Vans Celebrates Durban’s Role in Skate History With the Grand Opening of its Next-Gen Gateway Store

Sep 3, 2025 | Fashion, Community

(Durban, 30 August 2025) – For nearly sixty years, Vans has been at the centre of skateboarding culture. What began as a small family business in Anaheim, California, continues one of the most recognisable names in streetwear worldwide. As a brand intertwined with the pursuit of self-expression, and as a uniform for counterculture; Vans is a badge of belonging for generations of skaters, musicians, artists, and outsiders who see the brand as a reflection of themselves.

Thousands of miles from Anaheim, Durban became South Africa’s closest parallel to this cultural movement. Skateboarding may have arrived later on South African shores, but by the late 1980s and 1990s, Durban had established itself as a central hub for the scene. The city’s climate – warm and sunny all year round – is South Africa’s kin to the USA’s California; while its urban landscape, with concrete banks, parking lots, and coastal promenades, offered natural terrain that skaters quickly claimed as their own. Though Durban’s skate scene lacked plentiful infrastructure, the scene was forged in DIY and reclaimed city corners, reflecting the same non-conformist spirit that defined skateboarding’s origins in California.

Durban’s skaters developed their own subculture, tied as much to surf and street style as to the board itself. Over the years, the city produced skaters who gained international recognition, while its crews and collectives built a local identity that stood firmly within the global skate narrative. Vans, already entrenched in skate culture worldwide, naturally became part of this fabric – and to wear Vans in Durban is to be in alignment with a decades of global counterculture, a declaration of authenticity, and a connection to independent thinkers and creatives across oceans.

This shared ethos makes KwaZulu-Natal the natural fit for a debut of Vans’ 3.0 retail concept, and on 30 August 2025, Vans launched its newly relocated and reimagined store at Gateway Theatre of Shopping, marking the arrival of this next-generation retail space in KZN for the very first time.

All imagery courtesy of Vans

Vans 3.0 represents a rethinking of retail itself, with the concept space blurring the lines between shopping and experience, offering immersive zones where apparel and footwear are curated around seasonal stories, premium product drops, and cultural touchpoints. The concept is built to both showcase Vans’ products, and to create an environment that reflects the people who live the culture – skaters, artists, musicians, and creators of all kinds; with shared community spaces being crucial in how subculture can best be nurtured.

As part of the festivities, the launch featured exclusive mystery discounts and a customisation workshop. On the day, guests tapped into their creative side at the workshop, where they reimagined the iconic Vans Old Skool with their own twist. Hosted in collaboration with Durban’s own Flair Supply, the workshop brought fresh energy to a timeless silhouette. A limited number of spots were opened up via a competition on Vans social media pages, and winners were invited to join in and walk away with their own one-of-a-kind creations.

Vans’ 3.0 store launch in KZN is a recognition of Durban’s historical role and heritage in shaping counterculture in South Africa, and acknowledges that the city’s skate scene embodies the same creativity and independence that has made Vans what it is today as a far-reaching lifestyle brand, beyond skating and into all forms of creative expression.  

Vans has always stood for skate, art, music, and street culture. By bringing its most advanced retail concept to Durban, the store stands as a cultural landmark, linking the DIY ramps of California in the 1970s with the concrete banks of Durban in the 1990s, and pointing towards the future of non-conformist creative lifestyles in South Africa. Vans’ new chapter in KZN is a reminder that creative culture thrives wherever people pick up their medium, find their people and express themselves without limits.

All imagery courtesy of Vans

About Vans

Vans®, a VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) brand, is the original action sports footwear, apparel and accessories brand. Vans® authentic collections are sold in 84 countries through a network of subsidiaries, distributors and international offices. Vans® has over 2,000 retail locations globally including owned, concession and partnership doors. The Vans® brand promotes creative self-expression in youth culture across action sports, art, music and street culture and delivers progressive platforms such as the Vans Park Series, Vans Triple Crown of Surfing®, Vans Pool Party, Vans Custom Culture, and Vans’ cultural hub and international music venue, House of Vans.

