What is ‘De-Influencing’ anyway?

Mar 30, 2023 | Navigating Reality, Lifestyle

I want to try a little experiment; something that will illustrate a very pressing point without me even having to put it so plainly on a page. Open up a new tab on your phone or browser and navigate your way to your most used social media platform. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram or even a fossilised Facebook – then, I want you to scroll down and see how long it takes for a post to pop up where an individual has an affiliate link in the comments, or, they are promoting some product in the attempt of trying to “sell” you something. I’m guessing it didn’t take very long? So, what is the point I’m trying to make here? Well, simply put, whether we like it or not and whether we’re conscious of it or not, we are undoubtedly living at the height of the influencer era.

I think it’s important to distinguish here what the differences are between advertising, influencer marketing strategies and influence as a whole separate term. I’m not talking about mega advertising and endorsement deals signed by celebrities, sports stars or even reality television stars. It’s not about A-listers, B-listers or even C-listers. It’s not George Clooney for Nespresso or the ridiculous cash thrown at Super Bowl ads, it’s not even influencers with tons of followers, but rather, well, all of us. See, in a modern social media landscape where virality is at least a slight possibility on any random post we make, we become the whole market. We as individuals can have immense influence without necessarily being influencers. We can not only influence the spending, buying and sometimes behavioural habits of those around us but also consume content that has the same effect on us. God, how meta.

This trend is something marketing companies have noticed and are actively using, creating the illusion that we, as consumers, are now in a more powerful position than ever. We seek out more “authentic” and “independent” content that we amusingly trust more than content produced by the corporations themselves. It seems all we need in terms of transparency here is a little #ad added right at the end of a post. Let’s not kid ourselves, regardless of the kind of strategy, paid media, advertising, or influencer marketing, the end goal is essentially the same: buy more shit you probably don’t need. 

This more “authentic” kind of strategy even reads like some inside joke on Marketing agencies’ websites, almost like they cannot believe how easy and cheap it can be to reach an absolutely massive audience. For example, one company’s information reads like this, “short, easy-to-digest clips have proven highly shareable and can be created with minimal effort by anyone with a smartphone camera and some editing software (which you can download for free).

With the rise of influencer marketing and social media influencers becoming more prolific than ever, brands are looking for new ways to reach audiences through user-generated content (UGC). UGC is any content consumers create instead of professional talent or paid advertising dollars—proliferating! More than 60% of people say they would rather watch authentic video content created by individuals than traditional brand ads.” 

We’re all being influenced all the time by the sheer amount of media we consume. Whether it is the evil megacorp or the holistic guru on TikTok pushing Ashwagandha as some miracle cure, the Kardashians or that trust fund bombshell showing you their Shein haul. Whether it’s the beauty influencer that vowed that these products would clear your acne or the cooking profiles that make you think that cooking without an air fryer would be nothing short of archaic, it’s really all one and the same; and the end-goal that I mentioned, remains.  And here, I’m generally only referring to buying and spending habits, but it only takes a look at doccies like The Great Hack or The Social Dilemma to see how far and how nefariously the influence of the algorithm could be stretched.

DTS, Balance by Chris Abatzis.
DTS, Our Summer by Daniel Farò.

So with the sheer amount of user and corporate-generated content present, what are we even meant to do?  Enter de-influencing. The trend in which we are told that we don’t need that expensive skincare product, that ridiculous on-the-go fruit-blender or those new pair of sneakers that seemed to pop up on every single video out of nowhere one day. Now in a world saturated with influencers and the constant barrage of paid-for (at least in part, content), it was only a matter of time before a phenomenon like de-influencing arose. Samatha Colliers even goes as far as to distinguish between different kinds of de-influencing. She lists five basic approaches – Buy less, Buy better, Buy cheaper, Don’t buy this and Debunking the hype. This may be good, and I think in parts, de-influencing can be beneficial, particularly amid a cost of living crisis, as we recently discussed. But don’t get it twisted either, de-influencing is a huge trend. In February, The Guardian stated that the hashtag alone had more than 159.6m views and that, according to Jago Sherman, head of strategy at the social media marketing agency Goat, the trend really fed off our disdain for being told we need this or that when basic needs have become increasingly unaffordable. “We’ve reached a point of critical mass when it comes to consumerism,” he said. “People are kind of fed up with going on social media and being told: ‘You need this and this’, especially with the cost of living.”

However, I want us all to take this trend with a massive pinch of salt. As Colliers, amongst others, mentions, “The trend may alarm businesses investing in influencer marketing, but it’s not that dramatic. De-influencing is not the end of influencers. It’s more of a rebrand. De-influencers still drive purchase decisions. When they recommend against buying a product, influencers often promote alternatives as more effective or a better value.”

The irony is that it’s not a trend to criticise consumerism, but rather a trend that tries to shape and frame our consumerist habits in a slightly different way that makes us feel less guilty – with “You don’t need Skims, but here is some alternative shapewear that you most certainly do, be sure to follow the link in my bio.” being the kind of rhetoric one can find under the #de-influencing hashtag.

DTS, NOWSTALGIA by Debora Spanhol.

In a material world in which our needs and desires are driven by external objects, we will probably never get to a place where we truly only purchase exactly what we need. I am another cog in this consumerist machine ordering imported Korean skincare products off Takealot in the hope that my acne will finally go away, even though it probably won’t. Like all of us, a bit of retail therapy shoots a burst of short-lived serotonin through my skull and leaves me with shit I don’t need and will most likely throw away with my next spring clean. 

So maybe de-influencing is just another marketing scheme, but I don’t know if I necessarily blame creators for securing the bag. Maybe there’s a question of ethics to be raised here, but who are we kidding? The world of social media never has and never will be some ethical utopia. With content and influencer culture growing ever more ingrained into our everyday lives, I would much rather see someone showing me some cheaper or more ethically produced versions of a product than see another video of a military e-girl trying to get Gen-z to join the army or spreading propaganda (and yes this is somehow a real thing).

