All the pictures and notes you need to see from last night’s Louis Vuitton Men’s FW24 show

Jan 17, 2024 | News, Fashion

LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S FALL-WINTER 2024
Men’s Collection by Pharrell Williams

PARIS TO VA / The Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection
The Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Collection illuminates the roots of the American Western wardrobe. Travel – the Maison’s core instinct and eternal expander of the mind – takes centre stage in an exploration of the origins of workwear through the savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton. Employing the finest craftsmanship – from precious gems to hand-painting and expert embroidery techniques – the collection shines light on the iconography of American Western dress. The vision includes creative exchanges with artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations across sound, staging and elements of the collection, as well as the American bootmaker Timberland. It is a quest founded in the LVERS community, which is perpetually at the heart of the Maison men’s practice.
 
THE LVERS’ VISION / An artistic ecosystem
From idea to execution, clothing is conceived within an ecosystem of creativity reflected within our most familiar wardrobe staples. Every garment and accessory embodies a cross-pollination of minds and skills. Nurtured by water and sunlight, seeds become roots and turn into flowers. This synthesis is mirrored in the contemporary mechanics of the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme, its ateliers and collaborators where humans of different backgrounds work together on a shared LVERS vision. It is a state of mind founded on warmth, wellbeing and welcome-ness, which echoes the view of a global community connected by an appreciation for the core values of the Maison: discernment, savoir-faire and travel as an eternal source of vitality.

THE FIRST COWBOY / Workwear
Savoir-faire honours the workwear intrinsic to the American Western wardrobe. Denim is iced with pearl-and-sequin floral embroideries, gunmetal-washed and adorned with sunbeam and rain beading, or printed with Western floral motifs. Chaps manifest in denim or fringed leather studded or embroidered with Monogram and florals, while leather jackets and trousers mimic the embossing of saddles. Plaid morphs with Damier in a Buffalo Check interpreted in brushed flannel, tweed, sequins and shearling intarsia across coats, jackets and shirts. Blanket coats and gilets are emblazoned with cowboy Monogram, pyjamas are crafted in cowboy lace,  and a tweed jacket appears in cowboy-infused ‘horsetooth’. Original cowboy paintings are adapted into jacquard tapestry employed in raincoats, dry canvases used in a rope-embroidered jacket, or prints on garments aged as if eroded by the prairie sun.

THE AMERICAN DANDY / Tailoring and shirting
The Louis Vuitton dandy evolves through the American Western tradition of dressing up. Approached through a country lens, suits and shirts are chain-stitched with the cacti, bucrania and bolos of Western imagery. Workwear silhouettes transform into tailoring in vaquero jackets with hand-embroidered metallic cuivre florals, work jackets with multi-colour sunbeam beading, and suits with pinstripes or Damier chequers created through metal-studding or turquoise embellishment. Dungarees – the jewel in the workwear crown – are celebrated in fine tailoring fabric. Western shirts amplify the yokes, rivets and floral embroideries inherent to the genre, while others appear in cowboy Monogram jacquard, cowboy lace, Western prints, or garlanded with soutache embroidery on chambray.

TIMBERLAND / Collaboration
In a collaboration with Timberland, a series of American work boots are interpreted through the creative lens of Louis Vuitton and the savoir-faire of its Italian factories. A classic industrial boot is proposed in wheat-coloured or black waterproof scrivante nubuck lightly embossed with the Maison’s Monogram, also echoed on the back of the tongue. The boot likewise appears in pebble nubuck and super-grained buffalo nubuck versions. The same expression expands into a silhouette fifteen percent larger than the classic. Finally, a highly limited-edition of the design is crafted with eyelets and tongue pendants featuring the LV Monogram in genuine gold, and carried in Monogram canvas and plexiglass shoe trunks. The collaboration features three pull-on boots set on XL soles in wheat or black scrivante nubuck or pebble nubuck with Louis Vuitton bag pullers or brown leather ankle cuffs. A hook-laced work boot is set on an XL sole and adorned with a Monogram ankle cuff and a side zip.

DAKOTA AND LAKOTA / A creative exchange
The collection features collaborations with artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations across accessories and the staging of the show and its soundtrack. Led by the creative director Dee Jay Two Bears of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – whose practice covers design, film, music, dance and activism – the artistic exchange builds on a decade-long relationship between Pharrell Williams and the Dakota and Lakota nations. A Speedy bag, messenger bag and travel tote are embroidered with a Dakota Flower motif symbolising beautiful roots of nature. Three Keepall bags hand-painted with parfleche motifs and imagery informed by the artworks of the bags traditionally used to carry the structures of tipis carry the Topa cross signifying the four winds of the Earth. Charms in the shape of beaded brass tassels are plumed with horse hair.

TRUNKS / Bags
The collection debuts a new heat-moulded handle bag conceived by Pharrell Williams. The Speedy appears in gem nuances and in new forms: as a studded saddle bag along with the Saumur; in Damier Navette Studs along with the Steamer; and in shades of Cowboy Boots Patchwork along with the Pochette Accessoires XL. The Steamer is re-introduced in three sizes including a large-scale 65-cm silhouette. A Damier-infused Buffalo Check Canvas features across silhouettes with cowboy hardware. Bags in Aged Monogram Canvas, Brushed Monogram and faded Denim Damier appear eroded by the prairie sun. The Damoflage pattern evolve in orange and eclipse nuances, and in a bovine Cowmooflage Canvas also interpreted in cow hair. Carved Leather bags adapt the mouldings of saddles. Special editions include book and tool bags, and Speedy and Steamer bags in hand-painted silver Monogram crocodile, ostrich Monogram, and nubuck croc.

FOOTPRINTS / Shoes
Shoes take inspiration from the work boots of the American West. Created alongside the expert Western bootmaker Goodyear in Texas, the LV Texan is an authentic cowboy boot whose stitch and appliqué decorations blend Louis Vuitton’s iconography with that of the American West. The LV Rodeo cowboy shoe materialises as a harnessed lace-up and a cowboy-belt buckle monk shoe. A streamlined round-toe Western boot, the LV Rider appears in croc, python, ostrich, suede and cow hair. The LV Footprint slipper with its paw-embossed sole takes on a new furry manifestation. The materials of the collections are applied to high and low versions of the LV Snow boot and the LV Maxi Trainer. The collection debuts a new technical rubber boot in the Damoflage pattern with a chequered sole.