Vans, “Off The Wall” Since ’66

 

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The launch of the next-gen retail space featured exclusive mystery discounts and a customisation workshop in collaboration with Flair Supply. 

Written by Holly Beaton

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

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The Pursuit Of Natural Beauty In A Hopeless Place: Unearthing ‘The Black Enigma’ With Multifaceted Artist Zimkitha

Sep 2, 2025 | Interviews, Creatives

I, like a host of my peers crippled by the perils of adulthood, am guilty of believing I knew better in the peak of my youth. As a teen, I would disregard the several occasions where my father said, “When you are older, you will understand.” As my relationship with history and society stretches beyond podcasts, documentaries and books, the thread of introspection moulding my spiritual bandwidth bleeds into an intergenerational exchange with family, where songs like “Don’t Fear,” “Wanna Know,” and “Do You Hear Us?” seethes open the door for unspoken wounds to be treated.

These songs belong to King Williams Town born, Pretoria raised, Singer, Songwriter, Actor, and Naledi Theatre Award-nominated playwright/director Zimkitha Kumbaca, affectionately known as Zimkitha. The Tshwane University of Technology alumni is rooted in the choral traditions laid by her father, a choir conductor and staunch harmonist of Amadodana Ase Gabe, a faction of the Presbyterian Church who extended the transcendent fortitude of Amadodana Ase Wesile, the renowned acapella South African Gospel Group founded by Thomas Mokhathi & Mongezi Nhose for the Methodist Church’s Young Men’s Guild of Gauteng’s Central District in 1985.

Breathing between dense conversations narrating the art, fashion, poetry, Travellin’ Blak band experience and the memories leading to the birth of her sonic alter of overcoming, “The Black Enigma,” wields the broken chains of a generation who wrestle with the reality of freedom, which has materialised as Democracy however, is still tethered in the spellbound of generational mourning. The loss of elders, the friends and family who never returned from Apartheid jail cells, and socioeconomic disparity, we are a people who, in Zimkitha’s words, “Couldn’t take the time to grieve, we couldn’t afford it, grief was expensive.”

The mourning, if left unattended, dictates how we love, how we pursue dreams, and who we select as our inner circle of support. “Baby Vuka” and “Dreams” found me and my muse encouraging each other to walk barefoot in the thorny gravel of entrepreneurship exactly how my late grandmother from the Eastern Cape would have wanted. The endearing voice notes of family and friends who speak life into Zimkitha’s dream are resoundingly one of the defining anchors of this album, for they serve to affirm not only Zimkitha but remind us that this walk to restoration takes a village to endure.

Enamoured by features such as Ayanda Jiya, Wordz, Wakithi, D.O.X.RSA, Thami Lami, Dineo Komane, Mat-The-Myt, Vsinare, Tasha HendrixX and production from the sound architects like K.Fresh, Hāzy, Purple Keyz, Ulumusic, G Sta, Phoenix Flame and F&B Rhythms, “The Black Enigma” is an enclave of R&B, Afro-Soul, and Neo-Soul theatrically curated to have a cup of coffee with your journals, turbulent waters bubbling in your soul. Honoured by her grace and generous intellect, I cherish these moments where we conversed about grief, fear, faith, community, and what is next for her journey. 

All imagery courtesy of Zimkitha

For our readers who may not be familiar with you. Please introduce yourself and share more about your creative path. How was life growing up, leading to your journey with music?

Zimkitha: “I’m Zimkitha Kumbaca, call me Zimkitha. I’m a singer, songwriter, actor, and playwright. I’ve always been connected to music since childhood. My dad was a choir conductor who held rehearsals in our garage. I heard notes and chords constantly. He was also in a gospel choir that recorded albums. Living in the Eastern Cape, music was woven into ceremonies, church, and celebrations. I developed a deep curiosity about songs, asking my dad what lyrics and words meant, trying to understand why certain sounds moved people so profoundly.

