By Sacha van Niekerk 
Aug 27, 2021
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Celebrate the beauty of our continent with activewear brands that are all about culture, diversity and bold African prints.
CultureFit
www.culturefitclothing.com
Globally inspired, high-performance activewear for the culturally conscious woman, CultureFit serves the latest looks and also, high quality pieces. Their high waisted design offers optimal comfort, fit, and curve appeal while the broad waistband stays in place and won’t dig into your skin.
They use premium quality, DryFit material — preventing baubles, tears, and fabric becoming see-through. Now you can exercise without the irritation of awkwardly tugging on your clothes.
Their range includes West African print designs that puts culture at the forefront of their fashion. Their ethos is to invite women of all backgrounds to enjoy their products and celebrate not only the brand’s heritage, but embrace all the different cultures of the world.
Siko Republik
www.sikorepublik.co.za
With creative minds hailing from Kwa-Zulu Natal to Johannesburg, this brand is proudly South African.
In order to bring versatility to the athleisure realm, they have combined African-prints with innovative design solutions, offering fresh looks with local flair. The range of workout wear was designed for African women, catering for a range of body types and shapes of varying sizes.
The collections celebrate the diversity of our continent. The latest range stretches Siko Republik to new territories like tennis wear, skirts, costumes and dresses.
With striking prints with contrasting colours, they aim to share the beauty of South Africa through the Nguni prints with the rest of the continent and world.
Queen Malkia
www.queenmalkia.com
The Swahili word for “queen” is Malkia, a word perfectly chosen for the Queen Malkia brand which was founded on the idea of combining high-quality sportswear with vibrant African prints.
The headquarters are in Virginia, but they have deep roots that can be traced back to Tanzania, where the founder was born. The Queen Malkia tribe is self-assured, fearless, and seductive.
Why not represent this in your activewear or athleisure? With ornate patterns, edgy cutouts, sheer mesh combined with cultural prints – every aspect is bold, balancing the latest trends with classic styles.
ShweShwekini
www.shweshwekini.com
Refiloe Mapitso Thaisi, the brainchild behind ShweShweKini Active Wear, started the brand in 2017 after feeling a bit frustrated by the lack of authentic South African prints in swimwear. Looking back to her Basotho roots, she was reminded of her childhood and seeing her mother dressed in beautiful, bold shweshwe prints.
Inspired by the range of colourful and eclectic patterns, she realised they had not been explored in the more niche areas of apparel. While browsing through the website you’ll find that each ShweShweKini piece has a Sesotho name with a meaning attached to it, a subtle way to educate people about the culture and add significance and meaning to every piece.
Matching workout sets, swimsuits and cover-ups for men and women in quality materials and bold colours, the elements combine for activewear you’ll want to go back to every summer.
Pfeka
www.pfeka.com
Eglet, the founder of Pfeka, is a great believer in being real and true to oneself. As a Zimbabwean who now lives in the Netherlands, she has a penchant for creating a unique brand that combines western fabric with wonderful stories expressed through the use of African prints and patterns.
Creating value and sustainability with their beautiful in-house produced fabrics, the activewear was made to be breathable, soft, and stretchy with dynamic patterns representing various African cultures, nature and stories.
A must-have item on their website is their vests, the combination of light and breathable material with the mesh fabric offers air ventilation perfect for when workouts get a little heated.