GEAR / Accessories
Parfleche blankets and Dakota Flower scarves are created with artists and artisans of the Dakota and Lakota nations. Cowboy hats appear in leather with belt-buckle hat bands, Cowboy Boot Patchwork leather or python, straw with braided leather cords and turquoise adornment, and wool with turquoise studding. Leather caps adapt the buckles and stitching of cowboy boots, turquoise-embellished denim caps are eroded as if bleached by the prairie sun, and cowboy boot toe tips grace the visors of cow hair caps. Leather gloves are printed with American Western tattoo motifs, turquoise-studded cow hair gloves nod at dandy dressing, and suede work gloves are decorated with workwear labels.
GEMS / Jewellery
Informed by 19th century parures, the collection’s jewellery proposal is constructed in genuine turquoise. A necklace in turquoise and zircons – with a matching ring and earrings – is echoed in the construction of a cowboy bolo. In turn, bolos transform into necklaces with antique finishes and turquoise cabochons, and also materialise in braided leather. Hand-crafted logos and lasso brooches appear in zircons and enamel. The Louis Vuitton rope chain evolved in new ringlet construction on bracelets set with turquoise, and are also incorporated into pearl necklaces. Saluting the cowboy, rope motifs further feature as engravings on silver rings and in the texture of earrings with turquoise settings. A new fine silver link chain inspired by rope makes its debut in supersized dimension.

CHROMOTHERAPY / Sunglasses
The Millionaires sunglasses first created for Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams and Nigo in 2004 are adapted in three new editions. Proposed in a carbon fibre version, the 3.0 Millionaires are created in a timeless pilot silhouette with colour-tinted lenses created for chromotherapeutic purposes. The limited-edition 3.0 Millionaires Diamond are set with genuine diamonds and crafted in white gold, enhanced by the lightness of carbon fibre. The 1.0 Millionaires appear in a variety of nuances with antique gold or silves lines along the frames. Adorned with turquoise, rivets and studs, leather sunglasses salute the signatures of cowboys. The collection features a number of singular metal-framed sunglasses with frame adornments and turquoise- or sand-coloured double- lenses, inspired by the iconography of the American West.

RON HUSBAND / Filmic prelude
The Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Show opens with a filmic prelude directed by Bafic. Capturing Ron Husband at work, it illuminates the American character animator as he sketches his vision of the first cowboy – a subject central to the collection – and reflects on themes of human relations, cultural impact and the American West. Born in California in 1950, Ron Husband worked for Walt Disney Animation Studios for 38 years and counts characters from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King among his accomplishments. He is considered one of the most influential artists of the genre.

WINTER COUNT / The performers’ wardrobe
The Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 Men’s Show features a performance by the Native Voices of Resistance, a powwow group comprised of singers from Native American nations across North America. Created in collaboration with artists and artisans from the Dakota and Lakota nations – from designs conceived by Dee Jay Two Bears of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – the garments worn by the performers are adorned with modern-day winter count motifs tracing the story of the collaboration and the creation of the collection through the visual language of glyphs.

LOVE / Soundtrack
The soundtrack features four original pieces: The Spirit of Saturday Night Live by the Native Voices of Resistance x Pharrell Williams (composed by Lakota “Hokie” Clairmont and Pharrell Williams); Good People by Mumford & Sons x Pharrell Williams; Shotgun Wedding by Pharrell Williams x Jelly Roll; and Doctor by Pharrell Williams x Miley Cyrus.

Imagery courtesy of LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S FALL-WINTER 2024 © Louis Vuitton – All rights reserved

Press release courtesy of avenue

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Themba Mbuyisa on Why Creating is a Lifelong Act of Learning

Jan 17, 2024 | Interviews, Creatives

Themba Mbuyisa is one of South Africa’s most decorated young photographers – with a decade long career and a variety of accolades and residencies to his name. Though, Themba is the first to tell you that he’s still figuring it out. Figuring out one’s artistic point of view tends to impress upon us that we indeed should have it all understood; before the work even begins. Over the last ten years, Themba has walked between the worlds of highly stylised, editorial works and a personal affinity (or rather, calling) to use his lens for documentarian, archival purposes. This speaks to a commitment of deep learning and trust; that for Themba, he didn’t need to know why he was drawn to image-making. He simply had to create. 

Themba’s accolades include being a Sasol New Signatures 2016 finalist, the ELLE Magazine Style Reporter 2016 award winner, recognised as by Mail and Guardian 200 young South Africans to watch list in 2016, a 3rd place National Award from the World Photography Organisation at the Sony Photography Awards in March 2015 – and participation in the Rural.Scapes – Arts Residency in São Paulo, Brazil, to name a few.  Then, Themba made history as the first African photographer to reach the finals at the 32nd Villa Noailles Fashion and Photography festival in Hyeres, France, in 2017. All throughout this, Themba’s edification as a photographer was underway; with each moment building upon a point of view that led him to redefine the purpose of his work. More on this, later. 

‘young men’ by Themba Mbuyisa.

Mpho Sebeng by Themba Mbuyisa.

Photographed by Themba Mbuyisa.

In 2012, Themba left a degree in BSc Mathematics, explaining that “I found photography through fashion. This was about a decade ago – I was surrounded by people who were into fashion, mostly students. I had just dropped out of Wits after a really difficult second year, so I started hanging out on the streets and connecting with interesting people. My friend, who was a fashion designer, and I went to an exhibition at a photographic school. I remember being so impressed by the energy there; in that moment, I knew I could fit in.” Without any direct professional photographers within his proximity, Themba knew that he had to figure out this pathway with neither guidance nor idols to look up to; though, he was inspired by his childhood memories, saying that “the only reference of photographers that I had were the guys that sat by the mall and used to photograph us as kids, and we’d pay them for the prints – or, those guys that walk around the township with their cameras and they’d come into family events and bring us small copies of the photos. I knew that there was something about photography that connected people and that told stories of people’s lives.”

I used the term ‘calling’ earlier and while we tend to refrain from allowing the merit or depth of someone’s work to be defined by the accolades they receive; it is remarkable that in just two years, the ripple effect of Themba’s work had spun outward – across the world. This is certainly a calling – a kind destiny, articulated by Themba’s curiosity to simply see this intriguing artform through. As Themba notes, “going from a BSc in Mathematics to pursuing photography was an act of bravery, I see that now. All I did was do the work; it sounds simple, but showing up and doing the work is what led to my work being seen by wider audiences here and around the world. I had to trust that this was a pathway to make a living and to be creatively fulfilled, at the same time. I took it a day at a time, a week at a time – and now, it’s been over ten years.” 

Refiloe by Themba Mbuyisa.

Amen Concepts 2022.

For Themba, there was a dichotomy in his artistic development; a pull in two directions that seemed to exist in opposition, with Themba describing that “I had two views for a long time. I saw fashion editorials and campaigns as one thing and then portraiture and documentary story-telling as another thing. That has been my battle, I think. In the beginning stages of my career, I did a lot of self-portraiture which led to a lot of awards and residencies. Locally, this kind of documentarian theme wasn’t financially sustaining, so I balanced it with fashion and lifestyle photography, particularly through my relationship with Elle Magazine. In the beginning, I didn’t do a lot of personal work – rather, it was instant bodies of work that would be published. I think a lot of creatives start this way, and find themselves pursuing longer, developed personal works further down the line.”