Written by: Casey Delport

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

Alexander Alien on building his digital and musical ‘off-world’ visions

Mar 29, 2023 | Interviews, Creatives

The term ‘multi-hyphenate’ can feel like a nondescript buzz word, thrown around to evoke a layer of complexity to a person’s ability. Yet, when searching for an adjective rich or functional enough to introduce Alexander Alien, suddenly the term took shape in its rightful place – Alexander Alien, formerly known as Gourmet Spaghetti Boy, is a multi-hyphenate in the truest sense of the word. As an art director and musician specialising in sonic and visual languaging, Alex’s work fosters an emphasis on how the auditory art informs the creation and visibility of world-building, and as one of the foremost alumni of the Cape Town to Berlin pathway, he has carved out beautiful successes working across varying industries, all the while introducing himself as an artist unconstrained by genre or technique. In his first iteration as Gourmet (Spaghetti Boy), the wave forms lent by a mastery over synths run as threads across his discography, and since the early 2010s, a Gourmet video proved to be one of the preeminent examples of experimental-videography-meets-performance-art, forming the underground, electrico-indie scene that has come to define independent music in Cape Town and Berlin. Now, in the last few months, a change to his moniker (something he had felt he needed to do for a long time) was plucked from a dream he had, and signifies a new chapter for the artist. 

“I think the starting point for me was 1991, a label that I ran with two other people, for about 3 or 4 years. We didn’t have any money, and we didn’t really know what we were doing, but we had huge ambition. We couldn’t afford lights to make films, so we were making lights out of cut-up property signs, and going to Eagle Lighting to figure out how we could pay the least amount of money for the highest wattage. I had started studying advertising, but I ended up dropping out because I was super unwell at the time, and so I actually stopped both my studies and the record label because I was so unwell, just before I went to Berlin for the first time. I feel like I learnt everything doing 1991 – that was my university.” Alex explains, expanding on how his sonic and visual disciplines came to form, “there was so much emphasis at the time on creating these worlds in which to place one’s music. I think we sometimes forget that the last two decades have really been the testing ground for the internet, and so suddenly musicians and artists had all these mediums at their disposal. I was in this liminal space with my illness, and at that point was really encouraged by Thor Rixon and Alice Phoebe Lou to come to Berlin, and when that chapter of my life started, I started doing a lot more art direction and design alongside music. I arrived in Berlin with, like, a month of rent, so I had to try and make it work – and I think I cold-emailed like 200 clubs, introducing myself and asking if I could make posters for them. I got one reply, but really that’s sometimes all you need.”

“Before, if someone asked what I do, I would say well, I design album covers so I guess I’m a designer, but I also do a bit of animation, but I really want to be making more music and music videos – it was kind of a bit all over the place. I’ve been doing all those things for like six or seven years, and now I feel like I’ve managed to build all these obsessions and skills into a unified vision. Now, I would call myself a freelance creative director.” As I see or experience Alexander Alien, it is evident that his visual and musical work are totally inclusive and interdependent on one another. Alex’s style is strongly dosed with an identity, and while the core emanates from his personal vision as an artist – he has offered his skill sets to a variety of incredible clients. I think of the music he lent to Fendi’s Baguette Bag commercial featuring Amanda Seyfriend and Emma Roberts, or the myriad of posters he has designed that need no definition; with a client list that includes Lenny Kravitz, Alexander McQueen, Carhartt and so on – Alex’s work is distinct, precise and saturated in the kind of colours and complexity that I link back to our days running riot in Kirstenbosch Gardens, bodies full of fungi and eyes widened by the dancing light across flowers and foliage. 

Recently, Alexander shed his ‘Gourmet Spaghetti Boy’ skin, finding himself disconnected to his former moniker. For any artist, this is a hard task – there is a sense of exposure that comes with transmuting a former iteration of self. I ask Alex about the shift, and how it has felt, to which he says “I had the name for a very long time, and for a long time it didn’t feel quite right, but I didn’t know why. At the time I was trying to put things under different names, but I’m very bad at being consistent with things like Instagram – and I was like, if I can’t even do one account, why am I trying to do multiple? I had this dream one night, and the name ‘Alexander Alien’ came into my head. The problem had been that I was doing brand identities for like, venture capital companies, but they’re speaking to me under the Gourmet Spaghetti Boy name – and it was hilarious, but at the same time, I want to be able put out music, but also booked to do a brand, or buy a painting, but to have it under all one banner. I feel like ‘Alexander Alien’ fits well, because it’s my first name, but it has that Hollywood-sounding name like ‘Rob Zombie’ – that sense of obscurity in it, too.” The name changing is also fitting for a new era in Alex’s creative individuation; and it releases him from any confines previously projected onto Gourmet. Now, dance-music is Alex’s focus; and under Alexander Alien, there is room to build worlds within worlds. This year of 2023 experienced by those of us born in 1993, 1995 and 1996, is astrologically marked as our Saturn return – in a zodiacal sense, it is an initiation from our childhood, teenage years and early twenties, into a bigger space of maturity, wisdom and expression. I can’t think of a more apt moment for an alien to jump planets, and explore new dimensions of his internal cosmos. During this evolution, Alex describes his latest work and the feeling of the name change, “I’ve got this 14 song album called Volcano Brain and a 7 minute film with long time collaborator, Kent Andreasen, that we made to go with it. I was actually saying to someone the other day, though, that when I was younger and I felt like this – heartache and pain – I was chasing myself, and grabbing at ropes. Now, though, I can recognise that I have built this foundation and resilience as an artist, and that things don’t have to fall apart. I feel like I’ve spent the last six or seven years sharpening tools, and I’ve had such a good time sharpening tools, and making a life out of doing that. Now, I have this really sick toolbox, but I haven’t really been building anything, and now I can get going on that – that’s what Alexander Alien is, it’s the thing I am going to focus my tools on building.”

Artwork for Alexander’s upcoming single ‘Soapy’.

We are in the midst of digital and analogue hybridization insofar as creative manifestation is concerned. While artists like Alexander seem to be experienced in cyberspace, the potential for exhibitions, zines and paintings only seek to ground the experimental ability of a world like Alexander Alien’s. On this digital/physical fusion for artists in the 21st century, Alex says “I think it’s quite confusing being a person, but specifically confusing being an artist because everything before the 21st century – it was about focusing on one thing. I think we are going into a world where it is non-negotiable to have a handle on various mediums. I mean, if you can make your album covers, and make your videos, and do your own website – and mix and master your music – you can save so much money, but more interestingly you can have a total command of your own body of work, and then you can apply those skills for others; so I think the idea of being an independent or DIY artist becomes so much deeper and more useful in that way. At the same time, you need so much discipline to learn to do more than one thing with a certain level of proficiency – and these possibilities are contrasted by the fact that concentration is really syphoned by apps, and the way we receive and process information and creativity online. When we did 1991, our biggest focus was trying to create a tangible reality in a digital space – so a lot of our work was translating physical objects online, like album covers with stamps and so on. Now, the kind of scanning, or creating textures that you can do are incredible. You know, I think today we have to treat our art like actual jobs – no matter how weird or strange it may be. There is no road map, but there is a way to be successful.” Something Alex points out, is that the promise of cyberspace has come with its perils; the idea, for example, that a changing algorithm on Instagram could be the difference between a creative being seen, or having their work requested – this governance by technology is contentious, and a continual conversation among creatives, artists and writers. The antidote, though, Alex assesses as “relationships are the thing that are really what it’s about, so I think if we can utilise these things for what they are; tools of communication; but that we maintain the essence of creating relationships, then I think we will figure out these contrasts.” Alex is about to head back to Berlin, a place he finds deeply invigorating as an artist. With a new era well underway, we are excited to see Alexander Alien’s planetary worlds unfold.

