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Thursday, October 22, 2015

#Represent698 : What Ricky Rick, Nicci St Bruce and Nonku Phiri Have In Common...

 
 
Let's just start this post off by stating explicitly that I am NOT a sneaker-head and am in no way attempting to misrepresent myself as such, HOWEVER, I AM a girl who likes nice design, comfortable shoes and catchy marketing campaigns (I really do like catchy marketing campaigns).  When I spotted this poster a week or 2 ago at one of the major sports stores I was immediately filled with a mix of genuine curiousity and heartfelt pride, you know kind of how we all felt when we heard Trevor was going to be hosting The Daily Show... there were some who didn't even know what TDS was but were still super excited for him that he had "made it".  I am not trying to name drop (I know, I'm still doing it in the process) but I've known 'Ricky Rick' for a while now and it's exciting to see how his career has catapulted over the years to this point where I now find myself walking past a giant poster of an international sneaker brand campaign and "whoop, there he is!".  On a broader scale, it also just generally excites me when international brands demonstrate support for local artists/ creatives or influencers and give them the credit (and hopefully the paycheck) they deserve.
 
So long story short, after seeing the poster I contacted PUMA's PR team to find out more about the campaign and what it was about and found out that Represent698 is not just about Ricky and is actually a dynamic mix of interviews, video, imagery and social media activity, capturing moments in a couple of local creatives' lives (like: Jack Parow, Nonku Phiri, Das Kapital, Rolo Rozay) as they explore what it means to "represent"... while wearing PUMA’s iconic Trinomic R698 of course (which is pretty nice too!)
 
 
 
Anyway, I've since been invited to the launch (kinda) of this campaign which takes place on the 13 November at Bassline in the form of an exclusive concert featuring some of these artists on the line-up.  I'm very excited and fully intend to be front and centre! I'm also going to be giving away 5 double tickets to the event on my Twitter and Instagram Page over the next couple of days! All you have to do is @ me & use the hashtag #Represent698 to win
 
Oh, one more thing... there's a series of short videos out too featuring all of these artists - here's one
below:
 
 
 xx
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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

I like GIRLS... and they like me...

Almost 3 years ago I started a company with some good lady friends of mine called The Other Girls . The vision behind this all-female creative collaborative was to support unity and growth amongst fellow young women by demonstrating, through our company, that when girls join together they can do some pretty cool sh*t (to put it crudely). Our first project was The WKND Sociala monthly brunch and day party movement that we have spent the last 3 years growing into a well-known feature on the JHB social scene and now, 3 years later, we are putting on our first The Other Girls event (think of it as a soft launch of sorts). This event comes right at the end of Women's Month and is a celebration of all the dynamic, beautiful, intelligent and stylish women we've had the pleasure of meeting through our involvement in The WKND Social (and is therefore ladies-only).  We've collaborated with 32 Clothing and each of us (my partners and I) will be curating a rail of clothing that is representative of our personal style for sale at the pop up store at the event.  There will also be a nail bar / pamper station from Candi & Co. and my absolute favourite; an inner city brunch bike ride which the lads from Fixin Diaries have kindly organised for us.   Anyhoo... 32 Clothing also gifted us some threads so we can also look nice on Sunday.  This is what I'll be wearing (below)... as you can see, I'm pretty amped about my look! If you're in JHB on Sunday 30th August and you are a gurrrrllll get yourself tickets here and pop in! See you there:-) 



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Tracee Ellis Ross Inspires Greatness Whilst Dancing in a Cozzie!

Wow! What a week! Currently, I'm working on 2 events that are happening a week apart, building a consulting company from scratch and dealing with a giant loser complex after having my beloved (and uninsured) iPhone 6 removed from my possession this weekend (all donations towards The Phone Fund are welcome).  A couple days ago, at the precise moment when I concluded that there was no joy left in this world I stumbled upon this little sparkle of brilliance and was pleasantly reminded that I am often wrong, and in fact, the world is overflowing with joy, I just need to look a little closer.  It is also full of amazing, dynamic, smart and unconventional women like Tracee Ellis Ross, who I adore for so many reasons that I cannot even begin to list in this post (I'll plan one especially for her).  Anyway, this video is a re-make of and tribute to her mother Diana Ross' iconic 1981 "Work That Body" video.   I love what she says about what inspired her to re-make the video -

"I was watching and thinking: why does watching this woman dancing around in barely any clothes with her tush to the camera make me feel joyful and empowered when the same kind of image in most music videos today doesn’t give me that feeling? .... And then it hit me: My mom felt whole and connected …and in her body in this video. I have spoken before about encouraging women to shift our gaze from how we are seen to how we are seeing and, more important, feeling. And I saw a woman feeling joyful in herself as a whole being; she didn’t seem to be presenting her ass or saying look at all the ways I can make myself look appealing to YOU. She seems to be saying, “this is ME feeling good and I am strong and sexy and joyful in ME”!

