The 2025 Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival (held 1–2 August 2025 at House On Fire in Malkerns, Eswatini) was a vibrant tapestry of food, music, and culture. In the festival grounds, live Afrobeat, jazz, and soul mixed with the scent of braais and traditional stews – truly a “lavish two-day feast of culinary exploits, high-end fashion, [and] Afrocentric music.” Luju’s theme “A Return to the African Future,” inviting everyone to reclaim heritage while imagining tomorrow’s style and identity. Organisers describe the event as one that “celebrates the sophistication and elegance of African style, culture, creative design and delicacies,” and that spirit was woven into every grilled meal and drumbeat.

Threads of Time: The Fashion Showcase

Fashion was the centerpiece of Luju’s evening program. The runway honored the theme “Threads of Time: African Textiles Past, Present & Future,” encouraging designers and models to literally wrap tradition into cutting-edge looks. In practice, that meant a kitenge-print gown giving way to a patchwork jacket made from recycled bogolanfini, or an ankara headwrap paired with metallic accessories. The effect was deeply symbolic – honouring heritage cloth while imagining new narratives. The fashion show wove a future that honours the past – exactly the vision Luju champions.

Headliner: Thula Sindi

South African design icon Thula Sindi headlined with an exclusive new collection. Sindi – celebrated for bold prints and clean, elegant silhouettes – brought decades of runway experience to Luju. His pieces felt like a modern African fairy tale: floor-grazing gowns in scarlet tribal blooms, crisp midnight-blue blazers over full patterned skirts, and sharply tailored jackets infused with rich African motifs. Each look was exquisitely crafted, glamorous yet grounded, familiar yet forward-looking – the very definition of African elegance.

Homegrown Talent

An all-star lineup of Eswatini designers followed, each interpreting Threads of Time in unique ways. Fortunate Mdluli’s Kayses Creations shimmered with vibrant streetwear fused with tribal prints; Madoda Vilakati’s Ruff Cut brought edgy denim and gender-fluid tailoring with signature twists. Kwenzie Zwane’s Black Degree leaned urban and bold, Nothando Dlamini’s Rose Peti explored layered romanticism, Maureen Massingue’s Kotini Kouture delivered structured glamour, while Sithembile Masuku’s House of Dandy reimagined suiting with avant-garde flair.

Among them was Seluliwe Mdluli’s Crochet by Selu. Her handmade crochet garments felt like three-dimensional poetry – intricately woven dresses and tops in hand-dyed yarns that looked both timeless and daring. In each looped stitch and tasseled hem, tradition and innovation danced together. Crochet by Selu’s collection honoured craft heritage while boldly sketching the future.

Street Style: Threads of Time in the Crowd

Luju’s audience didn’t just watch the runway – they became part of it. Festivalgoers embraced Threads of Time as a personal style brief. Everywhere, heritage fabrics met contemporary twists: kente blazers with tailored slacks, neon-accented barkcloth skirts, vintage Shweshwe jackets paired with sneakers. Even the Best Dressed competition reflected this energy, showcasing outfits that merged past and future with joyful imagination. The crowd embodied the festival’s ethos – Africa’s elegance as lived experience.

Closing Reflection

The 2025 Luju Festival was more than a feast of food, music, and couture – it was a meditation on memory and vision. On the runway, designers honoured ancestral threads while spinning new possibilities; in the audience, festival goers styled themselves as walking canvases of heritage and hope. Luju reminded us that Africa’s story is best told not in fragments of past or future, but in the fabric that binds them together. This year, those fabrics shone brightly – vibrant, rooted, and unapologetically visionary.