Produced by Independent Ignite
Project Manager: Lauren Sandiford
Words: Tim Cummings
Senior designer: Loraine Fajutag
Unleash your creativity
Find out more about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G and how it can inspire you at Samsung.com
FIND OUT MORE
As a designer, he’s a fan of the way it looks, too. “It’s amazing. And the way it works, the interface goes hand in hand with that. If a piece of tech can do a million things but it doesn’t come easily or feel natural, then you have to force yourself to work a different way. But this feels like a device I’ve had for years. It just worked right away."
Like the tech he uses, Mapalo has ambition, drive and vision built-in. Where he wants to take Studio Mapalo is beyond the seasonal rails of the fashion world or high street. “My dream would be to be recognised as an artist,” he says, “to be known as a fashion designer, but to be producing work in an artistic way.” He cites the example of BritArt legend Damien Hirst – another northern talent who came down to London to chance his arm at art college. “Hirst doesn’t do more than two paintings a year, one for summer one for winter,” says Mapalo, “but he does put work out and he collaborates in so many different fields. I’d like to apply the brand to areas of culture that aren’t conventional. I’d love to work on films, do installations, exhibitions. To get to the point where the brand speaks for itself.”
As Mapalo explains, tech like his Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G is central to every aspect of his working day. “I use a lot of tech to design. I live on Photoshop. My website is crucial, because it's my lookbook. And day-to-day I’m based around emails. I do everything on it.”
Mapalo's Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G is key to his work. “The size of the tablet is so good, and the S Pen is brilliant. I’ve been using Sketchbook a lot to annotate my work, and I’ve been designing a new collection.”
And how well it has worked out. When he first walked through those doors, he admits that couldn’t even sew. “The experience was really interesting,” he says. “Not many people from York travel that far away from home for university. I came down here alone – there was no one in London I could call or meet up with – so it felt like a fresh start, which I loved. I could find myself as a designer and in general as well.”
Graduating during the Covid-19 lockdown would not usually be seen as an opportunity to grab, but Mapalo took a year out after college to imagine, create, cut out and sew together exactly what he had envisaged, in isolation and without deadlines. “And that’s where I came up with the work for Studio Mapalo,” he says.
Rather than launching himself on the merry-go-round of seasonal collections, Mapalo’s business model is more about concept collections, and leasing his clothes out to stylists and clients such as afrobeats rapper Kida Kudz. “When I started hiring out clothes and people saw my work, I realised I could make work that was a little bit more valuable, and get the exposure, but still maintain the love for the craft.”
His Zambian heritage is a touchstone for his work. “It goes back to my roots. I’ve always wanted to modernise African clothing,” he says. He vividly recalls the weddings his parents took him to when he was growing up. “They are crazy!” he exclaims. “It’s almost like costume. Loud, vibrant prints. But then when I was out I was seeing tracksuits, cargo pants, hoodies. I wanted to show that combination.”
The challenge is to get the word out, garnering press and publicity. He’s got his own network of fans posting about his brand, and stylists calling up for his work, but it’s to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G he turns to bring all the threads of his business together. “It’s replaced my laptop,” he says. “I do everything on it. It syncs from my Samsung Galaxy S21 phone, my email, my notes perfectly, so I don't have to double check everything.”
And it’s a powerful and creative design tool, too. “The size of the tablet is so good,” he says of the high-resolution 12.4in screen, “and the S Pen is brilliant. Recently I’ve been using Sketchbook a lot to annotate my work, and design a new collection.”
"The size of the tablet is so good, and the S Pen is brilliant for design and annotating"
MAPALO SIMON
“I use the Sketchbook app to edit photos – I’ve found it really useful as it’s directly linked to my drive, so I can pull photos from fittings and annotate and draw into them. I also use it to layer over images from my previous collections to develop the looks – because of the multiple brushes, I can explore different colour options, erase parts of certain images and superimpose them onto others.”
