On June 9, the Skeyi and Strobo collective hosted its first ever Fabrik Party beyond the country’s boarders – at Modzi Arts in Lusaka, Zambia. The event was also a milestone moment for Ropafadzo ‘Kuki’ Mapira, who announced the rebrand of her sustainable fashion imprint from Inferno to Soleil.
For Soleil’s debut runway showcase, she cherry-picked select pieces from the expansive Unapologetic II: Fragile Hearts Collection; which she dubbed The Sunbeamers Capsule Collection. In this regard, the Zambia showcase was ceremonial – to mark the turning of a new leaf, the beginning of a new era.
We caught up with the 22-year-old as soon as she got back into the country and of course, our first question was; what does Soleil mean?
“Soleil means a source of light. Soleil in French means the Sun,” answered Mapira.
The main reason behind the name-change was confusion as to the meaning of ‘Inferno’. Most people were quick to view the brand name from religious lenses, as Mapira explained;
“My intention for Inferno had been an intense fire, a fire that you can’t put out, but often it was mistaken to mean hell. So, I ended up feeling I needed to change that narrative by changing the name.”
‘Soleil’ then becomes an apt replacement for ‘Inferno’, since the core concept is retained – light. One might be led to think, though, that this new era means a different approach – thoughts which Mapira was quicker to extinguish.
“My brand remains with the same principles of sustainability and comfort, no different from when it was Inferno. It’s about feeling good about one’s self-expression because it is not at the expense of the Earth. It’s more storytelling or problem solving than just making clothes because they look good,” she said.
As a matter of fact, Mapira is keen to take it up a notch with Soleil, taking from her experiences as a model to emphasize comfort in her design process.
“There will be more emphasis on comfort. I did value comfort when I first started because often when you wear clothes you want to feel comfortable.
“As a model, I have worn some uncomfortable clothes, and no matter how beautiful a piece of clothing is if it’s not comfortable you’re not going to enjoy wearing it. So, I really want to emphasize on comfort and quality,” she shared.
As for why Mapira chose to introduce Soleil to the world using pieces from Inferno’s last ever collection, she answered;
“The Fragile Hearts Collection resonates with Soleil in terms of connections as well as Community – staying connected with yourself, your community and your environment protecting every element of a community.”
From Inferno and now with Soleil, what defines Mapira as a designer and artist remains the same. It remains to be seen whether the execution will stay true to her core, and it won’t be long before we find out.
She revealed that she is currently working on Soleil’s first ever standalone collection that “is not a collection,” as she put it.
Instead, it will be a ready-to-wear four-piece set for males and females that will be exclusively available to just 100 people.
“I’m quite excited about this project because I will be collaborating with more people in terms of the production process and the presentation process, which is a big step for me because I will be allowing other artists and creatives to present my work in a way that is different from what I would want,” concluded Mapira.
Meanwhile, you can order the Sunbeamers Capsule Collection online via the Soleil official website. You can also follow the Instagram page.
