Shelley Mokoena knows precisely who she is. With clarity, and a breadth and depth of creative vision, Shelley’s label Connade is an articulation of her inner world, and a reflection of the layered realities and mediums that guide her. Connade forms part of a subtle movement (or, return, rather) to an African minimalist sensibility in which, “restraint,” as Shelley aptly puts it, is its foundational principle; deriving inspiration across architecture, design, mythology and nature. This is certainly not minimalism for minimalism’s sake, but rather a refined expression of intention—in service of clarity. 

Shelley’s work resists excess in favour of meaning, drawing from architectural precision, sculptural form, and the quiet force of stillness. Her lexicon is spare but eloquent, deeply rooted yet future-facing, and through her practice, Shelley is a preeminent artist pursuing a growing design vocabulary that honours heritage while imagining new aesthetic possibilities for the continent. The result is utterly phenomenal. 

When Connade arrived in the world a few years ago, it arrived as a force. In fact, it was one of the first brands I ever discussed in the early days of Interlude, where I unpacked the label’s debut pieces and noted their technical precision and sculptural finesse. That attention to detail has remained a hallmark of Shelley’s design language. The Cleansing Collection ’22 stands as a prime example—with elements like piping and panelling creating contour and volume, drawing inspiration from the fluid nature of water. Shelley’s work always holds the mark of deep spiritual insight and invites us to consider the impact of materiality as an expression of something more profound. 

Shelley Mokoena, courtesy of Connade

Suffice to say, Connade went quiet for a bit; but as I learn from Shelley in our conversation—and following the immensely anticipated release of Connade’s Spring/Summer 2025 Black Light collection—Shelley creates at her own pace, in her own time, precisely with the intention and preservation of what matters most: meaning over momentum, and a preservation—of energy, of integrity, of vision. 

As it is, this is truly conscious fashion.

Like many of the greats arriving at the altar of fashion—Rei Kawakubo with her studies in Fine Arts and Literature, and Issey Miyake with his training in Graphic Design—Shelley’s background as an interior designer is equally telling. With a natural inclination for spatial awareness, the disciplines and principles of structure, balance, and material sensitivity flow into her work in fashion. Shelley notes, “I feel like I’ve done quite a lot in the past. I studied interior design. I’ve always been into fashion, from a very young age. I always knew that it was not something I necessarily wanted to study, but that it was something that I would go into eventually.” Shelley’s grounding outside of the perils of ‘fashion world’ in the strict, traditional sense has allowed her to approach building Connade as an artistic endeavour—with fashion, beyond an aesthetic pursuit, is her study on how garments occupy space, move with the body, and evoke feeling. “I think you can see the sculptural elements of the garments that I make, informed by my interior design background,” Shelley affirms, “that plays a big part in the clothing I create. I had a different clothing brand before, which was more of a thrift-wear brand. But I think I’ve always known that I would start my own clothing brand. Which is, I guess, a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. You know, because if you know what you want to be, then it’s not always a good thing because you have this idea of what you’re trying to do.”

At first glance, one might mistake Connade for a nod to Japanese design sensibilities—but this is a misinterpretation of context, and context is crucial to understanding both the label and Shelley herself. As Shelley points out, Connade is first and foremost an expression of African minimalism—a design philosophy rooted in clarity and cultural depth, centering form, function, and heritage without excess; “sometimes the word ‘minimalism’ can get taken out of context. People see it as a style instead of a way of doing things. For me, it’s about restraint—implementing what’s necessary to create what needs to be, not a stylistic trend. It’s about understanding that things don’t have to be too much and that there should be a sense of meaning.”

Unlike Western minimalism, which often strips away context, African minimalism preserves cultural narrative and symbolism within clean, refined expressions. Connade’s collections are, therefore, perennially and expressively minimal, deeply enriched, and always carry a spiritual and mythological undercurrent.

African minimalism is both a historical philosophy and a contemporary movement, and we can see it reveals itself in the geometric precision of Ndebele mural art, the sculptural restraint of Dogon architecture in Mali, and the intentional simplicity of Zulu basket weaving; with coiled forms and earth-toned patterns functionally encoded with social and spiritual meaning. Shaped by ancestral knowledge— and favouring natural materials, muted palettes, and thoughtful, intentional construction—it is a mantle of expression intrinsic across the continent. For Shelley, the mythos of Connade is integrated across the multiplicity within her identity, and the commitment to absorbing reality as she sees it. 