With the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G in hand – and weighing a mere 608 grammes, despite the powerful and creative tech it contains – Mapalo and his studio are thriving, and already making waves within the fashion industry. Born in Zambia, Mapalo grew up in north Yorkshire, and by the time he was a teenager was styling himself with threads from the vintage markets of Leeds and York. “I never really knew that could be a career option back then,” he says. “It was something we did because we enjoyed it.”
So much so that when it came to choosing what to study, Mapalo was ready to strike out boldly on his own terms. “I took a risk and decided to do something I had no idea about, no experience in, but I thought I’d enjoy. So I did fashion at the London College of Fashion.”
Kim uses her Samsung Galaxy S21 phone to take an image of the lino print. She then uploads this to her laptop, blowing the image up and editing it to create a crisp, clean design.
Kim inks up the lino print, places the paper on top, and rolls the press over it to create a stark, distinct image.
A close up of the finished lino cut which she has intricately hand carved, ready for printing.
Kim draws the sketch onto a lino tile. From her design archive, stored on her Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, she can access further ideas and inspiration to help her piece take shape.
Kim uses magazine tears, newspaper cut-outs, photographs and images of sculptures and paintings to create a mood board that inspires her initial sketch.
Although he had no experience, and couldn't sew at the time, Mapalo chose to study fashion because he knew he would enjoy it. The gamble paid off and after his course finished he channeled the enforce isolation of lockdown into creating his first Studio Mapalo collection.
A fashion risk-taker blazing his own trail
Browse Studio Mapalo’s online portal, and you enter a world of strikingly innovative menswear that draws on African traditions with a strongly contemporary twist. Its bespoke designs range from the two-piece capsule Apex collection featuring corduroy and cheetah prints, to Project Spectrum’s luxury minimalist streetwear and the futuristic, sci-fi influenced Encryption.
The man behind Studio Mapalo lives and works on his designs from a room in Camden Town. A 2020 graduate from the London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts, 23-year-old Mapalo Simon has big ambitions for his distinctive couture, and to fulfil them he combines the old-fashioned skills of drawing, cutting and sewing with the high-tech tool he turns to develop those design ideas – namely the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G.
“I use a lot of tech to design,” he says. “I live on Photoshop. I create my own prints. My website is also so crucial, because it is my lookbook, so whenever anyone requests garments, it needs to be updated. But day-to-day I’m based around emails. I have a lot of contacts for press requests, so I need to email people on the go."
Just 23 years old, designer Mapalo Simon came straight out the gates from fashion college to create an innovative label the style world loves. Here he shares his creative ethos and the tech that helps him execute it
INSPIRING journeys
“Tech helps me create – I live on it”
Produced by Independent Ignite
Project Manager: Lauren Sandiford
Words: Tim Cummings
Senior designer: Loraine Fajutag
PARTNER CONTENT
PARTNER CONTENT
PARTNER CONTENT
Partner content
Partner content
Partner content
Related articles
'Technology can really enhance what you do creatively'
Dr Mark Richards talks about his many scientific and creative endeavours and the tech that helps make them happen
'You have to stay on top of our tech-led world'
Harky talks about her life in the creative industry, and the tech she turns to for inspiration and support
'Technology is absolutely integral to my work'
Kim Chin shares the regenerative process, and the tech she uses to channel the past into something new
'Technology can really enhance what you do creatively'
Professor, DJ and app guru Dr Mark Richards shares his creative science projects and the tech that helps them happen
'You have to stay on top of our tech-led world'
Harky talks about her life in the creative industry, and the tech she turns to for inspiration and support
'Technology is absolutely integral to my work'
Kim Chin shares the regenerative process of design, and the tech she uses to channel the past into something new
'Technology can really enhance what you do creatively'
Dr Mark Richards talks about his many scientific and creative endeavours and the tech that helps make them happen.
“You have to stay on top of our tech-led world”
Harky talks about her life in the creative industry, and the tech she turns to for inspiration and support
'Technology is absolutely integral to my work'
Kim Chin shares the regenerative process, and the tech she uses to channel the past into something new
Related articles
'Technology can really enhance what you do creatively'
'You have to stay on top of our tech-led world'
'Technology is absolutely integral to my work'
Related articles