In Lukhanyo Mdingi’s apartment, we are surrounded by the vibrant, the unusual, and the eclectic. I get the feeling that there’s a story and thoughtful choice behind every little thing – from the springbok skin on one of our Umpire Chairs to the colourful figurines on his kitchen counter.
Sitting back with one leg folded over the other and arm stretched across the back of his sofa, Lukhanyo is at ease in the heart of Cape Town. Listen in on our conversation about the collaborations, cherished friendships, and encounters with artisans from his travels that make Lukhanyo’s life so rich.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
P+L: Your fashion label has a very colourful style with expressive patterns, playful forms and rich textures.
Tell us about your interior design style. Are there similarities between how you approach clothing design and curating your space?
LM: Each piece in the Lukhanyo Mdingi (LM) label has its own universe that might feel completely different to the next item, but when you see it as a whole collection there is a beautiful cohesion – that has a lot to do with complementary colour and fabric variation.
This is the same kind of practice that I want to bring into my home. Having a sense of eclecticism feels more timeless, because you are able to tap into different kinds of design sensibilities and you don’t restrain yourself to one aesthetic. 
Has anything or anyone from your childhood informed your definition of home or in some way inspired your pursuit of creativity?
I’m the youngest of six children so there was definitely a more liberated kind of freedom that I had compared to my older siblings. You see it a lot in family dynamics; despite their own creative abilities, my older siblings were steered into pursuing what was considered more practical or stable.
I was the only one who really had the opportunity to explore that creative side. My artistic freedom could just be expressed freely. Having that level of permission in my childhood is essentially why I’m able to move the way that I do and create the way that I do.
We’re so honoured that you have some of our furniture in your home and so appreciate your support of our brand. How did you come across Pedersen + Lennard and what are your favourite pieces?
Thank you! I have four pieces in my home and one piece in my studio.
It was actually through an introduction that was made by Dale Lawrence, an artist in Cape Town. He had a Pedersen + Lennard piece and I thought it was so beautiful. I was so obsessed with it and the level of consideration in the design.
It wasn’t too long until I reached out to Luke [our co-founder] and I asked him to tweak a KPA Table from your catalogue with minor changes to fit better in the kitchen.
I also had your Firenze Benches customised to go along with the table, as I wanted four benches for this table instead of having chairs – which I think can clutter a narrow space like this.
It’s really about being super smart about how to use furniture pieces within a rectangular space to still create some sort of invisible divide where you can feel a differentiation of like, ‘This is the seating area, this is the kitchen area,’ and so forth.
The table feels like such a communal object, it doesn’t necessarily have to exist within the home but can extend itself into the workplace as well. And that’s what I really like about the versatility of this specific kind of design. It’s been such a pleasure to have.
You also recently worked with our co-founder, Luke Pedersen, on a custom coffee table which is a beautiful addition to your space. How did the idea come about?
It was quite simple actually. I knew that I wanted an accompanying piece for the Chelmsford coffee table that I acquired from another local designer, Lemon Furniture.
I wanted the custom piece to be a different kind of material and aesthetic, but also something a bit smaller than the Chelmsford. You never really see two coffee tables together and I just thought that could be quite interesting.
I wanted something that didn’t necessarily feel very African because there are so many touchpoints of Africa here, so I wanted something that felt a bit mid-century, 70s, space-esque… just to break that super colourful sensibility that I already have in my home.
When I approached Luke to do this commission, I thought the style and the shape were very much straightforward, but I knew I wanted to work with a raw material that I hadn’t before – polished stainless steel.
The timing of it was quite perfect because Luke mentioned that there was another design that he’d recently used stainless steel for, so he was more familiar with how to mend it and add more finesse to it. And, I suppose because the design of it was so simple, it was a case of just putting together the raw materials that we had chosen.
It just worked really beautifully with the space.
And it's so light. When Luke came and I met him downstairs, he was just like, holding it. And he goes, ‘It's so light!’ And then I grabbed it and was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so light!'
What are some other pieces in your space you treasure?
So… essentially, so many.
Yeah. Where am I gonna stop? Here are a few:
Glass sculpture: Nelius Britz
I met Nelius maybe seven years ago, and he had this in his studio, and I always told him how much I loved it. Nelius is nearly 100 years old, and is a glass sculptor and glass maker. I started working with him again in his studio two years ago.
And, he's now become like a friend, essentially, because I just think he also enjoys seeing this young creative being so curious about an art form that is unfortunately just dying out, specifically within our country. And I think he just really enjoyed the company.
And, just before Christmas last year, I was visiting him and he gifted me this beautiful sculpture that he had created, like, maybe 30 years ago. Which was just so generous because he knew how much I loved it.
His level of generosity was just so… kind. And I think it was also because it was Christmas time, so he probably felt a bit festive. It was such a pleasure to accept this gift because it's something that I had loved since I laid my eyes on it.
Pedersen + Lennard: The Umpire Chair
I remember seeing the Umpire Chair and I fell in love with it. There was such a playfulness to it. And there were elements within my home that started to feel either too African or a bit too modern, and I wanted something that felt a bit more fun.
Photograph: Jhonathan Baena
This is from when I did Paris Fashion Week, and he shot a moment between two of my models, and it's my favourite shot. How beautiful?
Tapestry: Mentor Mothers of Philani
So this is very special because I started hand weaving in commemoration of my late best friend, Nicholas Coutts. He was a fashion designer and hand weaver and he had been working with this NGO called Philani in Khayelitsha. And this was literally one of the last – so he passed away just before COVID – this was one of the last handwoven tapestries that he had created with them.
It's such a sentimental piece to me. It's just in memory of him.
