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.
I recently attended the launch of luxury French brand Panier des Sens, at the gorgeous LUEUR Wellness Spa in Parkmore, Sandton in Johannesburg. Lush, exquisite and truly French, can best describe the event, set in a tropical looking garden filled with Panier des Sens (meaning basket of the senses) products around every corner.
Inspired by the natural resources of France and old Mediterranean know-how, the company creates perfumes, soaps, luxurious creams and oils as well as candles and home fragrances , all of which magnify the beauty of Provence in the south of France. Now South Africans can get a taste, or rather indulge in the botanical fragrance of France, right here!
Formidable luxury events and marketing company African Deluxe Company has confirmed media personality and businesswoman, Minnie Dlamini, as the official host for the 2ndStandard Bank Joburg Polo in the Park taking place at Gauteng’s premium residential lifestyle estate Steyn City next weekend.
I attended the first Polo in the Park event pre-COVID in 2019 – Check that out here.
This year’s theme is SPLENDOUR which aims to showcase all things bright, colourful and grand. Being an all-round powerhouse South African media mogul made Minnie Dlamini the perfect choice to host this year’s Polo.
2019 Polo in the Park – Images by Mishkah Roman-Cassiem
The event will be attended by SA’s elite, including top business people, celebrities and media, while the backdrop of Steyn City will offer a scenic day filled with beautiful people, unforgettable experiences, great food, over the top fashion, as well as art and live music on the side lines.
“The Standard Bank Polo in The Park is not only about polo, but also about the lifestyle and fashion that accompanies the sport of kings. Having hosted a hugely successful 2019 edition of this prestigious polo affair, we remain passionate about the African continent and plan to continue showcasing what our country has to offer to the rest of the world,” says The Africa Deluxe Company’s frontman and executive producer of the event Ben Moseme. He adds: “We are particularly excited to have Minnie Dlamini join the Joburg Polo in the Park family as she is the perfect fit for this exclusive Polo celebration, and a true reflection of South African excellence in Media.”
I attended Comic Con Africa for the first time in 2019 and what an experience it was! Check out some images and footage from the 2019 expo here, here and here.
It looks like this year’s Comic Con Africa is going to be bigger and better than ever, so get all the details of what to expect below.
Comic Con Africa, Africa’s largest multi-genre pop-culture and gaming festival, which is taking place from 22-25 September 2022 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, has announced another exciting addition to the event this year: StreamerCon– the place to celebrate and experience all of the online magic and wonder in real life.
Geared towards celebrating digital creators, platform innovators, and their fans all in one place – StreamerCon is bringing together everything that is a part of creating, watching, and promoting video content. More than that, StreamerCon will be the hub for creators to expand their reach, collaborations to spark, and for aspiring content creators to be guided by industry veterans.
Comic Con Africa’s Show Director, Carla Massmann, expressed her elation at the addition of StreamerCon by saying that local content creators are at the core of planning and bringing StreamerCon to life.
“We’ve seen the growth and talent of South African streamers – and want to offer these very talented individuals an opportunity to be celebrated.” Massmann added. “The influencer today is very different to what it was. Content creators today are the micro-influencers who drive exceptional engagement through niche communities.”
“In the past year Comic Con Africa has worked to give local streamers and content creators a platform to promote themselves and we believe that now more than ever it is an imperative new addition to the show.”
StreamerCon aims to create awareness around the world-class local content creators irrelevant of their platform – be it Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, or anything else.
In 2021, Comic Con Africa launched Streamer Takeovers which allowed members of the South African streaming community to showcase themselves on Comic Con Africa’s Twitch channel. After engaging with this community, that displays great passion and comradery, Comic Con Africa has set out to highlight content creators – established and upcoming – across the continent.
StreamerCon is also excited to welcome streaming software companies, tech brands, high performance software and systems, peripherals, and components, streaming equipment, streaming and recording software, video editing and design software, vlogging kits, as well as so much more.
Follow *StreamerCon on Twitter to get the latest updates and see the website for more information on attending and exhibiting.
