In 1860, the father of Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe, was presented with a wool blanket as a gift. He was so taken with it that he chose to wear it as an alternative to his traditional leopard-skin "kaross". The Basotho people followed suit and, to this day, the blanket is an essential part of their lives from birth to death.Today, the blankets have found a new iteration in ''Original Royals" - a new collection by Cape Town clothing label Unknown Union. It is launching the range at a pop-up shop tonight at the reopening of Museum of African Design in Johannesburg's Maboneng precinct.What started as a family vacation to South Africa 15 years ago for the American founder and CEO of Unknown Union, Jason Storey, turned into a brand and clothing import store in 2010 when he fell in love with Cape Town and decided to stay.Storey started by bringing in brands such as Pendleton, Obey and Levi's Vintage Collection from the US , but now the team has stopped focusing on imports and is expanding its own offering, working with local brands and artist s like illustrator Daniel Ting Chong.It was when creative director Sean Shuter first encountered the Basotho blankets in a hardware store in Bellville, Cape Town, that an inspirational shift in the brand occurred.''Although we had seen the blankets in images before, we had never experienced their unique construction and quality first-hand," said Storey.''Amazingly, although the blankets have been in production without significant modification since the 1890s, few have recognised that they could be adapted to create really unique apparel."Since then the team has founded an independent corporation outside of Unknown Union, called Mountain Kingdom, and won the rights to work in partnership with Aranda Textiles, a South African manufacturing company that holds the exclusive rights to produce Basotho Heritage Blankets. The clothes are carefully constructed by three women in their 60s - Abeda Petersen, Nazley Devajayee and Mariam Rumble - in the Unknown Union design studio in Salt Circle Arcade, in Woodstock, Cape Town.One person who is excited about this new direction is Yannick Llunga, aka Petite Noir. The Cape Town musician has garnered a tremendous amount of international attention lately for his latest EP, The King of Anxiety.After collaborating with Llunga on a few T-shirts and a Basotho jacket design, creative director RhaRha Nembhard of Drone Society is in the midst of designing a full range of merchandise for Llunga's forthcoming worldwide tour.Each style is available in limited quantities so head to the Museum of African Design tonight to get yours. The museum relaunches this evening with its first quarterly Vernissage - an event designed to promote African design. There will be two exhibitions - "NOT x Chris Saunders" and "Temporary but Permanent: Projects" - food stalls by Maboneng restaurants, a sommelier experience with Danwin Jones from Backsberg Estate and music by Zuko Collective and DJ JustThemba...