I’m curious about this purple chair.
I'll tell you. Because it's so beautiful. I was obsessed with this plum kind of purple. Obsessed obsessed obsessed with the colour, and I just knew it would pop in this place, especially just thinking about all the dark wood in here.
And then I was like, ‘I need to make cushions for the kitchen benches.’ So then I made the cushions, but I knew that they would need to have something artisanal to them, but also something that's still quite modern. The leather obviously mutes it all down a bit.
And I designed this fabric with an artisan’s drawing from Burkina Faso. I love having touchpoints of an African sensibility within the home, and bringing this pattern in would carry the energy that I'm trying to create. But I also knew that I had to have a countering one that just felt more modern just so it's not too heavy on the African aesthetic. So it was about finding that good balance.
Wow. This home is so special when I think about the stories of these things. Damn.
That’s why it takes time, because I’m not just choosing anything.
As a community-oriented person, I can imagine that your home is also where you nurture your relationships and have become a seasoned host. Can you share your pieces of advice for those looking to up their hosting game?
Yes! If you don't have light dimmers, use candles. That's such a good way to really create a mood, 100%. Lighting is so crucial to me, whether it's a dinner for one person or a dinner for seven, you know. My friends always say, ‘Yoh, you and your romantic lighting.’ It's a thing.
There's no white light here at all.
And also make sure you have a good set of speakers just so you can create a mood.
Many know you as the creative force behind your eponymous fashion label, but your talents extend far beyond the runway. From captivating photography and art, the conversations you have facilitated through The Premise podcast, to being part of the Cape Town Furniture Week Awards judging panel and co-curating THE PROVENANCE PART II which was recently exhibited at Constitution Hill, your creative endeavours are diverse and inspiring.
Which has been your favourite project or creative offering outside of fashion design, and why does it hold a special place for you?
The Premise, because of how human it is. We actually have Season 2 coming up, by the way.
It has nothing to do with fashion design; it has nothing to do with design at all, really. If I had to bring design into it, it's just the design of life and human experiences. It is my favourite project that I've actually ever done within LM.
I know that fashion is my immediate medium, but I don't necessarily see myself as a fashion designer. I love fashion, but, like, I think I'm trying to create a universe that fundamentally is about human beings and what that can look like within the context of community.
I think that's the beautiful thing about being an entrepreneur, despite its many challenges. It gives you a platform for others to reach their potential, and Pedersen + Lennard is also evidence of that. It’s an extraordinary company, but within that company, people are able to add their ingenuity. And that's also fundamentally making each person grow, you know.
And there's something really sincere – thinking about Pedersen + Lennard – it's not just necessarily a furniture business. It's really about, like, community. It's not necessarily about good design within the context of furniture; it's about a whole overarching, community-driven practice that, of course, has been yielded from furniture design.
Essentially, that is what I'm also trying to create. I really believe in this business and its potential. And I know what it can do for people, because I've already seen it happen.
Reflecting on the past few years, what have been the most significant milestones in your career?
I think the most significant milestone is the period that I'm going through right now. The only people who know this are obviously those who are within my company, but the business has experienced such exponential growth over these last two years and we are now trying to meet the scaling requirements of that growth.
I have two options: to go about my business and continue trying to meet that scale and try to manage it in the best possible way, or, just close shop. Yeah. Because it's still also quite difficult to meet that scale. Forget what you're seeing on Instagram. I think this period is the most significant because there are growing pains of something that I haven't necessarily experienced before within business.
And I definitely value the importance of the milestones in terms of prizes and people who we’ve worked with and having international distribution and showcases. I don't take anything away from that. But in order for us to reach the bigger picture, we need to make sure that the foundation of the business and the brand and storytelling are all parallel with one another. This is the most defining moment of my career, actually, right now.
And these aren’t the parts that everyone sees.
No. Very few see them, actually. I mean, when Luke dropped this coffee table off, he spent an hour here and we just talked about what growing pains look like because, whether you like it or not, employees look to the boss for everything. And you actually can't be everything, but you feel like you need to be everything.
It's also your first time doing this, running a business that’s grown so much!
Exactly.
I forget that. And it's also such an intentional enterprise of business. LM is not a business where I’m just trying to make money, you know, because then I would probably operate in a completely different way. But it's a business that is so sincere, so human-driven, that I’ve become hypersensitive to people's frequencies.
I'll ask just one more question, out of my own personal curiosity.
Of course.
I think it's really powerful that you've grown in so many ways and have international exposure, but being rooted in Cape Town and in South Africa is important to you.
I'd just like to know why? And do you have aspirations maybe for a move abroad?
It's not an aspiration at all. Yeah. Not at all. When I was a fashion student, a lot of my references were coming from outside of South Africa. So before I started travelling, I had this thirst and curiosity of what it'd be like going to the “other side”. And I had always said to myself, ‘I'm going leave South Africa and move to London or New York or wherever.’ And I was so determined about that, and I really thought I could do it.
And you know what, I probably still could, you know – you can do anything. But I think as my career developed and I started to have the opportunity to travel to these places more frequently, I realised that South Africa is the bomb diggity.
It’s so important to me to be in a space that mirrors my culture, it’s so important. Coming from South Africa, there's such a beautiful warmth that, I think, if you haven't been abroad to experience what it can be like over there, you might take for granted how heartwarming it is to know your neighbour and be, like, ‘Come up for a braai!’ you know.
We can do that here, and it feels safe to do so. It’s the little things that manifest into greater things within the culture of South Africans. And also, I love the community of friends and what I've built here.
Keep up with Lukhanyo’s astounding work on Instagram or explore more deeply on his site.
Photographed by the talented Andile Buka - Instagram