This really resonates with me as a girl who has always felt just a little bit uncomfortable in my body (doubt I'm alone here). For the first time in my life as the big 3-0 waves encouragingly from the wings, I feel a very strange connection to my body; an acceptance, understanding and appreciation for the skin I was born in as well the limitations and capabilities of my physique.  It's still nowhere near my definition of "perfect", and I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will probably never acquire the Instagram bikini-fame I so desperately covet (lol) but, it is what it is and I love it and although I'm not quite ready to dance around on tape in a high leg one-piece, I salute Diana and Tracee Ellis Ross for moments like this!

And now for the video:) [p.s. make sure you watch it til the end... ]





*Full piece available on : http://www.lovebscott.com/news/must-watch-tracee-ellis-ross-recreates-mother-diana-ross-iconic-work-that-body-workout-video
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Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Solange serves up a double scoop of "cool" once again!










There is nothing not to love about this new Solange x PUMA collaboration.  The project is described as "A PUMA and Saint Heron collaboration that celebrates women who innovate and redefine roles in varied walks of life".................. um... HI! ...*swoon*.  The description alone had me searching deep within myself questioning whether I could justifiably be described as such a woman and doing a mental stock take of all the innovative and redefining things I have done in my various lives.  (If you care to know, the conclusion was 'yes, but there is still so much more that could be done'). The editorial was art directed by Solange who also conducted video interviews with the 14 featured women from different professional and cultural backgrounds ranging from DJs, designers, poets, artists, models, clinical research coordinators etc.  I even like the name of the collaboration "word to the woman"... sigh... so easy, so relevant, so great. Ok I'm gushing a little now but given that I am just a lowly blogger and not an actual journalist I am not actually under any obligation to be objective *cue evil laugh*.  Cannot wait to get my hands on a pair of these beauties!

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Friday, July 31, 2015

Elle Magazine - August 2015 - "The Africa Issue"



Super excited and honoured to be featured in this month's Elle Magazine alongside some of my favourite creatives and influencers.  What is a tad curious is that the issue was named, "The Africa Issue".  The piece that I have been featured in specifically is called "The New Fashion Influencers" (lol!) but we are not going to discuss that right now and rather skip straight to the topic of the so-called "Africa Issue". 
On the surface, I can understand why some editor somewhere would have thought pulling together an issue solely dedicated to African stories/ artists/ fashion/ music etc would be a great idea given how "topical" Africa is right now in creative circles but, what is disturbing is how an African issue in Africa is still considered the "new new" or "the other".  Why do we need to call out that it is "The Africa Issue"? Surely by sheer virtue of being a magazine in Africa it should  be implied? Social media has been abuzz with confusion as people have rightly been questioning, "if this is the Africa Issue, what were all the others?".  This is by no means an indictment on the Elle Magazine SA editorial team (which has really come along way in terms of transformation since some of my earlier shoots) - but rather a real live example of how everyday we need to guard against reverse cultural assimilation and how our language and descriptions of ourselves further propagate the myth of Euro-supremacy.  We are not the "other", particularly on our own continent and it's about time that the local and international media becomes aware of this. 

The next curious thing about The Africa Issue was the stylist/ fashion editor's choice to not represent the cover girl, Pearl Thusi, in a manner that even slightly eluded to Africa.  She is wearing all white (Calvin Klein, TopShop & LV), has had her hair straightened and in fact, looks less African than I have EVER seen her look.  The fashion editorial is even more bizarre - not a single African designer's clothing was used and it seems to intentionally be the most Eurocentic shoot of all time.  It is styled well (not life changing but well) and Pearl looks radiant and strikingly beautiful as usual but this particular cover and fashion editorial is misplaced and might have been better suited for "The Europe Issue".  
It's not all bad news and cultural faux pas' though, all in all, there are some great articles in this issue and you should definitely get it, not just because I'm in it (ok, maybe a little bit) but because there is a lot to learn and love about African design and creativity and it's great to find it in one place.





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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Monaa

I can't wait for Summer again so I can have a good reason to spend lots of money on an expensive foot spa treatment and slip into a pair of these 'Monaa' sandals.  I discovered this brand whilst working for KISUA and because I am a firm believer in judging a book by its cover, was instantly swayed by the striking imagery.  Once the samples arrived it got even better... the shoes are so well made; with genuine leather soles and quaint little details like pom-poms (don't know the grown up word for that) and tassles etc. It warms my heart even more to know that 'Monaa' is the brainchild of two Ghanaian sisters - Nana & Afua Debanka who after traveling the world, sought to create a footwear brand that would fuse inspiration from their Ashanti heritage with their "transcontinental sensibility".  If you're currently "chasing summer" get yourself a pair - they're available now on kisua.com . 







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