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Felix Laband releases ‘5 Seconds Ago’ (Coldcut Just Say No Remix)

Mar 27, 2023 | New Release, Music

UK production heroes and Ninja Tune founders Matt Black and Jonathan More, AKA Coldcut, turn in an incredibly atmospheric, dubby, cinematic reworking of ‘5 Seconds’ by electronica maestro Felix Laband, with all the genre-hopping brilliance you might expect from the veteran pair. From their origins as “the first Brit artists to really get hip-hop’s class-cutup aesthetic,” they introduced rap to ravers, creating a heady blend of hip-hop production aesthetics and proto-acid house grooves, and became a precursor for scenes as diverse as electronica, breakbeat, ambient and baggy. They soon took the pop world by storm, introducing Yazz and Lisa Stansfield to the world, and producing both artists’ most memorable hits. They chose their collaborations based on a shared, renegade musical spirit, rather than a sound, and in so doing, they created sounds unlike anyone else, and somehow found room at the table for Queen Latifah, Mark E. Smith and Jello Biafra’ (SPIN). More recently, Coldcut have made interactive, cut n’ paste installations for an exhibition of work by one of their own precursors, William S Burroughs.

When their thrilling, experimentally minded productions fell out of favour with major label, carbon-copy conservatism, the duo founded Ninja Tune, which turns 25 in 2015. With a remit simply to release the future gazing records that excited them most, the label is still doing the same exactly that – a quarter of a century later.

Coldcut are as restlessly creative as ever. Having launched their Ninja Jamm app in 2012, 400,000 downloads later it has become a sophisticated instrument the duo use live alongside other software inventions. Coldcut’s long term relationship with Greenpeace continues with DJ sets for the organisation at Glastonbury for the last three years. Also they’ve become go to DJs for Avaaz’s huge climate change marches in London, and Paris COP In the same vein. Coldcut’s long-standing political art activism finding itself ever relevant in these turbulent times.

Stream the track HERE

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Karabo Morule’s Capital Art makes the critical case for collection-management in the African arts

Mar 26, 2023 | Interviews, Art

The art industry can appear, like so many industries, as a kind of unknowable mirage; somewhat intimidating or elusive, and a space increasingly required as a navigable route for artists and professionals alike. There has been no greater or more accepted time for people to pursue art as a viable career; with a 2020 SACO report stating that core creative industries such as art, music and film contributed “R271.9 billion to the capital stock of South Africa” during the the 2018 period in which the study was compiled. This is a number set to increase if resources and accessibility begin to widen and steady. Karabo Morule  is a figure at the forefront of the critical intersection between art as an expression, and art as a financial and social function of a country and society. As a business executive turned entrepreneur, Karabo was the second black, African woman to qualify as an actuary. With a background at JP Morgan and Old Mutual, Karabo’s newest frontier sees her weaving her passion as an collector, investor and patron of the arts into Capital Art; the first art collection management platform focused on African Art. Karabo’s vision is to ensure that African art is expanded into a bankable asset class, so that contemporary work African artwork is not relegated to artefacts, but rather as pieces that serve a long-term value function for artists, collectors and the continent. In my many conversations with creatives, a theme that often comes up is the difficulty in navigating their creative medium and works into a financially sounds framework, which demands business acumen, time management and detail orientation in unfamiliar environments or areas – that we were certainly not taught at school, and that many learn through trial and error in navigating the industry. This challenge is precisely part of what Capital Art assists to solve, and in this conversation with Karabo – she offers some incredible knowledge for artists and collectors, established and aspiring alike, to consider as part of enhancing their pathway with the arts.

“I was born and raised in Johannesburg, and then came to Cape Town to study actuarial science and finance at UCT. I moved back to Joburg to join JP Morgan and their investment banking business, with an initial start in derivatives marketing. I moved to London with the company, who offered a graduate program which included a rotation in London or New York for two years. For somebody working in finance, it was a wonderful place to be – it’s one of the financial centres of the world, and also to experience the global financial crisis there. It was actually living there, along with other expats, that I fostered my love for art, and visiting galleries and exhibitions.” When Karabo came home to South Africa, she joined Old Mutual with the intention to develop her qualification as an actuary, in a traditional actuarial setting. Actuarial science is a wholly foreign concept to me, but it is one that underpins our world massively; with an actuary being someone who assesses financial risks using mathematical and statistical methods, alongside financial theory. On this pathway, Karabo says, “I became managing director for the personal finance business unit, and that was fantastic, as I was one of the first women to manage one of the two big retail businesses at Old Mutual. I did that until 2019, and I left to pursue what I had always wanted to do, which was to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to challenge myself to apply my skill sets and experience to change the world from the ‘bottom-up’, and build something meaningful. That was how I got into art technology, which was sparked actually by a conversation with art advisor Alexia Walker, and we started talking about art as an asset class in the African context, and thinking about the digitisation of the industry, and the role that fintech and collection management could play in the contemporary art spaces of the future.”

L-R Karabo Morule, Elikem Keunyehia and Ugoma Ebiloh in a panel discussion at Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2023.
FNB Art Joburg 2021 BMW Young Collectors Co Panel discussion on Art Collecting moderated by Valerie Kabov with Karabo and Leana Engelbrecht.