One of Themba’s most recent bodies of work, Colours in Soweto, can be seen here and is  a sartorial and architectural symphony – celebrating the iconic neighbourhood of Soweto and African dress sensibilities – by photographer Themba Mbuyisa and stylist Mpume Mdunge.⁠ Themna explains that “Colours in Soweto is a synthesis of this ‘battle’. Its fashion, but with the backdrop of Soweto – it focuses on the Black community in many different ways – the images are trendy and current, but it has the power to spark conversation around history and culture. I see now that the two views can merge to be powerful stories.” I ask Themba how, after ten years, when most people start to feel like ‘veterans’ in their industries; is he able to connect with what more he can do? Themba answers, saying that “I am always learning. Photography in the personal work space deals a lot with research and the ability to reflect on that research; and then, creating something from there. The minute you think that you’ve figured it out, you immediately put yourself in a space where you are going to miss out.” It is only through reflection that Themba has been able to get to this point in which more of his vision has started to reveal itself; “the work that I’ve been doing over the years has been threaded with one thread. I can see that I have been getting better and so now, I’ve taken some time off to step back and see the whole view of what I’ve been working on subconsciously as a larger body of work. I am asking, at the moment, that in these ten years – what have I been creating and asking? How can I go forward sharing this with my community?”

Alkebulan Maxhosa AWSS22 by Themba Mbuyisa.

Themba Mbuyisa Self Portrait Nov 2023.

When asking Themba about his relationship to warmth and colour – two instinct features of his works – he shares a story that blows me away. On the privilege of being born African and pursuing photography in this life, Themba says “I went to a photography festival as a finalist and this moment happened that I will always, always reflect on. This was in 2017 and I went as one of ten finalists. I was the first African photographer to ever be selected. One of the judges was Tim Walker – he was looking at the portfolio I had brought, which was mostly my editorial, fashion work. Though, that wasn’t the work I had initially submitted. I was nervous when I was selected – and thought I had to bring some professional work, rather than the documentarian, personal style that I had submitted for the 32nd Villa Noailles Fashion and Photography Festival. Tim said to me, ‘you have the most beautiful light in Africa. You have the privilege of waking up to the light that falls on the continent, everyday. You should use that and focus on that’. I realised I had made a big mistake, I had brought in studio work – and not the work that I applied with, which used light to tell stories of young men. I understood then that yes, being African is a privilege and my work can reflect that.”

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Louis Vuitton Menswear FW24 Is Tonight

Jan 16, 2024 | News, Fashion

Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams will reveal his first Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024 collection at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris. This is his first showcase for the house for the colder season, since taking the helm following the late, great Virgil Abloh’s passing. 

DATE: Tuesday, 16 January
TIME: 9 PM SAST (8 PM CET)
WHERE: Here

Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024

Courtesy of avenue

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Southern Guild to mark their LA opening with two inaugural exhibitions

Jan 16, 2024 | News, Art

“To exist humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the namers as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection.”  – Paulo Freire 

Southern Guild opens its new gallery in Los Angeles with a dual presentation: Mother Tongues, a group exhibition featuring 25 artists from the African continent, and Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty), a solo show by South African sculptor Zizipho Poswa.

Mother Tongues, a group exhibition

The term ‘mother tongue’ refers not only to the first language of acquisition, but the first with regard to its importance and the speaker’s ability to master its linguistic and communicative aspects. One’s mother tongue is not only how a person positions themselves to the world, but how they position themselves in the world. Like the body, it is a border – a place of contact and confluence, an intersection of negotiations. 

The expansion of Southern Guild into California is not unprecedented. In the late 1960s, a group of artists left South Africa in the wake of the Sharpeville Massacre, mass bannings and the censorship of political parties and cultural workers, eventually establishing a contact point for the interchange of knowledge and meaning between South Africa and California. 

Southern Guilds positions itself at the later trajectory of this artistic migration. Having willed the promises of the future into the now with his cover of The Mamas and Papas hit California Dreaming, it is in Los Angeles where Hugh Masekela, arguably one of the continent’s most renowned cultural exports, establishes a home for Afro sounds as an imprint of Motown Records. Where Letta Mbulu lays a vocal track on Michael Jackson’s Liberian Girl. Where the Roots soundtrack is produced with several South African musicians. It is here where another touchpoint emerges. A point of contact, a border. Porous and primed for the osmosis of different kinds of “mother tongues” and emergent vernaculars. 

With this inaugural exhibition, Southern Guild hopes to open a new chapter of exchange. The show occupies multiple contact zones, moving between visible surfaces and interior states. Taking a multi-generational and transnational lens, it charts the way in which language and pedagogy is channelled into diverse forms of expression. Though the nature of this enquiry requires a singular focus, its sights must be multiple.

Award-winning visual activist Zanele Muholi’s stark portrait Siyikhokonke speaks to this heterogeneity. They position themselves on either end of the lens, both captured and capturer. Participant and image-maker. Black and white, the work presents itself in contrasts and dichotomy but the title – loosely translated as “we are everything” – speaks to the multiplicity of being. Of everything being everywhere, all at once. Poly, not polar. Where Muholi locates themselves in the frame, the singular standing for many, Jody Paulsen’s portraits are many made one. A corporeal collage, his nude portraiture consists of limbs and ligaments in inked fabric and thread, stitched and spliced together creating a vulnerable, intimate personhood. 

Paulsen’s figures present themselves for steady observation, but similar to emerging artist Jozua Gerrard’s masked figures painted in enamel on glass or Justine Mahoney’s collage sculptures, they trouble the act of looking. Here, seeing offers no comfort of context but rather entry points to possibilities of (mis)understanding. This is the lexicon. Fragmented narratives made whole in the mind of the viewer. In Tony Gum’s performative portraits, the body is a continent burdened with stories. 

Manyaku Mashilo’s artistic foundation lies in the historically charged realm of portraiture, yet she considers her paintings to be abstractions. Mashilo’s artistic practice serves as a means of sense- making; her canvases function as liminal spaces where she synthesises elements of her religious upbringing, ancestral heritage, a blend of real and imagined myths, folklore, science fiction, music, and sourced archival photographic images. Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye also works in the “in-between”, re-animating found objects and detritus collected from his trans-Atlantic travels into talismans akin to those that Africans carried for protection on their forced and voluntary journeys across the ocean. By incorporating Yoruba cultural references, he blends the ancestral with the contemporary, rejecting binary distinctions between tradition and modernity, physical and spiritual realms, past and future, and old and new.

For renowned South African ceramicist Andile Dyalvane, the connection to home comes through his medium – clay or “umhlaba” (mother earth) – a life-force that tethers him to the rural village of his birth. As a medium for storytelling, it is also an essential energetic link to his past, present and future.

