Az factory, which is part of the Swiss-based luxury conglomerate Richemont since 2019, unveiled a project based on serial guest talents and new initiatives, realizing the dream of its founder Alber Elbaz, passed away a year ago cause of Covid-19, to create a fashion house with a strong focus on the creativity. Az factory is selecting a series of “Amigos” to design collections for the house. The first Amigo is Thebe Magugu was the first African designer to win the Lvmh Prize for Young Designers in 2019, has presented his collections during Paris Fashion Week since February 2020, and was the special guest of Pitti Uomo 100. Magugu will work on a collection available in June and September (in the AZ Factory online store, on Net-a-porter, Farfetch and at some selected retailers). "Alber and me were born on the same continent, he in Morocco, me in South Africa, he explains. This allowed me to lay the foundations for this collection for which I wanted to highlight what African couture and culture have in common: the love of craftsmanship, the taste for stories," he said.

Born in Kimberly, Magugu moved to Johannesburg to study fashion design, fashion photography and fashion media at Lisof. His namesake luxury brand, established in 2016, explores the condition of women in South Africa sending through each collection a very important political message, featuring structural and asymmetrical dresses. The South African designer has never known Alber Elbaz, he began following him through the Fashion Television channel when he lived in his hometown. In these days Magugu said he appreciated his talent but admired especially his kindness, sense of duty and attention to others.

Magugu was one of the 44 designers selected by AZ Factory who created Elbaz-inspired looks for the “Love Brings Love” tribute show staged during Paris Fashion Week last October, and now the subject of an exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris.


Love Brings Love
March 05 to July 10, 2022
Palais Galliera
10 avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie
75016 Paris

Image: a look by Thebe Magugu for Az factory @ AZ Factory - DR