Empowerment, inclusion and cultural pride are all welcome in the House of Xandria

Xandria Kawanga first launched her brand in 2015 when she was only 18 years old, by sewing “a little black dress” completely by hand, photographing her friend wearing it, and posting it on Facebook – immediately catching the public’s attention and generating a slew of orders.

“The brand got serious momentum,” she says. 

Fast forward to 2026, when House of Xandria has evolved from an independent local studio into an internationally recognised creative force that mixes high-end couture with sustainable social advocacy – plus an A-list celebrity clientele.  

They’ve created striking bespoke garments for international stars like Tiwa Savage, the Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress widely hailed as the Queen of Afrobeats; South African celebrity Khanyi Mbau; and local hip-hop icon Gwamba, nicknamed Malawi’s Hip Hop Landlord. House of Xandria is the go-to design house for Malawian ministers, mayors and celebrities. 

In 2020, the brand went viral when Kawanga designed a headline-grabbing eco-friendly dress made entirely from recycled newspapers. Meant to be a wearable statement art piece to promote environmental sustainability, photos of the dress went viral across social media, challenging a traditional reliance on the usual Malawian Chitenge (wax print) fabric. 

Shining a light on adaptive fashion

The following year, House of Xandria solidified its legacy by turning fashion into a vehicle for social change with its All Shades of Beautiful fashion show, Malawi’s first inclusive runway where models and designers with physical disabilities confidently took centre stage, garnering huge local and global acclaim.

“I saw a gap in the industry for designers and models with disabilities,” says Kawanga. “There was no platform for them to showcase their talents. We started with 20 designers and we’re now in the fourth year, and it’s an ongoing project.” 

House of Xandria continues to promote inclusivity as well as sustainable, eco-friendly practices in its business. And beyond creating gorgeous garments for regional icons and global figures, the brand has also expanded its footprint into tailored menswear via Xandria.Man and a new interior design arm of the business called Xandria.Home. They offer comprehensive interior design services to clients, and project manage from the initial visual concept all the way to construction and final styling. 

Challenges on the road to success

House of Xandria has a showroom for customers in the Malawian capital of Lilongwe, and employs 15 people.

“There have, however, been many obstacles along the way,” says Kawanga.

As the brand expanded into a vehicle for social advocacy via the All Shades of Beautiful inclusive runway project, she encountered deep biases. Designers and models living with disabilities in Malawi have long faced social exclusion and discrimination. To secure corporate backing, institutional funding and public acceptance for adaptive fashion required years of ongoing advocacy work to prove that disability does not mean a lack of creative ability.

“Another persistent hurdle has been the lack of local fabric manufacturing factories in Malawi,” says Kawanga. This critical infrastructure gap forced them to import high-quality textiles, which increases costs, complicates logistics and puts stress on production timelines. 

So Kawanga started Fabric Universe, a physical textile haven outside the main showroom, which curates and supplies rare, high-end couture materials, including embroidered French lace with pearls, classic embroidered guipure (Venetian lace), stone fabric lace, green beaded sequin lace and premium ombre satins.

Not only is Fabric Universe the primary supplier for House of Xandria’s custom red-carpet and bridal gowns, it’s also an independent retail and wholesale outlet for local designers, bridal clients, and tailors looking for unique luxury fabrics.

“We are now looking into producing our own fabrics in Malawi using banana fibre,” says Kawanga.

House of Xandria is fast gaining recognition as a pioneering and innovative business and was recently selected as one of 15 finalists out of more than 700 in Création Africa, a groundbreaking multimillion-rand development that supports emerging cultural and creative entrepreneurs in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi. They will undergo an intensive business incubation programme overseen by the Embassy of France and the French Institute of South Africa. DM

Our writing about Création Africa is made possible in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa (Ifas). Création Africa is an initiative of The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, and Ifas.