ABOUT

Taeve Africa was born in the heart of South Africa and founded by Tayla Nguskos. With her love of fashion and travel across the African continent she wanted to create clothing that reflected the beauty, softness, warmth and vibrance of the place she calls home. One of the greatest things experienced is so many people living off the land and working with what they have. Africa has so many landscapes, fauna, flora and wildlife that is greatly protected from destruction. Whilst creating the brand and designing products, sustainability was the most important aspect. Working with natural and recycled materials and using ethical practices allows us to be kinder to the earth and its people.

Taeve was created for the minimalist, free spirit and eco-concious woman that lives life to the fullest, explores the world and enjoys the small things.

SUSTAINABILITY

Fabric

Why Eurpean Flax ® linen?
The fabric is made from traceable flax fibres produced in France, Belgium and Netherlands. This allows us to know exactly where the fibres come from, That there is no GMO’s, no irrigation being used (which means way less water usage), low use of fertiliser and pesticide, 100% vegan, no waste (the whole flax plant is used in creating the fibre) and that fibre production is in compliance with International Labour Organisation rules. Not only is the linen better for you, its better for everyone involved in the manufacturing and better for the planet.
What are the other benefits of linen?
• Hypoallergenic
• Strong and durable, allowing for longer lasting clothing
• Breathable and absorbent, meaning less of that clammy feeling in the heat and no clinging garments
• Resistant to pilling, no one likes those little balls on your clothes after a few washes. 

Design & manufacturing

Design
All our products are designed for a long life. This means that we use colours and styles that wont be going out of fashion for a very long time, styles that can be worn in many ways and mixed and matched constantly to make new outfits. This allows us to have timeless styles on our site that don't need marking down and getting rid of stock after a season
Manufacturing
Our products are manufactured with sustainability in mind from beginning to end. Sustainability from us comes in the form of:
• Paying our workers a fair wage
• Having safe working conditions for everyone
• Small batch production. This means we are not making large quantities and a lot of wastage is avoided.
• Providing our customers with high quality, durable products to last

Labels and packaging

We have thought about our packaging from start to finish and try our best to use as little packaging as possible. Where packaging is needed we opt for the eco-friendly options.
Labels
Our woven labels are made from recycled polyester and our hangs made from recycled cardboard.
Packaging
Each product is packaged in a reusable jute bag. This same bag gets used for the garment delivery from Bangladesh to London and for the garment delivery from London to you! This same garment bag is also for you to keep reusing and taking along on you travels. 
Our tissue paper and stickers are also eco-friendly, a long with our biodegradable mailers. Even though boxes can look beautiful, we have opted for biodegradable mailers instead. This means less meaningless boxes going to waste and less feeling guilty after each purchase!

Founder and designer

I am Tayla, the founder and designer of Taeve Africa. 

I grew up in South Africa where I studied Fashion design and began my fashion career.  My first job was working for African Fashion International as a designer, where I showcased at a few fashion weeks and my love for African inspired fashion grew.
I started Taeve in 2020 and then decided to move to London where I could grow the label even more.

Makers in South Africa

We have a small team at our studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our studio is situated in a safe, fully equipped building where all the cutting, sewing, packing and customer appointments gets done. 

Mpho is our cutter and quality checker. She alters the patterns, cuts fabric for orders and quality checks all of our garments.

Hazel is our seamstress. She sews all the garments that get sold in South Africa.

Caroline is our studio manager. She manages the team, all the orders, studio supplies and quality checks the garments.

Makers in London and Bangladesh

Selected styles from South Africa are sent to our office in London and then to Bangladesh for for production to be sold internationally. We work with a factory in Bangladesh called the Cotton Farm and have 1 seamster dedicated to Taeve production. 

Samsubbudin, our seamster in Bangladesh, works on Taeve garments everyday alongside the team that manages the Cotton Farm Factory.