Zanele Muholi ‘Thatha konke I’ Sheraton Hotel, Brooklyn, 2019.
Jody Paulsen ‘Tomorrow Man’ 2023, photographed by Hayden Phipps, Southern Guild.

 

Oluseye Eminado ‘Reunion’, photographed by Hayden Phipps, Southern Guild.
Andile Dyalvane ‘Nkcokocha’, photographed by Justin Patrick, Southern Guild.

 

Patrick Bongoy’s rubber wall hangings transmute the inert and impermeable material – a harvest heavy with colonial-era exploitation – into tapestries alive with movement and blooming forms. The Congolese artist’s studio operates like a factory in reverse, transforming stockpiles of rubber inner tubes into dense textiles by stripping, cutting, weaving, looping and sewing the material. 

Repetitive labour is also the methodology of two other artists working in sculptural assemblage: Dominique Zinkpè, from Benin, whose primary material comprises hundreds of intricately carved Ibéji dolls, and South African Usha Seejarim, who employs everyday objects such as wooden clothes pegs to explore the value of domestic labour and rituals of maintenance and care. 

Rich Mnisi’s Nwa-Mulamula’s Chaise, modelled on the shape of his great grandmother’s reclining body, takes its fluidity from organic curves, simultaneously revealing and concealing. Working primarily as a story-teller, Mnisi mines the personal and familial in a manner that turns intimacy into praxis and aesthetic. 

Nigerian-British ceramicist Ranti Bam’s terracotta torso vessels abstract and stretch what it means to hold language. Enthralled by etymology, Bam’s creative endeavours are a means of communication. “We express ourselves to encapsulate our experiences in a tangible form, to share,” she reflects. 

This intimacy is echoed in Luyanda Zindela’s painstakingly sketched drawings, largely drawn from a series titled Abangani bami – izithombe zami (my friends – my images). Here, the artist posits the idea of close friendships as metaphorical mark-making processes. Drawn to the traditional, laborious nature of cross-hatching, each juncture of line meeting line is an imprint of tenderness, of self. 

Chaos/complexity theorists argue that the development and learning of language is not a straight-forward process. Rather, like Africa-centred understandings of time, language is a sloshing, not an ordering. In Kamyar Bineshtarigh’s large-scale paintings, his interest in calligraphy and script makes room for abstraction; lines become blots and language is layered in such a way that its stratifications, if they exist, are imperceptible. Words, histories are things that sit on top of each other. 

Languages of the intimate vernacular, or, our mother tongues play an interesting role in how we observe and keep rituals of memory and meaning. Ingrained with its own bureaucracies, rules of engagement honed over time, over place. The personal is political, but the vernacular creates its own politic, veiled in the familial, the traditional, the rituals of the mundane and the magical.

Ranti Bam ‘Fife’ 2023, photographed by Hayden Phipps, Southern Guild.

 

Kamyar Bineshtarigh, ‘Panel Beaters Gate’, 2023, photographed by Hayden Phipps, Southern Guild.
Rich Mnisi, ‘Nwa-Mulamula’s Chaise in Sheepskin’, 2019, photographed by Hayden Phipps, Southern Guild.

Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty), a solo exhibition by Zizipho Poswa

Indyebo yakwaNtu is Poswa’s most ambitious technical undertaking to date, comprising five colossal ceramic and bronze sculptures reaching heights of over 8 feet tall. The clay bodies were produced during her summer-long residency at the Center for Contemporary Ceramics (CCC) at California State University Long Beach, where Poswa had access to the centre’s immense kilns. She worked under the guidance and apprenticeship of renowned American ceramic artist Tony Marsh, co-founder and inaugural director of the CCC, which functions as an influential hub for expanded discourse and advanced creative production in the West Coast ceramics community. Poswa joins the more than 200 artists from 20 countries who have been invited guests at the centre, including Magdalene Odundo, Simone Leigh, Akio Takamori, and Morten Løbner Espersen. 

In this new body of work, Poswa consciously upscales objects of African beautification and ritual. Precious metal jewellery, beadwork, hair combs and pins made by master artisans across the continent are emulated as bronze-cast elements resting atop vast ceramic silos, revering and immortalising the valued positions these amulets hold. 

Translated from Xhosa, “indyebo” literally refers to material riches but more broadly encompasses the cultural, economic, intellectual and spiritual wealth of Africans. “Ntu” is the spirit that defines and gives impetus – an embodiment of the identity, consciousness and life purposes of African beings. Indyebo yakwaNtu is, therefore, a fulfilment of Poswa’s ancestral mission to celebrate both the natural and self-producing beauty of the continent. 

Her approach in this body of work is distinctly Pan-African: “Drawing on Africa’s own mineral wealth, her people have created an immeasurable creative collection from which African men and women adorn themselves, resulting in a language of objects that has come to shape our identity,” Poswa says. 

With their bronze crowns, this series of sculptures stands as a praise song to early African civilisations. Poswa traces the traditional healing customs, polytheistic practices and cosmological knowledge of her amaXhosa culture to its Kemetic heritage. The influence of the Nubian kingdom – rich in gold, ivory and ebony – spread along the Nile from Egypt to Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia and through trade routes, human migration and nomadic cultures to the Swahili civilisation in Mozambique, the Sahara of Northern Africa, and the Southern African region where Poswa finds her home.

Zizipho Poswa photographed by Peyton Fulford and Southern Guild.

 

Zizipho Poswa’s Process, 2023 photographed by Elon Schoenholz and Southern Guild.

In Akan, a large square crest with filigree pattern accentuates the beauty of the lapis lazuli- blue clay body beneath it. Modelled on a bead adornment worn by the Asantehemaa (the queen mother of the Asante people), this piece celebrates the authoritative positions women held in the Akan Kingdom’s dual-gender system of chieftaincy. Asante queen mothers commanded soldiers in war, engaged in politics, occupied chiefs’ stools, played senior advisory roles and resolved disputes in courts. 

In another work, the Lobi people who settled in Burkina Faso are recalled through a majestic bronze reproduction of an ornate brass hairpin design. In a piece titled Fulani, the earrings traditionally worn by the Fulani women in West Africa, northern regions of Central Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, and near the Red Sea coast are emulated through sensuously enveloping swathes of bronze. Historically, these finely forged gold earrings served as a symbol of social standing, with their size indicating societal status or economic wealth.

