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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s fashion choices sometimes spoke even louder than her words. When silenced, such as the time she was banished to the Free State town of Brandfort, she was not allowed to speak, but she showed how she felt through what she wore.
Surrounded by white noise, violence, patriarchy and factional discord in a visual world, Madikizela-Mandela turned clothing into a language. Her message could not be ignored. Through these pictures, we are reminded of how influential and powerful she was at a glance.
Madikizela-Mandela’s clothes were always admired and, through them, she communicated her power.
Madikizela-Mandela was pioneering in that she encouraged the celebration and beauty of traditional attire at gatherings, whether preparing for the Rivonia Trial in 1962 (above) or at black-tie affairs. Her designer, Sonwabile Ndamase, says she insisted on wearing traditional dress to gala dinners and exclusive banquets Picture: Gallo Images / Die Burger
The revolutionary Madikizela-Mandela wore military fatigues during her fiercest and most militant time in the late 1980s. Through the military camouflage, the attitude she expressed was that she expected victory. She sent a clear message to the apartheid government that she was willing to fight and die for her people Picture: Gallo Images / Oryx Media Archive
Madikizela-Mandela used her clothing to express her political views. In this image, taken in the late 1970s outside the house in Brandfort, Free State, to which she had been banished, she wears the original statement tee, which says more than she was allowed to say at the time. Shirts like these are a huge fashion trend across the world now.
Madikizela-Mandela had an ageless beauty and presented herself regally regardless of the occasion. In this picture, taken on her birthday last year, she showed that, even at 80, she had a firm eye on fashion and was using her style to amplify her voicePHOTO: Elmond Jiyane / GCIS
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