Named one of the first six beneficiaries of the £500,000 Smiley Future Positive Creators Fund®, South- African eponymous brand Rich Mnisi is sustainably bringing colours to global fashion weeks this year via its capsule collection of clothing and accessories in collaboration with Smiley Originals – an incredible organisation that has been influencing style since 1972 with a goal is to spread positivity through smiles, to make the world a happier, kinder place. Before then, in the year 1971, Smiley Originals founder – Franklin Loufrani – invented the popular smiley face/emoticon in Paris, France.
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Following its 50th Anniversary year, and born out of Smiley Originals’ sustainability initiative in correspondence to its partnership with the United Nations to deliver UN-SDG Goal 12: responsible production and consumption, the organization launched its Smiley Future Positive Creators Fund® comprised of £500k monetary funding per year and a mentorship program to support game-changing designers to switch to a better, more responsible and circular ideology of design, sourcing and manufacture.
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According to Smiley,
Rich Mnisi is a South African-based multi-disciplinary creative known for clashing print design and how he fuses traditional African heritage with a lens of modern culture to tell a compelling story through his art.
Having collaborated with iconic brands Adidas and Coca-Cola each collection and design exploration presents a distinct point of view, celebrating culture, heritage, and the common human experience rooted in innovative design and locally sourced craftsmanship.
Pieces will be available to order from June at richmnisi.com. In the meantime, watch a short interview with the ingenius Creative Director of the brand – Rich Mnisi and catch a glimpse of more outfits from the upcoming collection via the sneak peek below:
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See other recipients of the Smiley Future Positive Creators Fund® including Indian-Nigerian Ahluwalia below:
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