What do the slippages of fashion look like? What happens to the voids that form between urban and rural, past and present, individual and communal? In this episode, we explore the folds and fissures in fashion’s fabric — where languages, locations, and aesthetics intersect and fold into one another, revealing alternative fashion knowledges and new genealogies that resist singular narratives.
Guided by Ms Nobuhle James, an advisor of isiXhosa in the Eastern Cape and a teacher for the unknowing and forgotten, we trace the beginnings of fold language kwaXhosa. Nobuhle’s personal story opens a portal into the creative potentials that emerge when resources are scarce but passions run deep. Her journey reminds us of the vital importance of investing in and nurturing creative infrastructures in ilali nabantwana basezilalini.
Within an informal space of shared learning, Nobuhle navigates the fluid overlaps between languages and fashion codes, illustrating how kwaXhosa modes of knowing are continuously remade, innovated, and nurtured through communal care and embodied practice.
“Ukugotywa kweelwimi akusiyonto yokudibeneyo nje kuphela; yindlela esiyilolonga ngayo imisebenzi yethu yexesha elidlulileyo kunye nelixa langoku, siphefumlelwa ziintsomi neendlela ezintsha.”
The practice of folding languages, as explored here, is more than linguistic play — it is an embodied way of knowing and belonging. In folding isiXhosa with urban and rural dialects, past and present stories, individual and communal voices, a living language is shaped that holds space for creativity, resilience, and transformation. This epistemic methodology invites us to see language as a layered fabric, woven through relationships, histories, and places, creating new paths for connection and care within kwaXhosa communities.
CLOSING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Narrating Voices
Mr Mangaliso Jafta
Azola Krweqe
Ms Nobuhle James
Mrs Nokhaya Jilingisa
Mama Phakani
Zizo Ntukushe
Visual & Video Contributors
Azola Krweqe
Sibabalwe Makeleni
Community Contributors
The James Family – ooXaba
Mrs Kutazwa James
Mrs Nokugcina James (special thanks for the recording of umsebenzi kaMnu. Luphumlo James)
Mrs Ludidi
Ms Phumla James
Ms Nobuhle James
Willowvale Makers Co-op
Kholiswa Magidi
Theko Theo Yinindwa
Philiswa Matutu
Nwabisa Mahlaleshushu
Miranda Siwlabeni
Youth Participants
Zintle Bonakele
Vuyokazi Mncono
Lethu Jilingisi
Nokubonga Hawu
Lisakhanya Poni
Yolande Tskane
Liyabona Ntshobodwana
Buyiswa Beauty Nduwe
Community yakuGatyana
Cebisa Magoqoza
Mzukisi Nketshu
Thando Madwantsi
Thobile Tsutsu
Sikelela Thobigunya
Neliswa Bambintala
Miranda Sihlangu
And the broader community at large
Special thanks to:
Azola Krweqe
Lukhanyo Muluse
Locations Referenced
Willowvale Arts Center, kuGatyane
James Family Home – Elukhanyisweni, eQumbu, eMdeni
Mr & Mrs James’ Residence – Highbury, Umtata
James Residence – Walmer Road Lodge, Beacon Bay, East London
Ngumla Family Home – eGcibala, Tsomo
Mpintsha Family Home – Nkanga, Willowvale
Buffalo City Municipality
Production Team
Executive Producer: Bongani Tau
Curator & Editor: Siviwe James
Content Advisor: Sihle Sogaula
Graphic Design: 2DOTS Space Agency
Video & Sound Editing: Siviwe James
Text: Siviwe James
Xhosa Language Advisor: Ms Nobuhle James
Digital Archiving Support
Art Meets App
Institutional Support
Eastern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture
UN/FOLDING_RE/FOLDING_FOLDED: Imiphindo kwaXhosa © 2023 Created and produced by Siviwe James (James-Laurie) With support from the African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) and Creative Nestlings Foundation, under the New Narratives Programme (2023).
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