‘Black Light’ SS25 Collection, courtesy of Connade

Shelley shares that, “coming from an African standpoint, I knew I didn’t want to create what people typically call ‘African fashion’. I wanted to bring a perspective that was unique to my own experience — to combine my design background with the simplicity and form I see in African architecture and design. I was interested in this balance between absence and presence — in using space, restraint, texture — to create something I personally haven’t experienced before.”

Shelley’s personal style and the visual language of Connade are inseparable—an authentic extension of one another, bound by a shared philosophy of presence. Her signature monochromatic palette is a considered alignment with her sensibility and values. “I love colour—for other people!” Shelley laughs. “Colour is amazing. It’s a way to create a sense of feeling. There’s a lot of colour philosophy in design and art. But for me, using monochrome palettes—black, white, greys, neutrals—it ties into my love for nature. Even the designs I create are very much influenced by nature and this idea of perfect imperfection.”

This reverence for nature runs throughout her work, guiding Connade’s emotional tone. “When you look at nature, it looks perfect, but there’s so much imperfection in it. It’s not trying to do too much. With monochrome, you’re not trying to do too much—just like nature. So I feel like it’s always going to be part of the brand identity, and part of who I am.” In this way, Shelley’s design choices are never arbitrary—they are personal and poetic, reinforcing the cohesion between who Shelley is, and what Connade is becoming. 

As an elder of monochromatic mastery, and bearing strict allegiance to neutral tones, Yohji Yamamoto has often noted how working with colours like black forces one to push silhouette and design in other ways. With neutrals, he suggests, you can’t rely on colour to carry the integrity of a garment. On this, Shelley echoes a similar sentiment: “That’s so real—because you have to now really have to design! You have to rethink how the silhouette sits, how the garment speaks without anything. When you’re working with black and white and neutral colours, they don’t really do too much. So you have to create from that absence.” Monochrome demands focus on the essence of the garment itself. 

When I ask Shelley about the pause between her last collections, she shares that “With any fashion brand — especially for someone like me — you often start without the right team or all the resources in place. It’s a process. Even with big brands like Victoria Beckham, it’s still a work in progress. For me, it was important to take a step back and ask: What have I done in the past few years, and what do I actually want to put out into the world going forward?” While most are rushing toward the hype, and ‘seizing the moment’ as it were in the fleeting timelines of fashion, Shelley’s unbridled confidence in her work is a testament unto itself. This is Shelley’s time, divine timing; what a teaching this pace of intentionality is for us all. 

This period of reflection is at the heart of SS25. Shelley explains, “With this new collection, I really wanted to create something that—if I were to die today—I could say, ‘Yeah, that’s okay. I’m proud of that.’ That idea is something I carry with me now. Whenever I’m creating, I ask myself: If something happened to me today, would I be happy with what I’ve left behind?” This sense of personal accountability underscores her creative process, but it’s also tempered by an understanding of surrender. “At the same time, I try not to put too much pressure on myself. It’s about grace — knowing I won’t always love every piece or feel 100% certain, but trusting my gut and following what feels right.” 

The collection notes for ‘Black Light’ SS25 are philosophically and radically, perfect. Self-described: Connade’s design ethos is monastic yet radical, ethereal yet grounded. This season, volumes are amplified, textures are sculpted, and garments are engineered to exist beyond time. With each collection, the brand dismantles conventions, reconstructing heritage into future-facing forms. ⁠Transcending fashion, this collection is a movement that reclaims the poetics of darkness as fertile, generative, and divine. It is a meditation on concealment as luxury, anonymity as power, and form as mythology. ⁠Shelley notes that, “with the new collection, I was inspired a lot by African mysticism — that unseen layer of storytelling and symbolism that’s always been present in our culture, but doesn’t always find expression in fashion. I wanted to explore that visually, structurally, spiritually.”

A potential move to Cape Town is ahead, and the vision of a concept store for Connade; this, I feel, will be its own Mecca given Shelley’s impeccable taste; in literally, everything. Shelley’s ability to translate minimalist principles into an immersive, tactile experience across garments, spaces, textures, and details demonstrate that whatever she touches, and imbues with her essence, will always be transcendent. Aesthetically influential and philosophically ahead of the rest: The Mythos of Connade; how lucky we are to bear witness. 

Written by Holly Bell Beaton

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