SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY31 JUL 2026The shirt that unbuttoned freedomAt the opening of Presidential Shirt’s new flagship store, actor John Kani and former Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs reflect on how Nelson Mandela’s iconic Madiba shirt…Lesego Chepape6 min read

At Presidential Shirt’s new flagship store, John Kani and Albie Sachs reflected on how Nelson Mandela’s iconic shirt became a symbol of dignity, identity and the freedom to dress like ourselves It is a deceptively simple question. One that sounds at home in a fashion interview until it is posed to John Kani, a man whose life has been shaped by the long journey from oppression to freedom. Asked by actor and host Sthandiwe Kgoroge at the opening of Presidential Shirt’s new flagship emporium in Sandton Square, just steps from the towering Nelson Mandela statue, Kani paused.

Then he asked her to repeat it. Perhaps because freedom is rarely spoken about in the language of fabric and buttons. We measure it in constitutions, elections and rights — not collars, cuffs and the quiet confidence of wearing clothes that finally feel like your own.

It was a conversation about identity, dignity and how something as ordinary as getting dressed can become an act of reclaiming oneself. Standing before guests in a black silk Madiba shirt embroidered in white along the collar, chest and cuffs, Kani transformed what could have been a ceremonial speech into theatre. “I have always known that being black is a continuous struggle to be respected, to be seen, to be acknowledged, to beg for your own self-worth,” he said.

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He returned to his initiation ceremony. Coming back from the mountain, he explained, he needed new clothes because he was no longer a boy. His community recognised that transformation. Apartheid South Africa did not.

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