Laduma Ngxokolo, born in Port Elizabeth, is a South African textile and knitwear designer, best known for his men’s knitwear range inspired by traditional Xhosa beadwork.

Ngxokolo is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MaXhosa, an African luxury knitwear brand.

Ngxokolo had his first hands-on experience of textile designing in 2003 when he studied at Lawson Brown High School.

Ngxokolo’s flair for knitwear design earned him a bursary from both Port Elizabeth-based Cape Wools South Africa and Mohair South Africa during his Btech studies at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2010.

The same year Ngxokolo won the South African national leg of the South African Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) Design Competition, which earned him a trip to London where he was awarded first prize internationally for the competition.

The title of his competition entry was, ‘The Colourful World of the Xhosa Culture’ that consisted of men’s knitwear that is inspired by traditional Xhosa beadwork.

Ngxokolo has received numerous achievements and captures the hearts of many fashion lovers and media from South Africa, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo, Berlin and New York.

Ngxokolo recently won the 2015 Vogue Italia Scouting for Africa prize to showcase his collections at the Palazzo Morando Show in Milan, Italy.

Ngxokolo was awarded the 2014 WeTransfer Scholarship to study masters in Material Futures at the Central St Martins until 2016.