Capital Art is a platform that hosts a web-based art collection management system which enables art collectors to better manage and protect the value of their art collections.The platform software allows collectors to easily organise, digitise, preserve and potentially add value to their artwork online, which in turn increases the value of an artist’s work, and provides regulation for Africa’s art industry as a whole. In the beginning, Karabo was met with funding challenges, as she describes “I think funding is a really big challenge in South Africa. We approached a number of big financial institutions, and people didn’t quite understand art technology; it’s a creative business, so they weren’t concerned about it from a financial perspective. I think that experience  underscores the very issue that Capital Art seeks to address, which is that collection management in South Africa is largely unknown. A lot of our journey so far has actually been about market development in that way; showing people that there is this missing link in how art can be produced and proliferated. I also think the notion of art collection is something we see as exclusive, and for people who are wealthy; but even if you have one or two works, and you bought it at the start of an artist career, you are collector, and that piece/s can be a very valuable asset to keep and preserve in your lifetime. There’s things you need to take care of, for the financial value – but crucially, for the cultural value.” Karabo points out that a lot of art on the continent has been historically excluded, and if we are to reshape Africa’s significant artistic contribution to the world, then owning art is as much a responsibility as it may be an aesthetic choice in our spaces. As Karabo explains, “it is worthwhile to engage with collection management, and it has benefits for the creators, which was something I really wanted to emphasise and understand as we developed Capital Art. I think the perception is that collectors are doing it for their own pocket or benefit, but I haven’t found that to be necessarily true. As collectors make sure that they are looking after the art, whenever they sell it – that is then a new price point can reference, and that their artwork is actually capturing a certain value.”

Rarely do we get to engage with art as an industry, outside of the incredible artist that we speak to, and so this conversation and Karabo’s work offered a profound expansion of my own thinking in terms of the future of South Africa’s creative arts. I ask Karabo what she feels about the South African landscape right now, “I appreciate that I am fairly novice within the art industry, but I also feel that I am helping to bring a unique perspective, along with others who have different backgrounds, and then coming into the art space and offering fresh eyes. Bringing together finance and art can really grow the industry. I definitely share the common sentiment that we really do need to focus on more assistance of our artists and industry role-players, and I think philanthropy does have a huge role to play in that; because philanthropy can accept a lot more risk.” As for the challenges in South African art, Karabo points out that, “we have so many people who are young, and have this big aspiration, and the struggle for access for facilities is big, along with the funding challenges for institutions and art-centres in various communities. Still, we have a lot of school children in the country not visiting art institutions as part of their education whether it’s in primary or high school. This really affects the kind of engagement that should be fostered in people from a very young age; these could be the future artists, collectors or entrepreneurs. All the while South Africans are so incredibly talented, and the African continent too, and there are many people working towards breaking down the barriers to access. I think of Athi-Patra Ruga starting a residency, and Julia Buchanan starting Art School Africa, which is also a web-based platform, but focused on assisting training and education, and art students transition into the professional sector.”

Karabo Morule at the Dakar Biennale for Contemporary African Art 2022.
Karabo at ReLe gallery during ARTX Lagos 2022.

I wanted to understand precisely what collection-management is, and what we may not know as people outside of the heart of the art industry. Karabo explains, “collection management is the process of making sure you document the details of the art that you have, and it’s really important to ensure to do this, so that we don’t relegate our art to just being decoration. I think there is a kind of activism in teaching this to people – and there are more technical things like how direct sunlight can affect artworks, and making sure it is properly framed and protected with museum-glass through specialist framers. My financial background has helped inform me about the importance of insurance for artworks. Another interesting part of collection management is the prospect of financing for art – so assisting people in getting loans and security in purchasing art. These are all part of our vision at Capital Art; where there is a transaction of art, how can we make the collection-management and saving of those details as easy as possible? How can we ensure that there is traceable information for collectors, on all levels, in the country? Exhibition material, artists statements, the letters of authenticity and purchase invoices, these are all vital in retaining the story of your artIf one’s art is going to change hands, all this documentation assists in ascribing a relevant value. I can have a Picasso, for example, but if it’s not signed by Picasso or I have no documentation, I could take it to an auction house and they could give an incorrect figure.” Karabo feels there is an urgency in collection management on the continent, and shares that African art only makes up 1% of the global art market, which is a shocking statistic. Some of it, as she says, has to do with the structures not being in place that could facilitate and maximise the potential of the artistic industry/s on the continent. I left this conversation with Karabo feeling a deep sense of encouragement for the kind of minds and visions that are working towards the South African & African creative arts; at Connect Everything Collective, this underpins every intention we set in our conversations and content. Engaging with art is a right; and we cannot wait to see how Capital Art goes on to inform a bright future for African art, artists and guardians. 

We encourage you to explore Capital Art HERE, which includes a free, basic collectors package for anyone who would like to explore collection-management.

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Kid Fonque releases compilation ‘Stay True Sounds Vol.5’

Mar 24, 2023 | New Release, Music

Following a mammoth year of the label receiving global recognition for its steady upward trajectory, Kid Fonque further commits to his role in discovering and spreading creations of a new generation. Having two consecutive years of being awarded DJ Mag Best Compilation of the Year in 2021 and 2022 for Vol.3 and Vol.4, we are pleased to present Vol.5 full of new, exciting musical energy, this time released in association with Defected Records. 

Kicking off this elaborative musical experience, newcomer MusiQuality smoothly lures listeners into an authentic journey of the South Africa sound. With ‘Untitled’, he allows the deep baselines wrapped with a soulful pad to speak for itself. In the spirit of newcomers, Vol. 5 also welcomes Khullie, BaxSphere and Boet Quality who showcase the ever-growing richness in new talent birthed in the heart of South Africa. 

Stay True Sounds favourite producers make a wholesome return in providing tracks to solidify the outstanding quality of sounds throughout. Ed-Ward not only blesses us with an original song, the authenticity of his atmospheric deep House production is also displayed on his remix of ‘Nothing’ by TebzaLiquid featuring Cash Boy. With the heartfelt piano chords and electronic arpeggios of Buddynice’s ‘My Mothers Wish’, this strong package is rounded off in a way that will lead listeners eagerly awaiting the next volume.

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Tatenda Chidora’s commitment to ‘Africanism’

Mar 22, 2023 | Interviews, Creatives

Tatenda Chidora’s biographical epitaph on Instagram reads, ‘I believe in AFRICANISM’. This conviction is palpable in Tatenda’s many bodies of work; landscapes, sceneries and the poetics of people materialise through his photography in the way that one would imagine from a visual doctrine, descriptive of this precise time on the continent. If someone were to ask me, what does Africa look like right now, ontologically or sartorially? I would point them to Tatenda’s work, and I would tell them that I believe he is one of the eminent visual architects in Southern Africa. 

