Farewell to Nelson Mandela's Madiba shirts

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2013/dec/16/nelson-mandela-madiba-shirt

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Nelson Mandela stood out from the political crowd for many reasons, his signature brightly coloured, printed shirts was just one of them. Dubbed the Madiba – the former South African president's nickname – the shirts expressed more than personal style. Although he sported a classic three-piece suit on the day of his landmark inauguration in 1994, his presidency was marked by a rejection of these universal markers of political power – tailoring, ties, tepid shirts – to embrace something uniquely his.

The shift happened in his first few weeks of power. By the time of the dress rehearsal for the opening of South Africa's first democratic parliament, the Madiba shirt was in place. The Mandela we came to know – as he is in countless photo calls, and even a waxwork at Madame Tussauds – began to emerge.

Brightly coloured, vividly patterned and long, the shirts were worn by Mandela with simple slacks and, often, a couple of pens in his pocket. They came in many guises – patterns include a fish design, flowers and birds, and the BBC said he "paved the way for a fashion revolution" in the South African parliament and, speaking in 1997, Andrew Donaldson, then the deputy editor of South African fashion magazine Style, summed it up: "He's given us a whole new look." It might be only a shirt, but the Madiba became a symbol of post-apartheid South Africa.

Though its origins are disputed – Yusuf Surtee, who worked as a personal designer to the president, and Desre Nash both claim it – there's little doubt about its impact. In the conservative environment of world politics where grey suits are still the default and a micro detail such as a rolled-up sleeve can generate column inches, Mandela's shirt were a breath of fresh air. Whether he was meeting Tony Blair or Michelle Obama, he wore a Madiba. On a 1996 visit to the UK and audience with the Queen, he reportedly spurned an Armani suit provided for him by the designer and wore one of his favourite shirts instead. He'll be remembered for many things but, in most of our minds, he'll be pictured wearing the Madiba.

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