PERENNIAL expresses the sanctification of Lukhanyo Mdingi’s belief in the power of collective as far greater than that of singular. An essential feature of the label has always been the pursuit of design that is timeless; offering their garments as embodiments of the label’s values, intended to be cherished across seasons and spanning time & space.
In exploring the heritage of Kid Mohair and Merino Wool within South Africa, PERENNIAL formally introduces the process of working closely with the communities who guard these practices; encouraging artisans to bring their expression of substance and elegance into the label’s design and construction processes.
Select pieces represent a hybrid of how these luxury yarns together with an ancient technique such as felting are able to live on within a contemporary context. The felting process is one that is of matted and compressed fibers, eliminating any loom and interlocking - this in turn means having an intimate and personal hands on experience between the artisan and the wool; with this the blended wools create an impeccable karakul-like finish that is are distinct, further elevated in vivid hues of mustard seed, bronze and ivory.
“There’s a notion that feels quite visceral and honest when thinking about our label. There seems to be a discordant pace within the world that we’re immersed in, it's fast, it's urgent and at times lacks the pure essence of patience. We’ve found that the spirit of time has yielded us to create collections that have a certain steadiness to it; A pitch of some sort that mirrors values that are rooted by consideration and sincerity – choosing to sway ourselves away from anything that is fleeting;- I would say a resistance of some sort that’s against the aesthetics of trends.
I’ve always believed that confidence and style is something that’s intrinsic within all of us; by proposing a certain kind of desirability and elegance has become part of the practice of creating a timeless wardrobe. Season after season we’re constantly looking at the essentials and refining each style, creating a timeless sensibility that is rooted by ease and discretion - Its these subtle nuances that hide deeper than those of face-value that entice us.
Our INTENTION is to simply create a body of work that has a sense of soulfulness to it, work that is of substance that is strong and that is solid – something for the forever.”
Lukhanyo Mdingi
perennial editorial mens shot by jesse navarre vos
Stephanie Bentum is a formidable textile designer in South Africa, specializing in wool and its potential through a myriad of techniques from fiber to fabric. Our first collection with Stephanie was many years ago for the MDINGI COUTTS Collection in 2015. Since then, Stephanie has been our longest standing collaborator and has been an instrumental influence in the provenance of the label - particularly within the development of our focus on textiles and fibers.
Through nurturing both our relationship with Stephanie Bentum, so too the practice of nurturing materiality has become critical in our product and collection development. This partnership symbolizes the genesis of research, trial and error, and the honesty and sincerity imbued within our material-focuses, running as an inner thread through the Lukhanyo Mdingi vision for contemporary design.
the root - a film by lukhanyo mdingi & jesse navarre vos