VIDEO: Apartheid spies inspire Thebe Magugu’s latest range
In an interview with Vogue, Magugu listed women like Olivia Anne Marie Forsyth as part of the inspiration for the body of work - a woman described by the ANC as "terrible, incompetent and inefficient spy."
A model in Thebe Magugu designs from the Spring/Summer21 Collection titled ‘Counter Intelligence’ | Image: Twitter
A Paris Fashion Week showing from 2019 LVMH prize winner Thebe Magugu is all the rage in fashion circles this week, not just for the quality of the garments on display, but for the show’s inspiration which is a nod to South Africa’s politically and racially charged past.
The designer was one of many designers who put on a digital show, his being a short film titled Counter Intelligence by Thebe Magugu aimed at showing off the latest designs in his Spring 2021 ready-to-wear collection.
Counter Intelligence by Thebe Magugu | Spring 2021 RTW collection.
“Women like confessed spy Olivia Anne Forsyth, aka agent RS407 and code name Lara, a former lieutenant within the Security Branch of the SAPS, who defected to the ANC, provided the collection’s inspiration.” pic.twitter.com/r75AXRYZs8
— Lelo (@lelowhatsgood) September 30, 2020
According to his website, “the Thebe Magugu SS21 short film is inspired by a series of interviews conducted by Thebe Magugu and confessed female ex-spies who worked for and against South Africa’s Old Regime. With a special contribution from Jonathan Ancer, author of BETRAYAL: The Secret Lives of Apartheid Spies.”
The film was directed by Kristin-Lee Moolman, and styled by Ibrahim Kamara and it features models showing off the collection as they model through a series of scenarios as the stories of the women who inspired the range are narrated in the background.
In an interview with Vogue, Magugu listed women like Olivia Anne Marie Forsyth as part of the inspiration for the body of work.
Magugu says he was particularly interested in the psychology behind the decisions of women like Forsyth, who defected to the African National Congress (ANC) and ended up incarcerated in its prison camp in northern Angola, before going on to be described by the organisation as a “terrible, incompetent and inefficient spy.”
This is contrary to her reputation in apartheid-era intelligence circles as the apartheid government’s “most outstanding spy” next to Craig Williamson – a former South African Police major, who was exposed as a spy in 1980.
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