Mzansi Life & Style showcases the best that South Africa has to offer in terms of entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, culture, cuisine, travel, beauty and celebrity news. Subscribe to my website by adding your email address in the "follow" button below.
After a year of eager anticipation, the season premiere of “Kickin it with Kim Jayde” has officially dropped on YouTube.
Directed, produced and hosted by the multi-award winning TV host and business entertainment entrepreneur, Kim Jayde, the proudly local show is back for another exciting season for sneaker fanatics around the continent.
‘Kickin it with Kim Jayde’ brings together some of the top sneaker lovers in the industry, while shining a new light on some of your favourite celebrities and taste makers.
The season premiere stars special guest BLXCKIE Somnyama. With a debut album on every playlist, and the recently awarded 2021 Best Freshman of the Year at the SA Hip Hop Awards, there’s no denying his talent. We learn more about the Durban born artist’s career and hear him answer fun questions about his first kiss, first sneakers and how he won his first rap battle.
The rest of the season is just as star-studded, with internationally renown DJ Doowap, ‘Big Flexa’ Costa Titch, marketing guru King Aya and platinum selling artist Shekhinah.
Every guest is invited to bring sneakers from their personal collection which they share more about in the show.
Converse SA launched its first movement to aiding in the alleviation of student debt in South Africa with the campaign #Kickthedebt. The focus of the campaign was to try and alleviate a portion of student debt, by making a difference to the youth as Tertiary education is incredibly expensive and as a result, student debt is exceptionally high.
Due to the overwhelming response received from the previous campaign, Converse SA will be giving away R2 Million towards relieving student debt once again.
This year, the campaign has been renamed “Create Next”. The initiative behind the campaign name is fuelled by those that broke barriers before us. We move where inspiration takes us next: when we break barriers of culture, style, and innovation, we construct new possibilities.
Youth development is extremely important to Converse as we need to optimize youth developmental progress. Converse promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing better opportunities. We enable students to flourish in their respective educational journeys without the fear of poverty stopping them.
Whilst we know that paying off student debt is vitally important in securing so many futures, Converse has gone a step further by guiding students towards their goals through mentorship by experts who have already overcome the very same hardships. Converse has a community of “All Stars” who have been taken under the Converse wing and given opportunities to be part of skill building workshops and mentorship talks with experts in their industries. Converse has enabled the ‘All Stars” to be a part of mural creations around South Africa and the brand has created opportunities for youth to have experiences around the globe.
In addition to the R2 Million pledge, Converse will also be giving an additional R500 000 to those who dare to live on their own terms, who break barriers and create their next opportunity. By opening doors to the next generation of creators. Calling all artists, innovators, community leaders, sports people, creators, entrepreneurs, game changers, advocates, rebels, activists, designers, and inventors.
Converse is reaching out to communities to tell their stories of inspiration, connection and innovation. The brand wants to help communities create what comes next in their bright future.
The campaign will be supported by Digital, PR, Influencers, Ambassadors, Billboards, Radio, Retail Executions and Social media
The level of access to entry is as simple as last time, all you have to do is visit ConverseCreateNext.co.za to submit your nomination form. Converse SA is here to bash, smash or squish that student debt that you or someone that you know may have, when it comes to their education
The campaign runs from 22 November 2021 and closes on 31 January 2022. Winners will be announced by 28 February 2022.
The word crochet is likely to conjure images of your grandmother’s doilies. However, two young entrepreneurs in Newtown, Johannesburg are setting the record straight.
The strength of Mama Kea lies in its combination of young and old talent. It started when the founders, Sicelo Mabuza and his business partner Khulani Sikhosana, teamed up with two elderly women, Irene Mabitsela and Emma Mavimbela, who they met selling crochet beanies at the Soweto Arts and Craft Fair back in 2015.
South Africa’s premier online shopping destination, Zando, will reward four lucky shoppers with a stylish wardrobe valued at R100,000 ahead of their Black Friday campaign, which runs from 15 October to 4 November 2021.
“As South Africans start rediscovering the joy of dressing up and going out, we are excited to offer four fashion lovers a chance to win a R25 000 voucher each to spend on their favourite local and international brands. Our consumers get an extra spoil ahead of the festive season,” said Zando CEO, Grant Brown.
To participate in the campaign, consumers will have to sign up with their email address for exclusive access to Black Friday offers (https://www.zando.co.za/mlp-black-friday/). They can shop for the latest trends from brands like Adidas, Nike, Sissy Boy, Gucci, Guess and Prada as well as summer fashion, beauty or gift-giving ideas on the platform.
Zando continues to develop its relevance by launching new brands across fashion, beauty and lifestyle, ensuring that consumers experience world-class online shopping in South Africa.
All Zando Black Friday deals can be found online at https://www.zando.co.za/and on the Zando App.
All the allure of live is set to return to local fashion as relaxed lock-down levels allow Mall of Africa to stage South African Fashion Week Autumn/Winter Collections on the runway to a select VIP audience from 28 – 30 October 2021.
The shows featuring 29 top designers, will then again be streamed from 4 November to a wider audience including international media, designer clients and local and global followers of fashion. The 2020 show broadcasts were viewed by over 73545 people worldwide and have therefore become a key new addition to the amplification of SA fashion marketing, says director Lucilla Booyzen.
