46664 Apparel: A Mandela Model

Supermodels & Super Hero. President Nelson Mandela with models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Mia Farrow, among others. AP Image.

Great Article by Emma Jordan from iFashion. 

So, our good friend and apparent fashionista Kate Otto dropped a little one on us today when she sent a newsclip highlighting the Nelson Mandela Foundation's new fashion line--46664 Apparel--which is the prisoner number by which Mr. Mandela was identified on Robben Island.

Says the Foundation's CEO Achmat Danfor, “When you buy a 46664 shirt, you are not just buying apparel, you are investing in a process that will help spread the legacy of Nelson Mandela by supporting the long-term sustainability 46664.”

The initiative is part of an effort by the foundation to generate revenue for program sustainability from social enterprise. Growing up in South Africa, the president's wardrobe was just as juicy and momentous as the charged excitement  filling the first days of democratic rule. 

We tuned into evening news as much to pinch ourselves and know this was forreal for real--Mandela head of state and apartheid honestly history--as to check out what signature shirt Mr. Mandela rocked out to meet Queen Elizabeth or at the celebration of this or that in the new South Africa.  We loved the unusual eye-candy patterns of his shirts and admired Mandela's boldness of presence and quiet (and beautiful) self-assertion in everything he touched. What a man! Mandela remains haloed by an exuberance of style...can't wait to see how this translates into a full fledged fashion line.

A Young Mandela with first wife, Ms. Evelyn.