At school, I joined choirs and formed groups with friends, thinking we were the next Brandy and Monica. The turning point came at 16 when I met university musicians at a poetry session who invited me to join their band. One bandmate challenged me to write songs on the spot, not just at home. Learning to write spontaneously taught me to play with words and let creativity flow, even through the corny stages that helped develop my craft.

When the band eventually disbanded due to life and lack of resources, I had to find my way. My parents refused to let me study music despite exposing me to it my whole life. I compromised by studying drama, which helped tremendously. I learned performance techniques and stage presence that made me stronger on stage.

But the music industry proved challenging. I grew up loving Neo-Soul and R&B, but genres kept changing. To break through, you had to jump onto whatever was trending: Hip-Hop, House, whatever. Being young and unsure, I got sidetracked by people trying to sway me toward different routes. The most important lesson I learned was to be okay with pouring out what’s really in my heart and accepting my voice as it is. My voice doesn’t sound like everyone else’s, and that’s fine. I had to release the rat race mentality and pressure to “make it now,” affecting my creativity. I realised I need relaxation and calm to create anything authentic. 

By 2019-2020, I was ready to quit music entirely. I had reconciled with myself that maybe it wasn’t meant for me. Then lockdown hit, and I was stuck with the studio, the mic, and time. It was like the universe asking, “What do you want to do? Quit? Watch this.” And that’s when everything changed.”

Watch Live Performance Showreel below:

From visual art, fashion design, theatre, music and poetry you have experienced different mediums of expression in your lifetime. What would you say the different languages that shape the culture behind expression have taught you about your divinity?

Zimkitha: “Art started as my way to express what I couldn’t put into words. As a child, I always felt something deep inside but couldn’t articulate it, so I began with painting and drawing. My cousin was a fine artist, and watching him disappear into his canvas showed me how to pour out feelings through colour and form.

I was a child during South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy, though I didn’t understand it at the time. There was constant turmoil, gunshots, helicopters, people dying, families separated. We’d watch the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on TV while adults told us everything was fine now. I didn’t understand the politics, but I felt everything intensely. Art became my outlet for processing these overwhelming emotions.

I progressed from painting to music, singing along to songs, then writing and recording my own notes on a little recorder my parents bought me. Different mediums served the same purpose: expressing what I felt inside. The ’90s and 2000s Neo-Soul movement was transformative. Artists like Jill Scott broke every rule about how you’re “supposed” to sing. When Jill Scott sang “You’re here, I’m pleased,” it was conversational, real, not mathematical or structured like traditional R&B. These artists offered freedom in singing with your natural voice, even if others called it flat or weird.

Without their boldness, I wouldn’t have found myself musically. They showed that music doesn’t have to follow formulas: it can be whatever you’re feeling. You just surrender to that feeling. This era birthed everything we have now. The influence extends beyond music to my acting, directing, and playwriting. I’m an acquired taste as an actor, and I’m intentional about that. Groundbreaking artists in theater, especially protest theater, broke rules before I arrived, giving me permission to do the same.

Artists like Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” showed it’s okay to go to difficult places in your art. These unapologetic voices who listened to the frequency of their time created space for voices like mine to exist and be appreciated. What happens outside influences what happens inside, but sometimes what’s inside becomes the beginning of something that influences everyone else. It starts with understanding the emotion you’re experiencing and finding a way to express it. Depending on the season, you go for it.

Every generation of rule-breakers creates space for the next. That’s how art evolves, through artists brave enough to be themselves completely.”

“Baby Vuka” feels like a warm hug from my matriarchal ancestors; it reads as a mantra of overcoming adversity and character shortfalls. In your journey of healing and defining self-worth, how did you first come across the power of affirmation and change in perspective? 

