one-off garments such as the high slit black satin corset gown which made Malawian corporate host Nicole Kamwando the queen of the red carpet at this year’s Malawi Film Awards in Lilongwe. “The bespoke looks are more personalised and specific to the customer’s needs and occasion whereas the collections are more an expression of what Terry Made is all about, showing the range of work we are capable of and catering to the masses,” Terry says.

Early style

The teenage Terry’s personality-packed clothes may have been too much for many in Blantyre, but his parents encouraged his fashion pursuits. “I should acknowledge that my family was and still is fairly liberal and we were all allowed to be our best selves,” he says. “When it comes to sewing, I learnt quite a lot of the craft from my mother who had studied pattern making and sewing while she was pregnant with me. That paired with my curiosity for how things came together, I would often dismantle old garments to understand their construction.”

Once he had completed high school, Terry studied food production in 2012 at Malawi Institute of Tourism. He then worked as a chef for the next three years while continuing with Terry Made in his spare time. In 2016 he called it quits and was ready to make the side business the main source of income. Explaining the life-changing decision, Terry says: “I resolved at that point that whatever job I would do had to involve designing somehow. Fashion basically chose me.”

Looking to take his design skills to the next level he gained a place at the Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design in Accra, Ghana, to study fashion design. Terry was impressed by the depth of style and talent in West Africa. Among his fellow students was David Kusi Boye-Doe, who launched his own ethical fashion brand Boyedoe in 2020 while Terry counts Nigeria-based luxury brand Paolo Sisiano and Ghanaian women’s clothing brand Christie Brown among his fashion favourites. “The experience opened so many new doors for me with this new-found understanding of what the fashion industry in western Africa looked like and how we could implement in Malawi.”

Thriving fashion scene

The Malawian fashion scene is on the rise and Terry there are now a good number of shows and pop-up events that give homegrown creatives an opportunity to showcase their work. One of these events – the annual Zomba City Festival where Terry has been a regular presence curating its fashion shows – was the catalyst for Terry Thobani becoming one of 12 entrepreneurial brands participating in the ground-breaking Creation Africa programme set up to foster and support entrepreneurship in the cultural and creative industries of South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi. Terry says: “The organising team introduced some of us to opportunities available for the creative and cultural industries. We applied and were selected from over 700 applicants. We made the top 40 and that was the beginning of learning how the business could thrive on an international market. After some tough pitching we made it to the top 12. We are now part of an incubation programme that has been running for five months along with one-to-one mentorship sessions for finance, business, marketing, creative and investment readiness fields. It has surely changed the way we handle the business and the understanding of the markets. We hope to continue growing both locally and internationally.” With the seed-funding from Creation Africa, Terry Made has secured a slot to showcase designs at the 11th edition of the Accra Fashion Week in December this year. “This will be the first of many international platforms we aim to be on,” Terry says. Plenty more special days are ahead as this fearless talent continues to stand out from the crowd.

To keep up with Terry Thobani latest collections and news follow its Instagram page @terry_made