| Nkhensani Manganyi | |
| Nationality: | South African |
| Occupation: | actress and fashion designer |
Nkhensani Manganyi (also known as Nkhensani Nkosi) is a South African born actress and fashion designer.
In 2000 Manganyi started the fashion house Stoned Cherrie.[1] The company developed a high profile in South Africa for its use of images of apartheid-era heroes as a recurring motif in its designs of T-shirts and cutaway tops.[2] One of the company's better-known t-shirt designs featured cover from the magazine Drum with the face of the anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko, murdered by the state security forces in 1977, whose face remains a powerful political symbol of the resistance movement to apartheid.[3]
Her work also includes eyewear and upholstery.[4] She has travelled through Africa as a spokesperson for diversity in African fashion.[5] An image of Manganyi, as Nkhensani Nkosi, working in her Johannesburg studio is included in the book, "The Language of Fashion Design" as an example of how designers develop their collection.[6] Some of Nkosi's work was exhibited at the Fashion Institute of Technology as part of the exhibition Black Fashion Designers from December 2016 to May 2017 [7] [8]
Manganyi's film acting credits include Legend of the Hidden City, and Kickboxer 5.
In 2003 Manganyi was a judge on the South African run of the television series Popstars. She commented at the time: "In the past the criticism that (Pop Stars) is heavily American influenced could be relevant, but I think our new format has helped to change that.".[2]