Zimkitha: “I’d been working on my album since 2020, trying to be technically perfect and musically correct. But I was stuck in a cycle, dropping singles here and there, juggling multiple projects, staying busy with work because we were broke after lockdown.

My grandmother was very sick with dementia and kidney failure. We all knew the end was near. On the day she passed, I got the call from my mom while I was stressed about writing verses for other artists. Instead of processing the news, I compartmentalised it and threw myself into work, writing songs, recording immediately, not allowing myself to feel anything. The next day, I performed at the Basadi in Music Awards show. I was physically there but emotionally absent. Only when I saw someone and remembered my grandmother did it hit me: “My grandma is gone, and I shouldn’t even be here.” But I still didn’t stop to grieve.

I carried on through the funeral, consoling everyone else but not shedding a tear. I kept recording, working through December while others relaxed. I couldn’t even go home for Christmas, my grandmother wasn’t there anymore. The following year, I cut my hair. Later, I discovered five relatives, including my mother, had done the same thing without discussing it. We needed to release something.

That’s when I finally grieved for the first time in my life. I learned what it meant to feel those emotions instead of pushing them away. I cut ties with musical collaborators because I couldn’t be part of the machine anymore; I needed to experience what I was going through, I needed to head and I decided I didn’t want to lie anymore. I wanted to tell everything, have honest conversations, and connect with people so neither I nor my listeners would feel alone.

After grieving so much, I realised I needed to feel life again. I was tired of saying things were bad; I needed to speak life into my project. Even when my team questioned removing certain songs that could get streams, I knew this was my path

My grandmother’s passing forced me to stop living a surface life. She made me work on releasing everything, all the pain, all the truth. Whether right or wrong, perfect or imperfect, this is where I am now and how I move forward.”

All imagery courtesy of Zimkitha

“Who taught us to be scared of our dreams,” and the voice note introducing “Dreams”, compelled me to grapple with visions’ existential and spiritual implications. How do you balance the faith and discipline of materialising a dream and navigate the fear of or the eventuality of failure on your path to success? 

Zimkitha: “I’ve learned that your teenage years are when you exist in your most authentic, fearless self. Between 16 and 24, I trusted my intuition completely; you couldn’t tell me anything because I knew it was always in me. But adults constantly warned me: “This is the format, this is how things are done.”

After 24, I experienced a different life where everything I believed was challenged. Success was taking longer, the things I loved weren’t acknowledged by others, and my faith was tested through my late twenties into early thirties. The only thing that kept me grounded was remembering what I wanted to do as a kid, whether praying, being by water, taking afternoon naps, or creating something. That thing that kept me alive when the world felt like my oyster. That’s the source.

This only clicked during lockdown when I was going through a lot. I realised I needed to return to what gave me joy, regardless of whether the world was entertained by it. The point isn’t external validation, it’s doing what I said I would do and accomplishing that, even if it comes with heaviness and rejection. I’ve been repeatedly rejected and told I was wrong, only to be proven right.

My first opponents were my parents, saying “You can’t do that” despite my solid dreams about being where I was supposed to be. Some songs literally came through dreams. One pivotal moment came when a friend called me after having a dream about my success. She left a voice note saying, “Don’t let it go. You are brilliant. It’s going to happen. Don’t give up.” I still have that voice note. She trusted her dream enough to tell me about mine when I denounced my dreams because people told me they weren’t real.

When success finally happens, you realise we need to investigate who taught us not to believe in ourselves. Why do we let external voices conquer more than our dreams? Those dreams are real. Often, people who attack your dreams come from places where their own dreams weren’t validated, so they pass on the belief that “it cannot happen.” This traces back to the legacies of colonialism and the systems that made people feel they were not good enough.

We need to unlearn these patterns. Just because your parents went through something doesn’t mean you will, too. Just because others didn’t win doesn’t mean you won’t. Speak life to your dreams, no matter how small or big. Do your part.”

