A Madiba shirt or rather "The Madiba" is a colourful and bright batik silk shirt. It has become a well-known nickname for batik shirts in South Africa and all over the world, being popularised by the former South African president Nelson Mandela. Madiba was Mandela's clan name and expresses respect and affection for the person bearing the title.
The first Madiba shirt was originally designed by the fashion designer Desré Buirski and given to Mandela as a present when he visited Cape Town. She handed it to his bodyguard with a note attached saying "Thank you for everything you have done and the sacrifices you have made for our beloved country".
Mandela wore the shirt the next day to the dress rehearsal for the opening of Parliament, and was photographed on the front page of a local newspaper. Since then, Buirski had made him more than 120 different shirts.
Buirski’s shirts became Mandela’s signature dress style and an important factor in his political strive for a united South Africa.