Elsewhere, a “cisakulo” comb of the Chokwe from what is now Mozambique depicts an Ngungu bird, a symbol of strong leadership. Closer to home, Poswa references the Xhosa “isacholo” bracelet in an arc of four large spheres representing the white beads these are made of. This work “celebrates the heritage of the people who birthed me,” explains Poswa. Understood to hold healing properties, the isacholo is worn mainly by elderly Xhosa women as it is believed to alleviate blood circulation and bone-related ailments. In Xhosa culture, white beads symbolise purity, clarity and mediation. Today, they are still used as spiritual offerings worn by “amagqirha”, divine traditional healers, when communicating with the ancestors. In Poswa’s ceramic totem, beautification extends beyond the decorative to become a tool for spiritual resonance. 

Often passed through generations of women as family heirlooms, jewelry’s importance surpasses its material value to encompass cultural, geographic, sentimental and matrilineal significance. Indyebo yakwaNtu extends Poswa’s artistic practice of homage to crowns worn by African women, which have previously included braided hairstyles and loads of water, firewood and produce carried on the heads of women across the rural Eastern Cape. These monumental works revel in the transformative power of beauty – following on from Poswa’s acclaimed series Umthwalo (isiXhosa word for ‘load’), iLobola (customary dowry) and uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors) – honouring the community of women who raised her, while looking elsewhere to the continent for inspirational offerings. 

“I am inspired by conscious design,” Poswa says, “Indyebo yakwaNtu is therefore an anthropological excavation that weaves together the socio-cultural and spiritual elements that underpin African creation.”

ABOUT ZIZIPHO POSWA 
Zizipho Poswa is a Cape Town-based artist whose large-scale, hand-coiled sculptures are bold declarations of African womanhood. Born in 1979 in the town of Mthatha, Poswa was raised in the nearby village of Holela in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. She graduated from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology with a degree in surface design and in 2005, she and fellow ceramicist Andile Dyalvane opened their studio, Imiso (meaning “tomorrow”) Ceramics. Since 2017, Poswa’s oeuvre for Southern Guild has straddled figuration and abstraction, employing an intuitive vocabulary of form, colour and texture. Her work is a deep invocation of her personal journey and an homage to the spiritual traditions and matriarchal stewardship of her Xhosa culture. She has held three solo exhibitions to date: iLobola (2021) and uBuhle boKhokho (2022), both at Southern Guild in Cape Town, and iiNtsika zeSizwe at Galerie56 in New York. Poswa’s work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the LOEWE Foundation, as well as important private and corporate collections around the world. She has taken part in group exhibitions at Marian Ibrahim (Chicago), Jeffrey Deitch Gallery (Los Angeles), the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (Perth), and other galleries in New York, Paris, Hamburg and Liverpool. 

ABOUT SOUTHERN GUILD 
Established in 2008 by Trevyn and Julian McGowan, Southern Guild represents contemporary artists from Africa and its diaspora. With a focus on Africa’s rich tradition of utilitarian and ritualistic art, the gallery’s programme furthers the continent’s contribution to global art movements. Southern Guild’s artists explore the preservation of culture, spirituality, identity, ancestral knowledge, and ecology within our current landscape. Their work has been acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, LACMA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pérez Art Museum, Mint Museum, Harn Museum, Denver Art Museum, Vitra Museum, Design Museum Gent and National Gallery of Victoria. Since 2018, the gallery has collaborated with BMW South Africa on a year-round programme of meaningful activations that promote artist development and propel their careers. Located in Cape Town, Southern Guild will expand internationally with a 5,000 sqft space opening in Melrose Hill, Los Angeles in February 2024.

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

AW24/25 Fashion Weeks From Around the World to Add to Your Calendar

Jan 15, 2024 | News, Fashion

It’s a new fashion season – specifically, Autumn/Winter 2024/2025 for the northern hemisphere. While we await the dates for fashion show’s on the continent (from Joburg to Lagos), we thought it would be important to share some showcase’s around the world. For your ease of diarising, of course. 

Milan Men’s Fashion Week 
12 – 15 January 
Milano menswear originated in 1971 and is organised by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana – the authoritative body tasked with promoting Italian fashion.
Head here to learn more.  

Paris Men’s Fashion Week
16 – 21 January 
Paris Menswear is a huge moment in fashion’s calendar, as the first showcase to happen in the city each year – across iconic venues like Palais Royal and Grand Palais. 
Head here to learn more. 

Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week
22 – 25 January 
The most prestigious fashion week in terms of craftsmanship and exclusivity – Haute Couture is a nearly impossible showcase to qualify for and is highly regulated by Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Some of the criteria includes; the fashion house must have an atelier in Paris with a minimum of 15 full-time employed technical crafters, strictly made-to-order collections and a limited number of clientele.
Head here to learn more. 

Budapest Fashion Week 
22 – 28 January 
With a strong focus on cultural heritage through a contemporary lens, Budapest Fashion Week seeks to showcase the potentials of Hungarian fashion and design.
Head here to learn more. 

Copenhagen Fashion Week
29 Jan – 2 February
CPHFW is *the* showcase of the Nordic region and has built a reputation as the most sustainability focused fashion week around the world – both ecologically, inclusively and socially.
Head here to learn more (their website is under construction.)

Seoul Fashion Week
1-5 February
As a global and refined platform for ‘K-fashion’ and ‘K-beauty’, Seoul expresses the cutting edge of South Korean sartorial sensibilities – particularly informed by the city’s iconic reputation for street-style, motivated by South Korean youth. 
Head here to learn more. 

Dubai Fashion Week
4 – 8 February
With Dubai as a luxury fashion hub and a key destination for Middle Eastern fashion, Dubai Fashion Week is a powerful space merging east and west.
Head here to learn more.

Berlin Fashion Week
5 – 8 February
Berlin’s fashion week is noted for its focus on technology and innovation – established in 2007 and as a younger fashion week, it is known to strongly support emerging talent.
Hear here to learn more. 

New York Fashion Week
9 – 14 February
With New York as a major, major fashion capital – NYFW has remained one of the ‘Big Four’ along with Milan, Paris and London. 
Head here to learn more. 

Alaia Fall 22, Paris, photographed by Filippo Fior.

Gigi Hadid photographed by Filippo Fior.

 London Fashion Week
16 – 20 February
LFW has always been recognised as a nurturer of talent; with many of the great designers, with many of them having attended London’s array of fashion schools, moving onto work for some of the most prestigious fashion houses to ever exist. This year, the platform is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Head here to learn more. 

Milan Fashion Week
20 – 26 February
Milano womenswear originated in 1958 and is one of the oldest fashion showcases to exist.  Organised by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Milano’s form part of the ‘holy trinity’ along with London and Paris. 
Head here to learn more.  

Paris Fashion Week
26 Feb – 5 March
The grandmother of all fashion week’s as we know it (though surprisingly, not the oldest) – Paris Fashion Week is organised by The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
Head here to learn more. 

Tokyo Fashion Week
11 – 16 March
The true home of avant-garde fashion, Tokyo Fashion Week is referred to as the Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO and is regarded as one of the most important platforms for viewers, buyers and fashion folks with a deep interest in fashion history and technical ability. 
Head here to learn more.