Thank you for joining us for this interview. Before you leave, please share some of your future plans. What’s next for Zimkitha?

Zimkitha: I’m working on an unplugged version of The Black Enigma project, featuring recordings from all my live shows with different audiences. Thankfully, people believe in this project and are helping me navigate it musically.

I’m performing at the Balcony Sessions because I love the venue and audience. They’ve received me warmly, so I decided to experience this space for the first time. It’s happening on the last Sunday of August. I want people to experience how audiences connect with my work, to see The Black Enigma from the outside looking in and understand how the music creates real connections between people.”

Watch “The Black Enigma” (Trailer) here.

Stream “The Black Enigma” here

Connect With Zimkitha

Instagram: @zimkitha_enigma

X (formerly Twitter): @ZimkithaEnigma

Facebook: @zimkithaenigma

Tik Tok: @zimkitha_enigma

YouTube: @zimkitha

 

Written by Cedric Dladla

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

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Tryangle Man releases his single ‘House of Desired Funk’

Sep 1, 2025 | New Release, Music

In the lead-up to his upcoming album, set for release later this year alongside a European tour, electronic artist and live performer Tryangle Man offers a sneak peek of what’s to come with his latest single, ‘House of Desired Funk’.

Tryangle Man’s music blends jazz, ambient, deep house, and visual arts into immersive sonic journeys. A self-described “peace-seeking Space Being,” he crafts concept-driven albums that explore themes of discovery, memory, and cosmic connection.

In ‘House of Desired Funk’, you can expect the signature sonic grooves and evolving arrangements, piano solos, and playful improvisations that have become hallmarks of his sound.

Tryangle Man’s releases have garnered over half a million streams across platforms and have been featured on BBC 6 Music in the UK and 5FM Radio in South Africa, among others. He has also performed on stages across Europe and the Middle East, including Afrikaburn, Sofar Sounds, Rituel Festival, Madame Loyale, Souq Festival, Fire Club London, Phonox, and many more.

Listen to ‘House of Desired Funk’ here

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Framing East Asia in Global Fashion

Sep 1, 2025 | Fashion, Interlude

We’re a predominantly African fashion column, but every so often we dip our toes northwards, and as a principle of this column, decentring our gaze from the West is paramount. Naturally, with much of the continent positioned within the Global South, the parallels and solidarities between Africa and Asia are as revealing as the contrasts; and while we’re always attempting to depart from hegemonic notions of any one place, it felt as though a broadstroke overview was very much in order. 

Both Asia and Africa have historically been cast as labour pools for Western markets, both have been flattened by reductive narratives, and both are now asserting themselves as sites of cultural authority. Today, we sit alongside China and India in BRICS (with more Asian countries joining), as a multi-lateral trade organisation expressive of the ties between our ‘global south’ geographies of power and possibility. 

Asia has existed in the Western imagination as a place of endless supply chains: a factory floor feeding the appetites of Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Its role is generally framed in purely extractive terms, as if the continent’s function begins and ends with cheap labour and outsourced manufacturing. This has been our perception, but it does little to acknowledge the agency inherent in Asia’s design landscapes. It’s also a myopic view, and as you know, here at Interlude, we’re always aiming for storytelling that complicates the easy clichés and honours the multiplicity of design cultures.

The reality across Asia is dynamic, complex, and culturally significant. Asia has always been a wellspring of sartorial creativity in its own right, and the manufacturing possibilities vary significantly. From Shanghai to Seoul, Tokyo to Mumbai, Hanoi to Manila, designers are carving out space within global fashion; and still, this article is merely a glance at this vast topic, and the polyphonic reality of Asia as a continent. Multiplicity is the defining strength of this new landscape, with many voices and spaces recontextualising heritage, experimenting with futurist aesthetics, and refusing to be defined by colonial-era hierarchies or neoliberal scripts.

