Xipixi – A brand promoting chivalry

Xipixi is an African luxury brand. Result of the cosmopolitan experience of its founder, António Macheve Jr., the brand aims to address a market gap. About to celebrate a decade of existence, we went to discover the recipe for serving African men with elegance and refinement.

Xipixi means “cat” in Ronga and, by elevating the national culture, it came to bring value the entire Mozambican male generation. “My desire is to collaborate more and more with Mozambican gentlemen in the world of entertainment, showbiz, business and diplomacy, to customise their styles and show the international community that Mozambican artists and businessmen are dressed by Mozambican luxury brands,” the designer states.

“One of the principles of the Xipixi brand is to promote chivalry. I love dressing gentlemen and seeing them feel more confident and charming” – António Macheve Jr.

Above all, what the designer looks for is to offer men the opportunity to express themselves by creating a personal style through the elegance that he lends his pieces. “One of the principles of the Xipixi brand is to promote chivalry. I love dressing gentlemen and seeing them feel more confident and charming through our clothes and accessories, especially a bride and a groom, as it is a great responsibility to dress a man on the most special day of his life,” António shares.

To the influence of Virgil Abloh, former Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, and Karl Lagerfel, former Creative Director at Chanel, António adds the cut of brands such as Daks, Dunhill and Berluti as references. “Heron Preston, Off-White and Alyx are brands that I have been studying with some intensity in the last 3 years.

Not only because of the different styles of the brands, but also because of their corporate structures and their business models, they are brands that in 5-7 years have expanded very quickly with a solid physical presence in multiple parts of the world,” António adds.

A decade lived and expectations for Xipixi are high. With an attentive eye on what is happening inside and outside the African continent, António confesses that there are improvements to be made. “Our main focus today is to increase and improve our capacity and our distribution channels for the international market. We are about to launch our online store, which will allow anyone to purchase Xipixi products anywhere in the world.”

Issue 72 Mar/Apr | Download.