This October, Connade made its debut at Paris Fashion Week with its Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Hand in Hand — a luminous meditation on connection, gesture, and ancestral continuity. Presented as part of the TRANOÏ PARIS x CANEX fashion showcase (2–5 October 2025) at the Palais Brongniart, the collection placed African futurism and ritual craft on one of fashion’s most visible global stages with stunning effect.
Connade is the visionary brand founded by Shelley Mokoena, a South African designer whose work is deeply rooted in African design philosophies while embracing a forward-thinking aesthetic. This Paris debut marks a significant milestone for the brand, affirming its place internationally. We spoke to Shelley earlier this year about her creative process — you can read that conversation here.
Hand in Hand explores the unseen threads that bind humanity, heritage, and creation. Drawing on tactile traditions and techniques, Mokoena transformed these into the label’s signature sculptural garments that exist between clothing and artefact.
Using multiple techniques such as pleating, structural draping and intricate handwork, Shelley’s sculptural approach is a testament to her commitment to design and pattern-making that pushes the boundaries of form while remaining incisively intentional. This season, shades of red and brown debuted alongside Connade’s usual strict monochromatic palette of black and white, introducing warmth and depth without sacrificing the brand’s signature precision. Exaggerated shoulders created striking silhouettes, while hand-woven details appeared like inscriptions across the garments. We reckon this debut of avant-garde dexterity is a wildly promising demonstration of Africa’s design lexicon’ adding to the growing canon of visionaries pushing the frontiers of the artform from across the continent.
The TRANOÏ x CANEX platform, powered by Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus initiative, is part of a continued movement to centre African designers on global stages. While Hand in Hand reflects continuity and lineage, its presence in Paris was also a statement of independence. Connade did not adapt itself for a European gaze; it arrived on its own terms, rhythmically and architecturally.
The debut was a celebration of a designer and a brand stepping confidently into the international spotlight. By merging futurist silhouettes with ancestral gestures, Connade offered a vision of Africa’s fashion future, and we think it’s absolutely perfect.
Written by Holly Beaton
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