Angel Chen Studio, via @angelchenstudio IG

NORBLACK NORWHITE, via @norblacknorwhite IG

BLACKDOG via @blackdogbkka

No country illustrates fashion’s shifting dynamics more clearly than China. In the last century, its image was defined by scale — the sheer magnitude of its manufacturing output. “Made in China” has become shorthand for affordability, uniformity, and speed. Similarly, it came to mean disposability; fast fashion at scale, and clothing that could be bought cheaply and discarded just as quickly. Nuance is ever more important: this is true, and on the other hand, we cannot reduce an entire country or culture to an aspect of global supply chains alone. 

In reality, China’s manufacturing ecosystem is highly stratified, and alongside the mass production that dominates global perceptions, there are regions renowned for specialist craft, luxury textile development, and small-batch production. Suzhou, for instance, is steeped in silk traditions, while cities like Shenzhen are home to tech-integrated fabrics and innovation labs that annually receive designers and brand-owners around the world for prototyping and access to material technologies yet to be scaled in Europe or the US. This reveals the range — from artisanal heritage to experimental design — complicating the idea that “Made in China” monolithically denotes lack of quality, or inexpensiveness. 

A deliberate repositioning of China as a tastemaker in its own right (and I must note, this has always been the case — I mean here specifically in the context of the global stage), has been both intentional and inevitable, tied to the country’s expanding soft power. Under Mao’s China, fashion was bent into the service of the state’s political vision: the Mao suit as a uniform of equality and collectivism. Revolutionary zeal dominated the clothing of China’s recent political history (during years of relative isolation from the world) and dress became an embodiment of the values of the nation. In the decades since, the shift has been dramatic; with economic liberalisation, China’s rapid growth has uplifted around 800 million people out of poverty over the last forty years, into a newly empowered middle class, ultimately redetermining aspirations and consumer behaviour. One of the ways this was achieved was through positioning themselves as an indispensable manufacturing centre in the world.  This rising demographic, armed with disposable income and a hunger for cultural capital, has become a driving force behind China’s luxury market and, increasingly, the country’s influence on global fashion.

Among China’s distinct design voices, Angel Chen, a Central Saint Martins graduate, has become one of the leaders of the neo-Chinese wave; her explosive use of colour, eclectic patterning, and experimental textures have earned her international acclaim and collaborations with brands from H&M to Canada Goose. SHUSHU/TONG, the Shanghai-based duo of Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang, both trained in London, have carved out a cult following with their hyper-feminine yet subversive aesthetic; bows, ruffles, and babydoll silhouettes that play on the tensions between innocence and power. Meanwhile, Zhaioyi Yu represents a wildly conceptual approach, with a firm vision as a couturier with his signature, cascading sculptural forms with Chinese symbolic references. 

Asia truly does refuse monolithic characterisation: its fashion is deeply local and unflinchingly global, rooted in tradition and perpetually reinvented. For instance, South Korea’s cultural presence has seen a rapid ascent, as the K-pop girlys will tell you. Seoul has emerged as a trend epicentre, propelled by the cultural phenomena of K-pop and K-drama, and designers like Minju Kim, whose voluminous constructions captured international acclaim on Next in Fashion, epitomising the essence with which Seoul’s digitally fluent, trend-hungry consumers often signal what the world will covet next.

Tokyo, by contrast, is contemplative, a city reared in an avant-garde lineage and philosophical rigor. As I have explored previously in this column, when discussing Asia’s global influence, Japanese fashion always comes to mind; and our western understandings of minimalism have largely been trained through the enduring legacies of Japanese visionaries such as Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake. In Japan, fashion is a way of inhabiting, interrogating, and reimagining the world itself; to them, we owe an immense debt of creativity and conceptual daring. 