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

‘MOVING FORWARD AND LEVELLING UP’ – WOOLWORTHS PRESENTS #STYLEBYSA WITH BEE DIAMONDHEAD

Jan 15, 2024 | Fashion, Community

South Africa’s favourite multi-faceted retail destination, Woolworths, were among the first brands to build a synergistic relationship with creatives – as wayshowers of style, fashion and trends. In 2014, their series ‘StyleBySA’ forged a legacy of creatives as embodiments of Woolies’ curated essentials – check out the Spring Summer 2017 iteration, here. A decade later, the series returns as #STYLEBYSA, with Woolworths revisiting their focus for their New In AW24 January collection, inviting a selection of South African fashion’s most important voices to curate their own edits.   

In this campaign, we see legendary creative director, stylist and fashion editor Bee Diamondhead articulate her vision for Woolworth’s seasonal suit offering; harnessing, literally, the power suit in an incredibly conceptualised and self-initiated series of images alongside  sleek luxury cars and motorcycles. The suit remains an emblem of aesthetic authority for women, often transcending its sartorial function as a symbol for strength and confidence. As Bee describes, “Woolworths does a great suit – because I’m in my power in their suits, I feel like this badass machine that is so well-oiled and so shiny, and so taken care of. I wanted to bring in these beautiful machines – like the Porsche, the Harley – and draw on their aesthetic beauty and their function, for moving forward, moving up – because every year, we’re levelling up.” This thematic interplay between concept and materiality is a precise example of Bee’s incisive vision for fashion and her ability to execute it; no wonder, then, that Bee remains one of Africa’s most important creative visionaries.

 

Critical to the launch of #STYLEBYSA in 2024, is its roots in encouraging the self-initiated skills of creatives. The ability to self-initiate is a key thread among creatives and artists since time immemorial; hence, it remained a focus for Woolworths for this moment in time in South Africa. As Brigitte Arndt of INHAUS AGENCY says of the campaign, “I think what has been really important for us in re-ideating #STYLEBYSA is to stay true to its essence, which has always been to spotlight/provide a platform for South African trailblazers – historically they were designers like Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu. So, we’ve brought it back with the likes of Bee and Oli as they are both doing epicand disruptive work in their respective fields. We wanted to highlight that and hoped that their creative visions for January would also encapsulate this feeling, which we really feel it has.”

In an array of suits for Woolworths AW24, Bee describes the absolute necessity it is to own a suit, “do yourself a favour and get yourself a classic, black suit. It’s one of the most versatile items you can have in your wardrobe. You can dress it up and dress it down – with simple adjustments, it can be worn totally differently. I am currently doing a lot of travelling and it’s the one thing that has been in my suitcase, consistently.” For the linen suit, which is trans-seasonal and can be worn across the the colder and months, Bee explains what caught her eye, “a lot of people don’t know this about me but I’m quite short – so, the pinstripe detail on the linen suit is great, because a pinstripe can elongate me and make me look a bit taller.” 

Then, in a 90s revival of denim as a set (but made chic and clean by Woolworths), Bee advocates for denim as one of the most interesting fabrications, saying that “denim is one of the oldest and most durable fabrics that can live forever in your wardrobe, especially when it’s treated correctly. I love that denim ages so beautifully too – I love the idea of denim growing and ageing with me. I love that I styled the denim suit as a ‘Canadian tuxedo’ for the campaign, which is such a statement, but it can be remixed any way that I want, too.” 

Embracing the essence of ‘newness,’ this campaign channels a dynamic pursuit of experiences and ideas, envisioning 2024 as a year abundant in innovation and freshness. Woolworth’s unwavering commitment to constant reinvention and evolution takes centre stage; as a leading retail destination in South Africa and as space that has continually archived and developed creatives in the last two decades. Led into an era of freshness by Bee Diamonhead; consider this drop as a short lesson in style by one of South Africa’s greatest sartorial minds. 

SHOP BEE’S #STYLEBYSA EDIT HERE

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

NTS X DIESEL TRACKS SA PRESENTS ARYU JASSIKA

Jan 12, 2024 | News, Music

Discover the incomprehensible sounds hidden in the shadows of Cape Town, South Africa, with Aryu Jassika. A self-taught DJ and producer who believes that we can all create, produce, mix, and master music in all its forms. His sound is like nothing you will ever experience again; defined as the approximations of brooding Gqom and Techno strung through a continuum of intergenerational trauma. After years of cutting his teeth in the dance music scene, Aryu co-founded SWAK and began hosting and throwing parties from London to Berlin, with stacked lineups involving an assortment of artists hailing from all genres and corners of the globe. SWAK has always been a platform to showcase artists that truly represent the depth of the creative community while simultaneously providing a space for new and rising talent.

Aryu Jassika achieves musical depth by offering and nurturing spaces where everything can co-exist in electro while breaking down South African sounds and rebuilding them into music that has listeners asking, “What planet is this from?”

Listen to Aryu Jassika’s mix HERE

MORE ABOUT NTS X DIESEL TRACKS ARRIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA
The exploration of music and club culture continues as NTS x Diesel TRACKS focuses on South Africa to showcase local emerging DJs. Rooted in the connectivity of music and nightlife, TRACKS brings together a mix of progressive musical talent from around the globe to promote the universal language of club culture, connection, and party, and now the spotlight is on South Africa to showcase local emerging DJs that fly the flag for SA’s distinctive music scene and nightlife culture. Every last Friday of the month, NTS x Diesel TRACKS SA will be championing local upcoming talents and allowing listeners to discover new sounds spanning GQOM, House, Amapiano, Techno, Club, Experimental, and Drum & Bass, just to name a few.

ABOUT DIESEL
Diesel is an innovative international lifestyle company, founded by Renzo Rosso in 1978. Rooted in denim mastery and evolved into being a leader in premium fashion, Diesel is now a true alternative to the established luxury market. The brand’s collections include apparel, accessories and a wide range of lifestyle collaborations: from fragrances, watches and jewelry, to interior design and real estate projects with Diesel Living. Discovering, supporting, and fostering creativity is part of Diesel DNA and of its parenting company OTB, the international fashion and luxury group powering a variety of global iconic brands and companies. 

ABOUT NTS RADIO
NTS is a global music platform and radio station, broadcasting from over fifty cities every month. It started as a DIY passion project in Hackney in 2011, with the aim of creating an alternative to stagnant mainstream radio. Since then, NTS has expanded with permanent studios in Los Angeles, Manchester, and Shanghai. The platform has over 600 resident hosts, composed of a mix of musicians, DJs, artists, and everything in between. Consistently championing the underground scene and a leading voice in alternative culture, over half the music played on NTS is available on Spotify or Apple Music. With a growing global audience of 2.8 million monthly listeners, NTS is broadcasting the best in underground music on a mass scale – completely free of charge and without on-air advertising.

