About

With a love for the bizarre and the beautiful, the South African fashion designer Artho Eksteen creates high fashion pieces that will take the wearer away to his fantasy world - a world filled with exotic textures, florals, and eclectic energy. Artho’s love for designing prints and patterns, as well as the exceptional quality of his garments means that pieces will become fashion favourites, even heirlooms, that will make their wearer feel inspired and stylish. 

The golden thread of fashion has always been woven into Artho’s  life. Since the beginning he has always had an interest in visual arts and found that fashion was a way to make art approachable and something to interact with every day. The performative ritual of dress and how fashion creates identity (and a little chaos), captured his attention, and started his adventure.

He pursued his love for fashion and Artho's fabric dreams took flight when he received his BA Fashion degree. He fine-tuned his fashion focus and gained experience in the local fashion industry by working as a designer and maker for ateliers and boutiques spanning ready-to-wear, bridal and millinery respectively.

Finally, Artho launched his eponymous label with his signature surrealist style. This garnered him a prestigious award in the South African fashion industry through The New Talent Competition at SA Fashion Week 2021.

His work has been honoured locally and has taken off across the world being featured in famous fashion magazines! These include the glossy pages of Vogue Portugal and the cutting-edge columns of Germany’s Schӧn magazine. Fashion-lovers and lovers of the weird and wonderful all over the globe have collected Artho Eksteen pieces with their playful patterns and impressionistic hues to form part of their wardrobes.

By day and some late nights too, you can find Artho in his design studio in Woodstock, Cape Town, creating his newest collection. He is accompanied by inspiration and of course his toy poodle, the ever so fabulous Hortense who keeps an eye on progress and all comings and goings.