LiFE DESiGN poster interventions in Manila, via @welife.design IG

Angel Chen Studio, via @angelchenstudio IG

Zhaoyi Yu via @zhaoyi.official IG

In India, Sanjay Garg’s Raw Mango has recontextualised handloom, embroidery, and the sari, proving exactly how one can preserve a sartorial tradition for the future. NorBlack NorWhite, an absolute favourite, was founded by Toronto-born creatives Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar after relocating to Mumbai in 2009, and their reinterpreting indigenous crafts with streetwear sensibilities. The label has garnered international acclaim and their recent collaboration with Nike is among one of the greatest campaigns I’ve ever seen.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand’s BLACKDOG is a tastemaker brand, as they deliver a sense of Bangkok’s wildly cool and gritty youth culture. In Vietnam, SUBTLE LE NGUYEN is utterly divine; from Hanoi, they interrogate form through minimalism, and suffuse Vietnamese heritage with experimental techniques. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Construction Layers merges Filipino craftsmanship in a dreamy, avant-garde way. Collectively, these movements articulate Asia’s creative breadth: couture and streetwear, futurism and revival, all unified by a refusal to be defined externally, and asserting authority over their own sartorial narratives. The throughline? The unflinching commitment to preserving some form of tradition for the future, technically and aesthetically. I loathe the word ‘timeless’ in the context of fashion, but as they say; if the shoe fits. 

The energy of fashion’s pan-Asian expression is precisely in its refusal to be singular. There is no “Asian fashion” in the way we’re sometimes inclined to categorise. Instead, there are many voices, each rooted in place yet resonating globally. This multiplicity challenges the idea that a single narrative can ever capture the dynamism of the continent; and this is precisely what Africa is demanding, too. We are shifting the notion that the West is the site of creativity and the East is the site of labour, and we can see this play out with the way that Dazed China pushes editorial boundaries, and Filipino studio LiFE DESiGN recently went viral, live from Manila, with their iconic, meme-style fashion tarps as an ongoing humour-laden, tactile intervention (please do a deep dive, I beg). 

To understand global fashion today requires the ability to see Asia as a full-spectrum ecosystem of design, production, and cultural authority. With the advent of sustainability as inherent to the conversation in fashion usually pinned to the Rana Plaza Collapse in 2014, where over 1,100 garment workers lost their lives in a preventable factory collapse in Bangladesh, we are so in need of a new ethos of manufacturing and ethics of consumption that traces multilateral channels around the world. It will take our recognition that innovation circulates in a loop, in which practices in Dhaka, Delhi, or Guangzhou are as instructive to Paris, Joburg, Lagos or New York as the other way around. 

Recognising this shift allows us to imagine a fashion world that is interconnected; with influence shared, creativity as collective, and the future of fashion as full of possibility. J’adore. 

Written by Holly Beaton

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

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Zee Nxumalo releases ‘Mamma’ with Sykes

Aug 29, 2025 | New Release, Music

Rising star and chart-topping artist, Zee Nxumalo, unveils her much-anticipated new single “Mamma” featuring Sykes, a soaring African Dance love duet that is already making waves. With nearly 200K Shazams ahead of release and support from DJs across South Africa, “Mamma” marks a defining moment in Zee’s journey as she steps beyond her Amapiano roots into the realm of timeless classics.

Built on Skillz’s masterful production, “Mamma” is a heartfelt exchange of devotion between two lovers. Sykes serenades Zee as the woman of his heart, while Zee sings with radiant joy about experiencing a love so genuine and affirming. The title, “Mamma”, draws from an affectionate expression in Black culture—celebrating the strength and grace of a woman who holds it down both at home and in love.

The hook carries a nod to Etta James’s immortal “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”—the same melody that later inspired Avicii’s global hit “Levels.” By reimagining this iconic line within an African context, Zee continues the legacy of one of the most memorable hooks in music history while making it her own.