Tatenda’s path to image-making is one steeped in alignment of both space and time. The medium of photography wasn’t always so clear, until it crystallised itself front and centre through his love of magazine collecting. As Tatenda explains,  “I’m Zimbabwean, and so I was born and bred there. I moved to South Africa in 2008, due to economic situations, and I was trying to find a place where I could study. Initially, I was supposed to go to culinary school – but I ended up working instead. I’ve loved magazines all my life, and I’ve collected them for a long time. My favourite was one small seed, which was such a beautiful, independent zine. I think that habit, of pouring over images in magazines, prompted me to pursue photography. I thought, if I could buy a camera, perhaps I could give this a try? So, when the opportunity came for me to study, I decided it had to be photography. I feel like I was pulled into visual arts in that way; I had to realise it was meant to be photography, and everything happened from there.” One of the most ineffable aspects to Tatenda’s work is his technical mastery over light. In a layman’s sense, some may not realise quite the potency that the refractional or tonal nature of light is the greatest companion of any photographer. Hence, the practice is founded on the ability to weave light almost as its own characters in images; Tatenda achieves this with dizzying effect. I learned that as a long-distance marathon runner, it is quite literally the light of our earth, of the dawn and dusk, that Tatenda has employed as his teacher, “I am always in spaces where I see a sunrise, or a see a sunset – and sometimes I even find myself running in the peak of the day, especially when I’m training for marathons. It is a beautiful analysis of light, and most of my subjects are Black – and depending on the type of day, the skin has the most incredible reaction. Black skin and the quality of light interact together. I find there is a temperature that can be translated onto skin depending on the time of day, and that is light’s domain. It really helps me to create my images in a deeper, more textured way. Observing light is one of my most important tools, so much so that I will take mental notes on a run about the light, the time that it was and the conditions of the weather. Then, when I have an idea, I can seek out those conditions, and experiment. One of my favourite things is how the sky, or clouds, bounces in the foregrounds and brings illumination to the skin or bodies of the people that I photograph.” Tatenda’s work is a synergy of light, texture, skin and colour; this alchemy is definitive of Africanism, and the accentuation of that inarticulable magic that governs the continent.

Tatenda Chidora, CAPTURED II.

Tatenda Chidora, Un Ordinary.

Regarding Black photographic portraiture and African photography, Tatenda has felt a responsibility to communicate what he knows best and most intimately, “I always say, if you stay in New York as a New Yorker, you have the best perspective and most authentic point of view, so you can translate New York stories the most accurately and the most honestly, because you inhabit the space day and night. For me, it’s the same thing as an African photographer. I have a responsibility to tell African stories accurately. I know how it is, and how to interact and interpret scenes and people. Also, to change the narrative that has been placed over African photography is critical. Whenever I photograph, I am in a space of celebration; I am celebrating Blackness, and the beauty that lies in being Black and in being African. I remember how difficult it was in university to find full archives or works by African photographers, and that was awful – I wanted to bring out a more conceptual, artistic viewpoint of Africa. Even in the grungy-ness, or the textures of everyday life, within the changing tides of the continent- there is so much beauty and so much richness to capture.” Almost everyone I speak to with the creative space is affirming this sense of an African renaissance; it’s happening, and it’s wildly energising. Even against the backdrops of uncertainty, of socio-economic difficulties, the sentiment sweeping across varying artistic disciplines is one of immense hope and foresight for the future. I ask Tatenda his thoughts on this, to which he says “it’s really quite exciting. Before, there was this narrative that people had to come to Africa, and ‘see for themselves’, consuming or making assumptions – and then they go back home and describe their stories or narratives. What gets lost, even not just distorted, is those stories and experiences of Africa that are not available to everyone. Now, the world is listening to African human beings. We are being asked to tell our stories, while refusing to have our stories told on our behalf. We are seeing this across fashion, art, music and so on – and we are showing them. It is the greatest time to be alive as an African artist, because everywhere you go; people want to know, they are curious about what it means to be African. This is a time where Africa is being represented on the world stage directly from the source, from African people themselves.”

Tatenda Chidora, METAMORPHOSIS I.
Tatenda Chidora, METAMORPHOSIS II.
Tatenda Chidora, METAMORPHOSIS III.

Last year, I picked up a copy of Dazed Magazine at Exclusive Books – a moment that comes around spontaneously, whenever we seem to get a shipment of publications other than the usual suspects of Vogue and Vanity Fair. In it, a feature spread with musician, artist and healer Desire Marea contained an essay interview by Nkgopoleng Moloi, and images by Tatenda with incredible styling by Nao Serati. Shot in KwaZulu Natal, Tatenda reflects on this experience, “that was quite a magical and challenging experience. The first day we were supposed to shoot, the floods in KZN started. So, we had imagined what we would do, we had understood our approach and came with all these beautiful garments. We couldn’t get to Desire’s hometown due to the floods. It was such a beautiful experience in the end though, and I don’t know anyone who could have embraced the forces of nature the way he did – I believe between his creativity and his spirituality, things came to be aligned, and in the midst of the powerful rains, we ended up capturing exactly the kind of mood and depth that you see in those images.” There, in the heart of KZN, the images revealed storm clouds in the background with Desire’s portrait centrally focused – or Desire finding stillness among a thick meadow, recently effulgent from the heaven’s rain. Tatenda speaks to the power of this collective story-telling across the continent, saying “As Africans, we have embraced our own identity. We are healing the idea of being either African American, or completely westernised and colonised. I have so much respect for artists, designers and so on – and they are on the stage in Europe, and they point back at the continent, and they are coming back home. There is this understanding that, well, if the world wants me – they can love me from my home, from my continent or country, you know? That’s so powerful, to be who we are, and to allow ourselves to do so.”

Desire x Dazed.

In the week of our conversation, it has been revealed that Tatenda’s work ‘If Covid was a Colour’ has been announced as a winning series for the British Journal of Photography’s ‘Portrait of Humanity, Volume 5’. The colour, to Tatenda, is a cobalt blue captured across varying models, with one in particular featuring stylised surgical gloves, replicating the spiked characteristic of the virus – but more interestingly, it reads as an avant garde head-piece. Tatenda says, “I remember reading the British Journal of Photography when I was in university. The curation is really beautiful, and they really try to broaden out across the world, and every Sunday they bring out ‘Sunday’s Inspiration’. I submitted my body of work last year, and I wanted to communicate a different point of view of the pandemic. There are many documentary images of that time, which are very real, harsh and factual of what we went through – and so this series was a way to celebrate humanity. We really stood up and above the pandemic as humankind. It’s such an honour to see my work recognised in this way.” With the thoughtfulness and tenderness of a visionary, I know that we will continue to see Tatenda’s work take shape in the world; his future is saturated by all the illumination of light, and beyond.

Tatenda Chidora, If Covid was a Colour.
Tatenda Chidora, Self Isolation I & II.

