Johannesburg - Media personality and entrepreneur Bonang Matheba has partnered up with New York shoe brand Steve Madden and will launch her Spring/Summer collection later this month.
Dubbed the Steve Madden Bonang Matheba Holiday Select Collection, Matheba will release six footwear and two handbag styles that she believes encompass South Africa’s December season – jolly and celebratory – in a special tribute to South Africa.
This big feat, a first African collaborative venture, comes after the brand reached out to Matheba with an idea, but the shoe dream had already been ignited within her as early as 2020.
“So after my documentary in New York titled ‘A Very Bonang Year’, where I documented my time in America, it was then where I met a shoe designer and the dream was ignited. Together with that designer and my team, we met up to put together ideas of how I will curate this amazing shoe collection together.” Unfortunately, the Covid -19 pandemic forced that process to halt.
But as fate would have it, Matheba received a call from the international shoe brand about their plans with her. The exclusive launch of this collaboration, which will also include a fashion showcase of the Steve Madden Spring/Summer collection, will be held at Zeitz Mocaa Museum in Cape Town on November 7.
“I chose a footwear style that encapsulates a mood that says ‘we are finally outside’, but also when you look close enough, you will see that these are shoes that I personally love. That is where it starts for me. Shoes that fit any occasion from red carpet glam to something I would wear with jeans. These shoes are so sparkly and fun, and make one feel pretty and fun,” she said.
“I’m a shoe girl, an absolute shoe girl. A lot of people know about my huge shoe collection, so this is a very gradual natural progression. I wanted it to be well thought through, to be on an international level, but also to be a brand that I love and is accessible and relatable to a South African girl.”
This partnership is not Bonang’s first dabbling in the shoe world, as the star partnered up with a Brazilian shoe line, Ipanema, in 2017.
“Ipanema was a great taste of how to get into merchandising and clothing with an international brand. So these are avenues that I am always looking out for, to break into high fashion and explore more around my other love,” she said.
Dubbing herself a dreamer, Matheba said she sees herself filling any spaces and also hints that there is more to see from her.
“I owe all this to the power of my personal brand, which took years to cultivate. I am now able to achieve all that I have achieved to date, and within these different spaces, because of my big dreams and the spaces that I am able to tap into.
“People have been wondering and questioning what I was doing in New York, and I am glad that the work I have been putting in is finally coming to fruition. There will be many other projects to be revealed and would want the work to speak for itself,” she added.
Matheba also believes that this move is a true reflection of the world’s readiness and reception of African talent, highlighting how a great many local stars are doing internationally.
“We are in such an exciting time in entertainment, where Africa has really taken centre stage in terms of culture and brand collaboration. So for this to be happening at such a crucial time in entertainment is a dream come true.”
The collaboration is also a build-up to Steve Madden’s 10-year celebration of doing business in Africa.
The Star