Shweshwe Baby, a family run clothing and accessory shop for babies and young children

A purple background with pink circles on with a collaged image of different photos of babies sitting or standing with the colourful writing 'Shwe Shwe baby' in the middle of the canvas.

Alumnus Alex Whyatt and his wife are the founders of Shweshwe Baby, a clothing brand based in South Africa.

Alex graduated from Loughborough with a degree in Retail Management in 1999. After graduating he lived in London with his wife before making the decision to move to Cape Town, South Africa in 2008. In 2016 their first son was born, and this helped to inspire their new venture:  

“We decided to combine baby accessories that we found useful with Shweshwe material that'd we'd fallen in love with in our new home”. 

All Shweshwe Baby products are 100% cotton and are hand made by seamstresses working in deprived areas in Cape Town 

Alex explained the origin of the Shweshwe fabric. He said:  

Shweshwe fabric was brought to South Africa by missionaries from Germany in the 1840s – they presented their gifts to King Moshweshwe of Lesotho… and legend has it that’s how it got the name. Others say it represents the swishing noise the fabric makes when it’s worn.” 

The business stocks an array of colourful baby clothes and accessories, with the sizing of many of their products ranging from three months up to five years. Products from Shweswe Baby are available to purchase online or in gift shops around South Africa.  

Check out their Instagram.