Written by: Holly Beaton

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

Chapter 14 | A round-up of moments for South African designers in March 2023

Mar 20, 2023 | Fashion, Interlude

I have been thinking about how these last few years in South African fashion history will be reflected in years to come. There are many designers doing many things, and spotlighting all of them is something Interlude intends to do, month by month; building an archive of memory and moments, brands and designers, who are quite literally carving out a roadmap for aspiring generations in the country and on the continent. This last month, six moments in particular crossed my path, and altogether they reflect an incredibly healthy, beating heart of South African luxury fashion. Whether taking flight in Paris or Milan, or in publications like Vogue and Business of Fashion, or creating campaigns that draw out the essence of what it means to design with intentionality; the year has barely begun, and great things are already afoot.

Lukhanyo Mdingi Featured in Vogue Poland ///

Lukhanyo Mdingi’s eponymous label has emerged firmly on the international stage. This last month, the label was featured in a full-feature spread in Vogue Polska, selected by guest-editor and supermodel, Anja Rubik; who has heralded Lukhanyo Mdingi as one of fashion’s new favourites. As a celebration of Vogue Poland’s 5th anniversary, the feature highlights Lukhanyo, his team and the vision of contemporary, luxury fashion from Africa as a mainstay of the past, present and future. Although I coulnd’t translate the entire piece, I did employ google translate for the following excerpt: “Mdingi’s approach to fashion can be called pragmatic – he has a clear goal and meticulously implements it. Maybe he’s doing so well because he knows what it’s like to feel not be seen enough.” (Podejście Mdingiego do mody można nazwać pragmatycznym – ovary sobie jasny cel i skrupulatnie go realizuje. Może idzie mu tak dobrze, bo wie, jak to jest czuć się niewystarczająco widzianym) A beautiful recognition from eastern europe, and a reminder of just how far South African is being noticed.

Images and Layout from Vogue Poland @vogue.polska

Viviers Studio presents ‘KARROO – Land of Thirst’ in person at Milan Fashion Week for FW23 ///

Last year, Viviers Studio made its digital debut at Milan Fashion Week, which we covered here. This year, the label presented ‘KARROO – Land of Thirst’ as a physical presentation in Milan, in partnership with Cape Wool South Africa and Mohair South Africa. Lezanner Viviers referenced the landscape of the Karoo, the semi-desert landscape in South Africa, transforming her own photographs into surrealist artworks, which were printed into the fabrics shown in the collection. In collaboration with Dina Christiaan, Nama San translations and interpretations brought the original ancestors of the Karoo into the collection’s narrative. Lezanne stated, “What I find most fascinating about the arid scorched Karoo, is the irony; most of our warm, cosy and luxurious raw materials (Mohair, Wool, Ostrich Feathers and leather) come from the barrenness of this land of thirsts. Chiaroscuro, an effect of contrasted light and shadow, best describes the changing landscapes of South Africa; both physically and metaphorically. I “cry for my beloved country, (Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, 1948) as I protest against institutional and systemic structures within our government, that hurdles us as South Africans in our daily practice and living. Load shedding of our electricity supply, water-shortages and pollution are all challenges to be overcome.” The presentation and collection demonstrated Viviers Studio as a space existing precisely at the intersection of fashion and art – with the label’s epitaph remaining ‘Art, Artists, and Artisans’.

Images by Eva Losada @eva.al.desnudo

Rich Mnisi debuts at Paris Fashion Week for FW23 /// 

Rich Mnisi’s second debut in Europe took place for FW23 – this time, at Paris fashion week, with  TRANOÏ, a collective aimed at highlighting contemporary and luxury fashion through a community-driven network. With a serious flex of fabrication and silhouettes, TANK is a study in the complexity and workmanship of the brand’s vision forward. The show notes for TANK read, 

“When we were kids, we didn’t know much. 
But that’s exactly how it should be, right? 
We were learning, observing and absorbing everything we saw, heard and touched.
Little tanks, filling bit by bit, holding more than we knew we could.

That’s where the Tank collection comes from. The tank of muddy questions and bright ideas, of wonder and awe, of good things and bad things, that every young mind becomes. Filled to the brim with inspired curiosity, and fuelled by the psychedelic power of imagination. This collection is the tank’s overflow, a spill over the edge, marked by early scribbles, collages and messy paint drops from when we first discovered the joy of colour. Mythical tartans peek out, both celebrating the Maasai and calling back to early awe of Vivienne Westwood. Fluid shapes clash with right angles, and contrasting patterns blend into each other organically because when we were kids, we knew nothing of the urge to make every idea fit in a neat little box.

We’re not kids anymore, and in some ways, it’s a monumental loss. In others, it’s not. Because now, we can be who those kids needed. We have what we need to catch up and tell those early magical stories, to explore what we didn’t have language for.

This collection is for the echoes of those children that we carry with us now, finally handing them a stage and a megaphone for all we left unsaid. Because when we were kids we didn’t know much, but what we did know, what we filled our tanks with, was wonderful.”

Images by Michael Oliver Love @michaeloliverlove

Wanda Lephoto’s Strandfontein Pavilion Campaign ///

Early in March, Wanda Lephoto released what seems to be a sneak peek into a new collection. Three images by Anke Loots offered up a Wanda Lephoto soft ‘RAMA’ corduroy suit, set against a backdrop of the historical Strandfontein Pavilion in Cape Town. Known for his continued marriage between cultural, historical and sartorial archiving through his collections – I am deeply intrigued to see more of this story. Below is the official statement from the brand on this campaign: 

Memory: of place and feeling. Strandfontein Pavilion: Cared for by the community, meant to be protected for future generations. 

The Strandfontein Pavilion was built between 1974 – 1983 by Vaughan Burn and Graham Parker built on the False Bay Coastline in Cape Town with the purpose of realising the global competitiveness of South African heritage and cultural resources through product development, sustainable tourism and economic development of our natural, historic and indigenous heritage.

Of place: Although like many South African places The Pavilion lacks support in economic growth opportunities for residing communities, it is still a place for the people, a place for local fisherman, traditional healers and surfers to mention a few. 

Of feeling: Water has always been used spiritually for healing, cleansing and praying ceremonies, practices and experiences seen at The Strandfontein Pavilion, a safe space that nurtures the feeling of belonging and spiritual connection, with The Pavilion housing the biggest Tidal Pool in the Southern Hemisphere.

