Lali van Zuydam
As South Africa celebrates Heritage Month, Pretoria-based designer Glorinah Khutso Mabaso is weaving the stories of Africa’s rich history into the fabric of contemporary design.
As the entrepreneur behind local business Renaissance Design, Mabaso is on a mission to celebrate and preserve the continent’s cultural legacy.
From her roots in Mamelodi to the global stage, she combines ancient African narratives with modern aesthetics, creating pieces that honour the past while embracing the future.
Her journey is a testament to the power of design as a form of storytelling and cultural preservation.
Mabaso’s journey into design has been profoundly shaped by her local roots and a broader cultural awareness. Growing up in Mamelodi and attending Loreto Queenswood during South Africa’s transition to democracy, Mabaso was exposed to various ethnicities and cultures early on.
This experience broadened her worldview, a key factor in her development as a designer. “I am able to express myself and allow new learnings to refine my craft,” she said, crediting this exposure to diverse ways of life for shaping her design journey.
Mabaso’s entrepreneurial realisation came not from corporate experience, but through a deep fascination with African history. Documentaries on Africa’s great civilizations and kingdoms sparked an interest in preserving these stories in a tangible way.
“Documentaries such as The Lost Kingdoms of Africa and Africa’s Great Civilizations exposed me to the Africa I had never seen or heard of,” she said. This new understanding of African history led her to establish Renaissance Design, a brand that fuses historical narratives with modern design.
Despite the challenges of being a black female entrepreneur in an industry where African representation has been limited, Mabaso’s perseverance has been driven by a commitment to staying true to her African roots while appealing to global design trends.
She skillfully balances the two by reinterpreting African symbols into modern patterns that can be applied to fabrics, wallpapers, and more. This ability has allowed her to create a design aesthetic that is both rooted in tradition and globally relevant.
Her journey hasn’t been without hurdles, particularly in breaking into larger markets.
However, through mentorship, including the Création Africa programme, a R24 million initiative funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mabaso has been able to navigate these challenges. Mentorship, she says, has been critical in helping her grow as an entrepreneur. “The role of multiple mentors is extremely crucial in business because entrepreneurship is a very secluded and lonely journey,” she said.
Mabaso is also deeply committed to community engagement and sustainability. She aims to integrate rural crafters into her design process, creating a collaboration that bridges the gap between urban designers and rural artisans. “I have found that there is a much greater impact in collaborating and merging rural-based crafters with urban-based designers,” she said.
Her advice for young black female designers? Seek guidance and enter design competitions to build portfolios and attract media attention. Mabaso’s own path has been shaped by these opportunities, and she encourages aspiring designers to find mentors who can guide them.
Looking ahead, she is excited about her upcoming collaboration with House of Fabrosanz, which will celebrate South African heritage, and her forthcoming trip to Paris, France. She, along with 11 other entrepreneurs from the Création Africa programme, will attend Europe’s largest business conference, BIG 2024, where she hopes to build networks and partnerships that will help expand her brand globally.
Selected from over 700 applicants, the 12 Création Africa finalists spent five months honing their business strategies in preparation for their showcase in Paris. Alongside Renaissance Design, these businesses include Ananta Design Studio, Giya, LSJ Clothing and Merchandising, Moodswing, Pineapple on Pizza Studios, SpaceSalad Studios, Tendalo Trading, and Thebe Magugu from South Africa; Kwacha Creative Studios and Terry Made Designs from Malawi; and SourceCode Motion Pictures from Lesotho.
Pretoria News