This will be followed by the SAFW Trade Show in the Crystal Court at the Mall of Africa with 40 designers of men’s and womenswear as well as accessories ranging from footwear and handbags to costume jewellry and millinery from 31 October – 1 November and the SAFW Pop Up Shop where fashion lovers will be able to interact and buy directly from all the participating designers from 3 – 5 December, in the same venue.
“Mall of Africa is immensely proud to support South African design, both by staging this dynamic showcase as well as by making retail opportunities available to talented fashion entrepreneurs,” says Michael Clampett, Asset and Property Management Executive at Attacq Limited, about the three-year hosting partnership.
According to Booyzen, participating designers are increasingly adopting the circular fashion system required to transition towards a more sustainable and cleaner, fashion order. “This is evident throughout all the collections be it the new seasonal ranges by established designers or the entries for our New Talent or Scouting Menswear competitions with feature principles such as waste reduction, low impact materials, longevity and recyclability as well as a greater emphasis on higher quality and timeless design.”
Improved synergy between the designers and the downstream value chain, particularly in the fabric and local yarn production sectors where South Africa has a strong presence such as mohair and wool production, has emerged as another key driver of future sustainability.
This has resulted in Fashion Bridges – I Ponti Della Moda, a South African and Italian designer-led initiative between SAFW, the Italian embassy, Polimoda in Florence and the Milan Fashion Week and supported by textile company Da Gamma as well as Wool SA, Cotton SA and Mohair SA, which allowed Italian designers Julian Cerro, Llaria Bellomo, Domico Orefice and Alessia Dovero and South Africans Fikile Zamagcino Sokhulu, Sipho Mbuto, The Bam Collective and Xavier Sadan to stage an exhibition at the Milan Fashion Week in September and again on 28 October at SAFW.
“Representing approximately 50% of the world’s mohair producers, we welcome the opportunity to introduce this luxurious and sustainable South African fibre to a wider audience through the Fashion Bridges – I Ponti Della Moda project,” says Marco Coetzee – general manager, Mohair South Africa
The six finalists of the Scouting Menswear Competition will open this year’s SAFW on 28 October. They are Marquin Sampson, Refuse Clothing Brand, Saint Vuyo, Umsweko, Vanklan and Boyde who will show how they have responded to the creative challenge to transform 100% textile “waste” desirable, scalable, and commercially viable garments for the South African consumers.
SAFW and OPPO celebrate the technology giant’s first year in South Africa with a new partnership that will include the staging of the OPPO Collections, a show featuring a stellar cast of Thabo Kopele, winner of the 2020 Scouting Menswear Competition, Neo Rangaka of NEO, Mikhayla Farouk of Maklele and World Fashion Award winner, Amanda Laird Cherry, all unveiling their seasonal ranges produced exclusively in sustainable fabrics.
“We are excited to have SAFW as a platform to demonstrate how OPPO’s philosophy of technology as an art form in service of mankind and being kind to the world, can be expressed in the equally modern yet classic and earth-friendly signatures of the designers we will be partnering with,” says Avashnee Moodley, Head of Marketing at OPPO.
The Rise and Shine Collections opens the week’s second day on 29 October with a collaboration between designer signatures Romaria, Ezokhetho and Erre and South Africa’s favourite personal pampering brand, Satiskin. “Satiskin has been a favourite indulgence in many South African bathrooms for a very long time. We are honoured to be the personal care and beauty partner of this platform that recognises our nation’s talent and creativity,” says brand manager Cabangile Dlamini
Day two ends with the new collections from SAFW stalwarts, Mantsho, Franc Elis, Sober and Rubicon. A trio of bright young designer talents – Artho Eksteen, 2021’s New Talent winner, Jacques Bam from The Bam Collective and 2021 New Talent finalist Michael Ludwig will collaborate on a joint show titled no season no sex, followed by the new collections respectively from Judith Atelier.
The final show of the event will feature the new collections from Johannesburg-based The Watermelon Social Club, a graduate of the 21 Steps designer development program, previous Scouting Menswear finalists, Ntando XV and Richard Hoy, ending off with Adam Chancellor-Maddison.
According to Booyzen, the partnerships with Carlton Hair, the official hair sponsor as well as MAC, the event’s official make-up, are an integral component of the SAFW offering.
The visual language of hair and make-up is part and parcel of the total fashion moment. It is critical that these stylists understand and can interpret the designer’s vision completely. Fashion and trendsetting have always been key pillars of both the MAC and Carlton Hair brands. Equally they both share SAFW’s community and clean ecology ethos. It truly is a match made in heaven for SAFW,” she says.
According to Booyzen, the online presence that SAFW has developed over the past year, is set to grow in response to the interest from fashion followers.
“We will therefore unpack both the designers’ backstories as well as those of the various brands that are associated with the event.”
Dates to diarise are:
28 to 30 October – SAFW Collections – Mall of Africa – Entrance 22
31 October and 1st November – SAFW Trade Show – Mall of Africa, Crystal Court
3rd – 5th December SAFW Pop Up Shop – Mall of Africa, Crystal Court
Mzansi Life & Style by Mishkah Roman-Cassiem 