Comic Con Africa returns bigger, better – and safer – than ever in 2022
Comic Con Africa 2022 is the ultimate pop-culture and gaming festival in Africa, and the biggest of its kind offering something for everyone in the pop culture space. With tickets on sale since December 2021, the festival is set to take place during the traditional Comic Con month of September, from the 22nd to the 25th. Ticket sales have been staggered into a phased approach to ensure the control of capacity as well as being of benefit to the early birds who buy their tickets in the early phases.
Below are some images from when I attended Comic Con Africa in 2019:
The team at Comic Con Africa HQ have spent the past two years performing the necessary due diligence to ensure that the event in 2022 will be bigger, better and safer than ever before – with the strictest of Covid protocols and measures in place, to ensure peace of mind for all attendees and vendors.
Comic Con Africa 2022 will see more activations and international talent, and in order to accommodate this growth (and social distancing measures) the event has found a new home – the Johannesburg Expo Centre at Nasrec. This venue boasts a capacity that is a great size for the anticipated 80 000 plus visitors, while still offering further growth potential for years to come with its extensive indoor and outdoor areas.
The show floor will play host to international celebrities, the best in gaming and gear, Artist Alley, pop culture merch, table top games, and of course the highly anticipated Cosplay Competitions alongside various activations leading up to the event. Not only is this a pop culture playground for enthusiasts and professionals, but there will also be the KidsCon edition, creating a space for the entire family to enjoy the ultimate day out!
Brands and individuals interested in exhibiting at Comic Con Africa 2022 can contact info@comicconafrica.co.za.
Tickets for the festival and more information can be found on the official Comic Con Africa website.
For the latest Comic Con Africa 2022 news and updates, be sure to connect online:
If you have never heard of Comic Con, here’s what it’s all about:
Comic Con Africa is Africa’s largest multi-genre pop-culture, gaming and fan festival.
The festival features a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements including cosplay, comic books, anime, manga, tech, film and series, gaming (including video, mobile and esports) toys, gadgets, clothing, collectible card games, fantasy/sci-fi books and authors as well as the ever-popular Artists’ Alley. The inaugural 2018 event welcomed over 42 000 visitors (ABC Audited) and 2019 saw over 70 000. In 2019 KidsCon was a new addition to the festival, allowing for the festival to be the ultimate family day out with loads of activities for all to enjoy. A single Comic Con Africa ticket gets you access to both Cons at Johannesburg Expo Centre NASREC on 22 – 25 September 2022. (www.comicconafrica.co.za)
Comic Con Africa is owned by Reed Exhibitions (Pty) Ltd and used under license by Mogull Media Proprietary Limited.
Ecological sustainability, women’s empowerment, inter brand collaboration and proudly local production investment are some of the dynamic developments that markSA Fashion Week’s 25th Spring/Summer Collections.
The SAFW’22 Spring Summer Collections will be showcased from 28 – 30 April, Parkade G5, Entrance 24 at Mall of Africa in Johannesburg.
Twenty iconic names including Ephraim Molingoana for Ephymol, Amanda Laird Cherry and Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho as well as cult Kasi brand, Loxion Kulca, now designed by Olé Ledimo, will launch their 2022 collections to the media, buyers, selected VIPs and a limited edition of public tickets through Quicket, alongside exciting new stars including 2021 New Talent winner Artho Eksteen as well as Fikile Zamagcino Sokhulu and Sipho Mbuto who both participated in the Fashion Bridges collaboration with Milan Fashion Week last year.
Hosted by SA’s favourite social personality, Maps Maponyane, the 24th New Talent Search will again open the event with a line-up of six of the most promising young designers to watch. This year’s contenders are:
Other highlights of the first day is the CRUZ COLLECTIVE featuring Sokhulu and Mbuto as well as another new generation notable, Michael Ludwig Studio.
