Imagine looking so good that it becomes illegal. Despite the excess of wealth, glamour and spectacle available to the settler elite in 18th century Cape Town, their biggest sartorial competition came from the 118 emancipated women of colour in the Dutch Cape Colony. In 1765, sumptuary laws were introduced, prohibiting these women from coloured silks, fine laces, adorned bonnets and even fake jewellery so that they could not visually appear equal to (or, more honestly, better than) their European counterparts. Khensani delves into the fashion policing of free women of colour in 18th century Cape Town.

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Business enquiries, love letters and cat memes: [email protected]

Host, researcher & writer: Khensani Mohlatlole

Producer: Bongani Maseko for The Hyve AV

Beauty can be a knife and beauty can be a shield. In this episode, we explore the history of embroidery from Palestine to South Africa and their shared threads in documenting and resisting apartheid, uncovering the role of needlecraft in fashioning identity and healing communities. Khensani is joined by Lina Barkawi, a practitioner of traditional Palestinian embroidery (tatreez) who uses this craft to connect with heritage and educate others; Dr. Puleng Segalo, a South African psychologist who helps Black women express their trauma through embroidery; and Iman Ganijee an advocate linking African and Middle Eastern textile practices to raise awareness and support for various causes from Congo to Sudan, South Africa and Palestine.

Guests (in order of appearance):

Lina Barkawi (https://www.instagram.com/linasthobe/)

Iman Ganijee (https://www.instagram.com/imanii_g/)

Dr Puleng Segalo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/puleng-segalo-987665240/?originalSubdomain=za)

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Follow Khensani on Instagram @okbaddiek (https://www.instagram.com/okbaddiek) or subscribe to her newsletter, Hanger Management (https://khensani.substack.com) for visual references, weekly updates and insights.

Business enquiries, love letters and cat memes: [email protected]

If you'd like to financially support the show, make a donation of any amount here (https://buymeacoffee.com/khensani/c/8138967?uid=2122045)

Host, writer & editor: Khensani Mohlatlole

Producer: Bongani Maseko for The Hyve AV

Welcome to Clothes Minded, a show about African history, identity and meaning told through the language of fashion. As the Ghanaian artist, El Anatsui put it: “Cloth is to Africans what monuments are to Westerners.” Join Khensani Mohlatlole as she begins a quest to uncover the cathedrals for those with eyes to see woven into the literal fabric of our lives.

Follow Khensani on Instagram @okbaddiek (https://www.instagram.com/okbaddiek) or subscribe to her newsletter, Hanger Management (https://khensani.substack.com), for weekly updates and insights.

If you'd like to support the show, make a donation of any amount at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/khensani

Writer & Copy Editor: Khensani Mohlatlole

Producer: Bongani Maseko for The Hyve AV.