Press release courtesy of Diesel

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

‘Eclectic Grandpa, Electric Blue and Bows Galore’ – Ten of the Internet’s Fashion Trend Predictions for 2024

Jan 11, 2024 | Lifestyle, Fashion

Long gone are the decades that are dedicated to specific trends; what punk was for the 1970s or the counter-cultural hippies were to1960s, for example. Today, with the advent of the internet and particularly with the acceleration of social media – trend cycles are fleeting, somewhat democratic and most of all, digitally-determined. Data analytics and algorithms shape consumer behaviour while cultural shifts are influenced by movements and discussions which largely take place in cyberspace. Yet, trends always (and arguably, most primarily) exist IRL, too. The internet is our interconnected mothership of information; from where we draw who we intend to be in the real world. 

With the rapid dissemination of visual content across platforms like Pinterest and social commentary on Tik Tok, trend forecasting appears less as an insidious and secretive tool by brands and corporations; rather, we as consumers are engaged with this process. I think of trend forecasters like Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) who is a trend forecasting veteran in New York, whose social media presence feels like hanging out with a bestie that has inside knowledge.

So, the verdict is in – here are ten of the most discussed trends set to shape 2024; particularly for fashion, but also – for vibes (mob wife energy, anyone?)

Indie Sleaze is Staying

Predicted by trend-analyst Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) two years ago, Indie Sleaze is the nostalgic revival for the late 2000s and early 2010s; Tumblr is kicking off, nostalgia for 90s grunge is bubbling beneath the cultural surface and life is far less curated than by today’s standards. Coming to fruition as per Mandy’s prediction, it appears we are only scratching the surface of this revival. With a vagueness to it, Indie Sleaze captures a kind of disparate time – its pre-internet even though the internet existed – its youth culture, unconstrained and rebellious, in a new millenia. It’s joyful and nihilistic; with TV shows like Skins encouraging a generation of ‘wasted youth’ edginess. 

Think Kate Moss at Glastonbury circa 2005, wearing muddy Hunter boots, slightly dishevelled and on the arm of a waif thin musician in a fedora (Pete Doherty, heroin’s sweaty poster-child). It’s Alexa Chung smoking a cigarette while wearing mary-janes and a babydoll dress (a reference to 90’s Mother, Courtney Love). It’s the ‘hipster’ aesthetic before the moustaches and clear Ray-ban’s; though these could certainly be up for grabs this year. As mentioned by Anya of the account @fashunadict, the 2010s is going to do for the rest of the 2020s what the y2k revival did for the first few years of this decade.

The Cheetah and Leopard Renaissance as Neutral Prints

When Wales Bonner dropped her latest Samba iteration with adidas – pony fur in leopard print – the rumours were confirmed. Leopard and cheetah print are back, and the girlies can rest, knowing the return of the busiest ‘neutral print’ that we  have ever known. Nothing whispers more of bold glamour than the cat print; specifically, Nature’s chicest, leopard and cheetah. Mother Nature not only gives the richest print; she also makes it the most flexible, meaning that there’s little a cat print doesn’t go with.

Electric Blue to Take Crimson’s Crown

In December, TikTok creator Katie Romero (@thekatieromero) took us through Pinterest’s annual trend forecasting event in New York. As a user-generated visual library, Pinterest is especially unique in its role to forecast, archive and analyse trends; in fact, it’s one of the most important assets in looking at trends. Especially as their digital moodboards are curated and ‘pinned’ by real people, in real time. So, Katie showcased that the team at Pinterest have detected increased searches for a variety of things; this one in particular, is the replacement of ‘a pop of red’ with electric blue. Or, as I say, the colour of Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech home, Fondation Jardin Majorelle.

Eclectic Grandpa is the new Preppy

Another prediction by Pinterest – Eclectic Grandpa is a more vintage, authentic expression of ‘preppiness’. Its loafers and boxer shorts, cosy and strange knits – its being a grandpa with great taste (especially in mid-century furniture, novels and gardening) and enjoying life with comfort. Personally, I am here for it – because it recycles the loafer, sambas and boxer short phenomena, extending the life span across a variety of key pieces that many of us might have already invested in. What’s in a name? The potential to be conscious consumers. 

Coquette’s Bow Mania Continues

Coquette is as much a socio-psychological phenomena as it is a fashion one (how distinct the two are from is a topic for another day) and refers to a specific manifestation of ideas around girlhood, womanhood – femininity – and its expression through fashion. At first glance, coquette appears as a naive attempt for child-like innocence; pastels, ruffles and delicate things –  deeper, though, seems to be subversion of femininity and the doll-like expectations that women have faced since time immemorial. Aesthetically, its big, satin bows – small velvet ones – basically, the Sandy Liang effect. Its exaggerated femininity – yet by no means traditional. Its Lana Del Rey musings for a time one never actually existed in; for me, I think firstly of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, one of the greatest films ever made and a portrait of girlhood as tragic, tender and inarticulable. Trend forecasters predict that the influx of bows stemming from Coquette will remain – long after our attentiveness toward girlhood wanes. 

Clean Girl is out, Mob Wife is in

 Get ready to channel your inner Carmela Soprano; because clean girl is out and ‘mob wife’ is in. The clean girl aesthetic, embodied by celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, are markers of a woman well taken care of; its sleek, gelled buns, flawless skin, minimal accessories and clean, tailored pieces. The clean girl aesthetic is the ‘investment banker’ energy of fashion; and mob wife, set to sweep 2024, is the gangster energy. Take ‘being well taken care of’ and imagine yourself dressing like the man (woman, or you) in your life would die by the sword to get whatever you wanted? Yes, mob wife aesthetic is THAT bold and THAT glamorous; it’s the faux furs, the stacked jewellery, the bold lip colour – its opulence and richness as an antidote to the restrained ‘quiet luxury’ trend of 2022 and 2023. It’s Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface – sexy as hell and unapologetic as can be.

Adriana wearing the iconic tiger-print onesie in ‘The Sopranos’. Courtesy of Alamy.

‘Mob Wife Energy’ Opulence, by Marlen_Stahlhuth, courtesy of DTS.

Fur is Back, Vintage or Faux

The return of fur is both a ‘mob wife’ and ‘indie sleaze’ phenomena; and it’s a contentious one, too. Supposed to be a thing of the past, it seems fur is back – though, only faux or vintage furs. I had a bunch of fur coats in the early 2010s (there used to be a great place to thrift fur in Salt River) and perhaps, I am pinching myself for giving them away with reckless abandon. I am not here to spark an ethical debate on this trend; simply to communicate that, it seems can’t shake our penchant for the fabric itself. 