Images by Anke Loots @ankeloots

Thebe Magugu Gets Frank with Business of Fashion ///

Thebe is always up to something; in fact, many things, all at once. Rarely much time passes without a body of work or conceptual project arising from the label – in this way, Thebe Magugu is achieving what he set out to do, as described in this interview with fashion media behemoth, BoF. Written by Yola Mzizi, the piece is a poignant portrayal of Thebe’s rise to accomplishments, and the current vision of the brand. He says in the piece, “I want to give back to my country and keep the brand local for as long as possible. I have had to make crucial decisions that may set us back financially, but advance the goals of the brand.” While maintaining a direct relationship between the label and global fashion leaders, Thebe describes in the piece that he is staying with his own pace, with no plans to move the brand outside of South Africa. In fact, and what one feels deeply about Thebe’s work, is that it’s all for the continent. This is the precise strategy that many southern hemisphere originating creatives have to enact; international recognition, connection and doors add value, but these are to be brought back for the benefit of the region. Sign up to BoF and give the piece read – dreams become reality, as embodied by Thebe Magugu. 

Images by Business of Fashion @bof

UNI FORM’s ‘Rebirth at Tarkwa’ is another showcase of Luke Radloff & Bee Diamondhead’s creative synergy /// 

UNI FORM by Luke Radloff is a label that I will never keep quiet about. The collections and pieces arising from the brand makes the word ‘chic’ feel cheap; it’s more than that, energetically descriptive of a serenity and flow that is moving, majestic – all the while, simplistic and clean. The label’s ‘Project 4’ featuring handwoven dresses made in collaboration with Barrydale Hand Weavers is burned into my memory forever – least not because it flexed the synergistic partnership between a creative director like Bee Diamondhead, and a designer like Luke Radloff. This last month, the release of ‘Rebirth at Tarkwa’ saw the duo head to Tarkwa Bay, an island near the Lagos harbour in Nigeria, alongside Ivorian artist and photographer, Nuits Balnéaires. With the models perched in trees, on rocks – in solitude and together – the images are hard to describe. I think they are intended to be felt.

Images by Nuits Balnéaires @nuit_balneaires
Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

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

Shahrokh Dini & Illinois release ‘Inner Core For Love’ (Omer Tayar Remix)

Mar 20, 2023 | New Release, Music

Omer Tayar is a storyteller who uses melodies and rhythms to tell a profound and engaging musical tale. His journey began at the age of 12, when he first started playing guitar, and it evolved in the years to come as he pursued a DJ career and electronic music production. As a proud music geek, Omer invested many years as a music collector on the one hand, and as a sound engineer on the other. With a unique and vast knowledge in both music technology and music history, and with years of experience playing in many venues in his hometown Tel-Aviv and the rest of the world, Omer has built a reputation as a DJ who knows how to light any dance floor on fire, as he fuses slow and deep electronica, space-disco, raw grooves and house bangers into one boiling set.  As a producer he already released his original music and a few remixes for well known labels such as ‘Mau House’, ‘Empire’ and ‘The Garden Of Babylon’, and the best is yet to come.  

Shahrokh Dini delivered two top notch EPs in 2022, “Now We Can Dance ” with Illinois and “Ubuntu”. After gathering some decent remixes, a proper vinyl release became self-evident. Now, with splendid re-works by the likes of Lehar, David Mayer, Omer Tayar, Tooker, Kovi, Patrick Zigon and Apoena. Not even that he played a lot of nice gigs during summer (Amsterdam, few times on Ibiza, lot of gigs in Berlin, Italy, Corfu, Sardinia), and has been busy in the studio with several releases and remixes such as “Now We Can Dance’’ with the strong and lovely vocals by Illinois is a contemporary house smash with an 80s indie dance twist. Shahrokh met Illinois at the Garden Of Babylon parties, where Shahrokh is a resident DJ. This track signals their collaborative synergy and the synchronicity of that meeting. 

/// Listen to and Download ‘Inner Core for Love’
Bandcamp
Spotify
Beatport
JunoDownload
Trax Source
Apple Music
Tidal 
Deezer

/// Shahrokh Dini 
Instagram 
Facebook
Soundcloud  
Discogs  

/// Illinois 
Instagram   
Spotify  

/// Omer Tayar 
Instagram 
Facebook
Spotify
Soundcloud

Oliver Whyte Launches ‘OW Lab’ as an experimental extension of his practice

Mar 20, 2023 | News, Art

Award-winning design studio, Oliver Whyte, have launched their answer to experimentation and play: OW Lab. As an extension of Oliver Whyte, the designer is led by a hunger to explore, refine and grow his own voice unhindered by the often constraining avenues to disseminating furniture and object design. With a thoughtful website, OW Lab is a digital gateway to purchasing Oliver Whyte pieces; with a more democratic view of accessibility in bringing exceptionally crafted works into your home. 

Through the introduction of a fresh way to experience the local design landscape, Ross Robertson of Oliver Whyte Studios explains, “OW Lab is an online treasure chest of beautiful, functional objects born in freedom to allow an outlet of creativity unobstructed by outside forces. You will find lights, vases, candle holders and tables to begin with, but the lab will explore many of the found objects in the home, over time. The pieces will be released in monthly drops, and there is only one of each piece – hesitate, and you will lose out! I cannot wait to share my lab with you.” 

The pieces are a continual exploration of Oliver Whyte’s signature resin-sand composite, a blend that is hand-shaped into a final form, and finally spray painted in a variety of hues. In this way, no single piece can ever be replicated – with each object forming a stunning expression of Ross’ intuitive practice. As a proponent and progenitor of South Africa’s burgeoning design space, OW Lab brings nuance and curiosity to the celebration for audiences of local design at varying points of entry.

Explore more and shop ‘OW Lab’ at www.ow-lab.co.za

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

A Fall/Winter Fashion Week Retrospective with South African Photographers Cris Fragkou and Tsele Nthane

Mar 15, 2023 | Interviews, Fashion

South Africans are killing it. As the core of what we dialogue at Connect Everything Collective; it is often no surprise to us when talented people from our country do incredible things, but it is no less awe-striking. Cris Fragkou is an inimitable fashion photographer, with whom it has become a tradition for her and I to retrospect regarding her whirlwind journeys to Europe and the US to photograph the people, shows and designers that we simply dream about from our corner of the world. What Cris sets out do in building her career is not simply to capture the essence of fashion as a creative energy; rather, it is to do this while continually developing her own enlightenment, and such – Cris dances the harsh and beautiful boundaries of what fashion is as an industry, as an event, an experience; and as a force. This Fall/Winter 23 season was no exception, and the regular updates via her IG tell the tale and showcase images and moments that are explicitly surreal. More on that later. Firstly, to add to this, is Tsele Nthane, AKA @melanateyourmood, suddenly appearing on the scene in Milan and Paris. All at once, the distance between us and fashion week in Europe feels even closer, intimate and more possible. This has been demonstrated by designers such as Lukhanyo Mdingi, Thebe Magugu, Rich Mnisi and Lezanne Viviers – and the many ways in which South Africans and Africans are forming part of the global cast of fashion creatives. 
JPG x Haider Ackermann Haute Couture SS23, Loewe AW23 PFW for 10Mag and Paco Rabanne AW23 PFW by Cris Fragkou.