Day two opens with TheOPPO COLLECTIONS which brings Artho Eksteen, Ezokhetho, the gender-neutral signature, The BAM Collective, and the much revered, Amanda Laird Cherry, together in a celebration of technology and perfection that will speak to OPPO’s Reno 5 mobile phone as the quintessential tool with which to capture the ethos of contemporary living as “the new spectator sport” which happens where everyone, everywhere engages, interacts, captivates and comments.
“We are excited to go into our second year of partnership with SA Fashion Week. This is an important partnership for OPPO, as it gives us the space to connect with our customers and it shows our commitment to empowering local talent through our technology to curate a line of sustainably resourced fashion that represents both the heartbeat and heritage of our country. We are looking forward to our second collection and what our designers will come up with this year. For us, it is all about the creative collaboration that translates South African culture into design, which is the essence of what the OPPO brand represents both locally and globally.” says Avashnee Moodley, Head of Marketing at Oppo South Africa.
This is followed by the high-profile trio of Cape Town-based Helon Melon who wowed audiences in 2021 with her all-white, sustainable collection, fashion forward Judith Atelier, an ardent supporter of South African mohair and perennial fashion week darling, Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho.
Can you believe that it’s been almost 2 years to the day that I started working from home on 18 March 2020. We thought it would be just for 2 weeks, which became 2 months and now 2 years!
As more people start the transition back to working from an office or at least a hybrid of working from home and working from the office, so too has our borders opened to vaccinated travellers who wish to explore our beautiful South Africa.
South African Tourism have announced their new advertising campaign to entice tourists to “Mzansi” (a colloquial and informal term for South Africa) and hence the name of this website – Mzansi Life and Style 😊
Here’s some more information about SA Tourism’s new campaign and some insight from the advertising agency that conceptualized the concept called Joe Public United.
Joe Public United is thrilled to join forces with South African Tourism (SAT) on a new global campaign called “Live Again” which is set to reposition South Africa firmly in the hearts and minds of international travellers.
With its diverse landscapes, cultures and creative assets, South Africa offers global business and leisure travellers a host of experiences, as well as a strong science-based approach to managing COVID-19. In line with this, the campaign captures and highlights the South African spirit of endurance, resilience and “ubuntu” as it showcases bucket-list destinations, adventures and experiences.
“As we collectively begin to live again, after two years of the pandemic, South Africa is open for business to leisure and business travellers. This is what we wanted to bring to the fore,” says Xolisa Deyshana, Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public United.
Speaking at the launch, SA Tourism Acting Chief Executive Officer Mzilikazi Themba Khumalo echoed these sentiments saying, “The Live Again campaign captures the country’s brand promise to inspire new ways, as travellers enjoy unique leisure, cultural, business and events travel experiences that will re-energize body, mind and spirit.”
“This campaign sums up South Africa’s offer to international travellers to take the opportunity to be inspired by our beautiful country and recharged by our people and everything else that is uniquely South African. It taps into this country’s renowned optimism and resilience that has stood this nation in good stead at every turn. Through it all, we have never lost our spirit to overcome, and we are inviting the world to experience our country and recover from the COVID-19 situation in the same way. We are saying it’s time to ‘Live Again’.”
In challenging travellers to live again, the advertisement captures the spirit of a captivatingly beautiful landscape, dynamic culture and people, vibrant nightlife and exquisite cuisine. Its production also served as a ‘proof of the pudding’ sampling of the country’s tourism products, with over 170 crew staying for various periods in over 1000 rooms across the country.
“This campaign is special to Joe Public United because it has as its core message that South Africa is open is for business, the tourism sector is open for business and we are ready to welcome the world. The campaign resonates with our commitment to the growth of our clients and of our country. It is time for South Africa to reclaim its place in the international tourism space. It is time for our people and our country to shine, while we inspire the world,” says Mpume Ngobese, Co-Managing Director at Joe Public United.
“We are also honoured to have been part of producing South African Tourism’s first ever global audio-visual marketing campaign in five years and look forward to it inspiring travellers to visit South Africa,“ concludes Deyshana.
South Africa is open for business and looks forward to welcoming travellers and to witness the growth and transformation of the tourism sector.