Golden Eyes and Glitter

What chrome was to 2022 and 2023, it appears gold will be to 2024; think glitter eyes make, in shades of amber and gold. Think the warmth and light cascading across this year, reflected in our make-up; we love the switch up of our Mother minerals, silver and gold – mix and match, perhaps?

Dainty Shoes Supercede Chunkiness

Ballet flats are here to stay, along with kitten heels and the hybrid sneaker-sports-pump; basically, forget anything chunky ever existed and make sure the platform you have is MINIMAL – dainty shoes are in, chunky heavy shoes are *out*. Tying into coquette, indie sleaze and with slivers of y2k revival; when shoe shopping, think sharp, clean and snatched silhouettes; and go wild on colours, materials and details.  

Fashion’s Quality Crisis will Be Irrefutable

Less fun yet very important;  trend-forecaster Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) has been discussing the inescapable truth that we are facing, with the rapid loss of quality in fashion and how we, as consumers, have traded longevity for the fast-fashion, devastating practices of corporations. The clothes we buy are cheaper but they also fit terribly, prone to falling apart (even when well taken care of) and the material blends are becoming more and more dodgy. This could mean that any push towards thrifting, upcycling and DIYing (learn to sew, I promise it’s the best) will only increase; as consumers decide to take matters into their own hands as a response to an overall dissatisfaction with their usual retail platforms.

Written by: Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Thebe Magugu injects Sotho sartorial sensibilities with a limited edition Canada Goose collaboration

Jan 10, 2024 | News, Fashion

Thebe Magugu unveils the Limited Edition Mystique Parka, a collaborative masterpiece adorned with a mesmerising print inspired by the Basotho Blanket from Lesotho. Enhanced with a luxurious Merino wool Heirloom Shawl Hood Trim, it becomes a beautiful and unique addition to the Mystique Parka.

“I am thrilled to present the Heirloom Mystique Parka in collaboration with Canada Goose. I wanted to design it as an homage to my Sotho heritage and upbringing from times spent in Mafeteng (Lesotho), which has influenced so much of my work as a fashion designer. The Heirloom Mystique Parka – combining the heritage explored by the Thebe Magugu brand and the cutting-edge protective outerwear from Canada Goose. The jacket is made from performance satin, in two stylish colour options of Azure Blue & Messina Black. Alongside various sustainable fabrics, the design features a  black down-filled scarf-inspired hood trim. In addition, the parka is enhanced with a luxurious Merino wool Heirloom Shawl Hood Trim, offering maximum protection in harsh environments. Use the interior backpack straps to comfortably carry it over your shoulders when temperatures rise” says Thebe on this release.

Thebe Magugu x Cananda Goose ‘Heirloom Mystique Parka’ in Azure Blue.

Thebe Magugu wears the Heirloom Mystique Parka in Messina Black, image courtesy of the brand.

Shop the Thebe Magugu x Canada Goose Heirloom Mystique Parka online HERE or at the below Canada Goose stores:

North America – Toronto (Yorkdale) and NYC (5th Ave)
Europe – London, Paris, Milan, Manchester, Edinburgh and Amsterdam
China Mainland – Beijing Santilium, Beijing SKP, Shanghai IFC and Shanghai IAPM
APAC – Hong Kong (Gateway), Japan (Ginza)

Press release courtesy of Thebe Magugu

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Winners at the 81st Golden Globe Awards

Jan 9, 2024 | News

On Sunday 7th January 2024, the 81st Golden Globe Awards took place to honour achievements in both television and motion picture production. The awards are unique in that they celebrate excellence in both mediums of television and film; with a focus recognizing exceptional performances, directing, writing, and production. 

Reflecting on the releases of 2023, it was expected that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer would be particularly favoured; the three-hour motion picture won five awards in total, with our favourite Irish king Cillian Murphy cinching best actor for his portrayal of the ‘father of the atom bomb’, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Then, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie also took home some awards; for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Best Original Song, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas. 

This year, history was made for indigenous representation; as Lily Gladstone became the first Native American woman and two-spirit (gender non-conforming) actor to win Best Actress in a motion picture; for their portrayal in Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon; telling the story of the murders of the Osage people in Oklahoma and the intersecting formation of the FBI. Lily opened (who uses her/they pronouns) her speech in Siksiká, the language of the Blackfeet nation they belong to – a profound moment in a landscape that has been unable to prioritise Native American storytelling in previous years.

Lily Gladstone accepting their award, courtesy of @cbstv IG

Margot Robbie photographed by Virisa Yong, courtesy of @goldenglobes IG
Timothée Chalamet photographed by Benjamin Askinas, courtesy of @goldenglobes IG

Jeremy Allen White, courtesy of @goldenglobe IG
Ayo Edebiri photographed by Benjamin Askinas, courtesy of @goldenglobes IG

As for television series, best believe that acclaimed financial family-drama ‘Succession’ received recognition following the premier of its final episode in May 2023. Other notable wins include ‘Beef’ – with the dark-comedy, limited series being the first show made by and starring Asian Americans to win, with Ali Wong and Steve Yeun winning respectively. Lastly, new kids on the block ‘The Bear’ also swept the show, with Ayo Edebiri winning Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy and Jeremy Allen White winning Best Actor in the same category. 

The dual focus of the Golden Globe’s reflects the evolving landscape of entertainment, as the television series format has advanced in the last two decades to artistically compete at the level of film. More than most other awards, the Golden Globes is said to influence public opinion and shape the trajectory of the entertainment industry.

Winners List: 

Best Motion Picture, Drama
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures) (WINNER)

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)

Best Director, Motion Picture
Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
“Anatomy of a Fall” — Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama 
Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Emma Stone – “Poor Things” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers” (WINNER)

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture 
Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture 
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers” (WINNER)

Best Television Series, Drama 
“Succession” (HBO) (WINNER)

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy 
“The Bear” (FX) (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama 
Kieran Culkin — “Succession” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama 
Sarah Snook — “Succession” (WINNER)

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy 
Ayo Edebiri — “The Bear” (WINNER)

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy 
Jeremy Allen White — “The Bear” (WINNER)

Best Supporting Actor, Television
Matthew Macfadyen — “Succession” (WINNER)

Best Supporting Actress, Television 
Elizabeth Debicki — “The Crown” (WINNER)

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television 
“Beef” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television 

Steven Yeun — “Beef” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television 
Ali Wong — “Beef” (WINNER)

Best Original Score, Motion Picture 
Ludwig Göransson — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Best Picture, Non-English Language 
“Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) — France (WINNER)

Best Original Song, Motion Picture 
“Barbie” — “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas (WINNER)

Best Motion Picture, Animated 
“The Boy and the Heron” (GKids) (WINNER)

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy or Television
Ricky Gervais — “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon” (WINNER)

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
“Barbie” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za