CECILIE BAHNSEN & CFCL PFW by Tsele Nthane
Puppets Puppets AW23 NYFW for SSense, Simone Rocha AW23 LFW BFC, Victoria Beckham AW23 PFW by Cris Fragkou.
In chatting to Tsele about his experience, he describes what led to him being in Milan and Paris, “FW23 happened just as I was making the transition to pursuing photography and art full time so it represented the perfect opportunity to be fully immersed into the fashion world. It was actually a really intense immersion and probably too much too fast but I had two great people I met there who were kind enough to show me how to navigate fashion week. That was really essential and the biggest stroke of fortune. Prior to February I was doing full time academic research in the fisheries sector and that’s where the social documentary work comes from.” With Tsele ended up shadowing Cris, the two linked together to navigate a scene that Cris has spent a few years familiarising with; this makes the experience no less intense, though. As Tsele describes it, “I met two incredible South African photographers at the Milan and Paris weeks. In Milan, Cris Fragkou let me shadow her the whole week which was the biggest gift any first-timer could ask for because she’s so busy shooting a range of bigger and smaller shows. My favourites weren’t necessarily the bigger shows because it’s really chaotic and you don’t get many chances to shoot what you want amidst a sea of other people. Cris knows many of the top models so well she would personally call them over and have a chat with them while taking their exit pictures away from the crowds and I’d be there with her. The bigger shows also attract a lot of people and the outfits aren’t as impressive as people attending the smaller shows. I really liked Fendi, MM6 Maison Margiela, Prada, Iceberg, Annakiki, and Viviers’ was a stunning presentation!” Tsele explains the other chance meeting and another tie back to South Africa, “In Paris I went to see Thebe Magugu’s latest work which was brilliant! South African born Italian photographer Filippo Fior showed me around some of the shows backstage. He sits centre on the photographer’s podium and that’s the most important position shooting live for global magazines so it was really really kind of him, he just loved seeing another South African there and I’m fortunate to have met him. We did Cecilie Bahnsen and CFCL together, both gorgeous. It was really fun in Paris and shooting night exits at Valentino was really interesting.” Filippo Fior is a legend in his own right, and if you’ve ever read our fashion column Interlude – you will have seen Filippo’s images, along with many, many archives of his work on VogueRunway.com.
OFF-WHITE and Milan Act No 1 by Tsele Nthane.
Dior and PRADA Exits by Tsele Nthane.
VIVIERS by Tsele Nthane.
For Cris, this season has been her record: 61 shows in seven weeks, “When I counted it up, I couldn’t believe it. I started the season off on a high note coming from a three month summer in South Africa, so I arrived really ready, and ready for battle – I felt so grounded and super connected. But it’s intense; fashion weeks at that scale contain so many, many moving parts, with really short windows in which things have to happen. It’s weird for me to start in Milan, because my start was New York and then London. I had my least amount of shows in New York, which is a great place to begin the season. I had a really good time there – there’s interesting and weird stuff happening there. I feel like New York has become the young, queer cousin of fashion, and so it’s a beautiful expression of independent, experimental brands. Obviously, Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada is like the queen of that whole scene. Then, London is very student driven; and there’s a youthful, less jaded energy there. People are dying to show their work, and they do it on a fraction of the budget that you would ever see in Milan and Paris. I think that DIY ethos is so critical to fashion, so it’s really cool to experience fashion as a large ecosystem, divided into these smaller, unique parts.” For Cris, navigating fashion week for her clients such as Dazed, her image-making draws her directly into the most intimate parts of the shows; back-stage, where the models, garments and creators are quite literally seeding our fashion dreams. As Cris says, “it’s what this is all about – you know, sitting on your bed at 12 and watching Fashion TV, and then being in a city like Paris, in the heart of it. Even though each season brings me a new level of challenge, or comfort and familiarity, it never gets old – the magic of it never get lost.” Until this season, Cris had never had someone assist or shadow her – with Tsele’s burgeoning passion and curiosity around, Cris reflects on the nature of being connected amongst the chaos and intensity of fashion week, “It was really great having Tsele around, and having a local friend from South Africa really, really helped. I’m not used to having support, and I get into an automated pilot mode. On the day, I will talk to my body and prepare it for the way I have to move through the experience – 20 minute shows, across different venues, negotiating with security and personalities – and Tsele just had this extra eye. One day I was telling him that I never drink water, and then 30 minutes later he got me water – and everytime we got onto the metro, he reminded me to take a sip. Small acts of care make so much difference. Having done this work for a while now, sometimes it feels like it’s an accounting job and I get wrapped up in the professionalism and order I need to maintain. It was so cool to see his excitement.”
AW23 for DAZED by Cris Fragkou: Cormio, Moschino, Eckhaus Latta, Sunnei.
AW23 for DAZED by Cris Fragkou: Dior, Di Petsa, Ferragamo, Vaquera.

AW23 for DAZED by Cris Fragkou: Loewe, Mawalola, Off-White.
Tsele says of the considerations in experiencing Milan and Paris as a photographer, “first just the basics like knowing where the show is happening. Milan is great because they publish the locations in advance but Paris you only really know if you’re invited or know someone with the connections. Learning how to navigate the different locations is also really interesting because there’s a shuttle but most photographers just walk or use public transport and the busiest ones are always in a rush for the next show; we walked so much, and it’s a great way to see the city. Paris is different in that they use a lot of the same venues for the shows so you’re not running around as much. Milan is really really flat and walkable. I’m personally drawn to colourful and quirky looks from both people attending the shows as well as the public around there; I loved capturing model exits, getting close enough to focus on the details in motion without necessarily having a face in frame. Shooting away from the crowds can throw up some nice surprises as well.” And the energetic differences between the two, “Milan feels so much more accessible and social because everyone’s walking around to shows as each show is typically in a small enough venue to access. Paris is so much larger in scale and prestige and usually at a few venues that can accommodate that – so it feels really different in that sense; it feels like attending an actual event you’ve booked for weeks in advance and you just have to arrive. Socially, though, Paris is gorgeous and so diverse it just feels better as a place you’d want to live and work.
Milan MAX MARA Exits by Tsele Nthane.
ANAKIKI Milan by Tsele Nthane.
Florentina Leither Paris by Tsele Nthane.
Written by: Holly Beaton
For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za