The accompanying music video brings the song to life with striking visuals: an infusion of Sophiatown flair, a wedding, and a show-stopping performance where Zee channels the spirit of Brenda Fassie with the sultry aesthetic of Jessica Rabbit. The result is a cultural blend of past and future—a visual feast that amplifies the song’s emotional core.

“Following Ngisakuthanda, it has been such a process getting ready to release my first single of the year. I’m honestly so excited to finally share new music. Mamma is really close to my heart because it’s such a different vibe from anything I’ve done before, so I can’t wait to see how my fans receive it. Even from the little leak, people have been showing so much love—we wanted the video to feel like a movie, and I think Keith really nailed that energy.” — Zee Nxumalo

“I’m very excited to have played my part in bringing this project to life. Sykes and I go way back, and the chemistry has always been there. Linking that up with Zee, who was such a pleasure to work with, just made the whole process even more special. That shoot? Yoh, hardest I’ve ever worked on a video set—but when you see the final product, you understand exactly why it was all worth it.” — Skillz

With its infectious rhythm, nostalgic yet fresh energy, and undeniable vocal chemistry, “Mamma” cements Zee Nxumalo’s place as one of South Africa’s most exciting rising stars.


Listen to “Mamma” here

Connect with Zee Nxumalo:
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Press release courtesy of Sheila Afari PR

Blaqbonez releases ‘Everlasting Taker’ single

Aug 29, 2025 | New Release, Music

Nigerian Afrobeats star, rapper and singer songwriter Blaqbonez has released his single “Everlasting Taker”, an anthem from his forthcoming album “No Excuses” set to be released in September 2025. 

Blaqbonez is known for his creativity and fearless persona, He uses “Everlasting Taker” to reaffirm his consistency and resilience in the ever-evolving music industry. This single is a statement that allows listeners to understand that Blaqbonez is not just passing through.

The song captures his journey of evolution, persistence and dedication, spotlighting not only his hard work but also his refusal to back down in the face of challenges. The track flips from the taker/ giver narrative and reminds fans that nothing is promised, people need to work hard and move like everlasting takers.

With his signature blend of rap and Afrobeats energy, Blaqbonez once again proves why he remains one of the most compelling voices in the new wave of Hip-Hop and African music at large. Speaking on the single, Blaqbonez shares, “‘Everlasting Taker’ is me telling the world that I’m not going anywhere. I’ve worked hard, I’ve stayed consistent and this is only the beginning. I’m here to take it all and give No Excuses.”

“Everlasting Taker” is the first taste of what fans can expect from his forthcoming album “No Excuses”, a project set to make a statement and also showcase Blaqbonez’s growth, versatility and fearless artistry.

Listen to ‘Everlasting Taker’ here

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Press release courtesy of Warner Music

Ornamentation as Consecration with Katherine-Mary Pichulik

Aug 28, 2025 | Interviews, Fashion

PICHULIK is in the business of ornamentation as a practice; that ancient-as-bones thing that consecrates the body, its location on the earth, within the wellspring of life. When you purchase a piece from PICHULIK, you are participating in its sacrament — an object imbued with the very energies it evokes, because its very making honoured those energies in process as much as in its form. This, given this conversation with Katherine-Mary Pichulik, I know to be true. 

As the existentialists would say, this is authenticity; when something is truly true to its origin or essence rather than just a representation. A necklace marketed as “sacred feminine” is just a symbolic signifier on an idea, but if its making process actually honours sacred femininity, then the object carries authenticity — it is being rather than merely appearing. As Walter Benjamin pointed out in his seminal, critical essay nearly a hundred years ago, in “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, such a piece carries its aura — the singular, unrepeatable presence that lingers when origin, ritual, and intention remain intact throughout its creation. This is no easy feat in the mechanised world of today. 

You see, PICHULIK is in the business of ornamentation as consecration; and consecration is a tricky thing to hold without diluting, or to practise without slipping into mere symbolism. Kat and her team take their roles as keepers of this knowledge seriously, ensuring that each piece is equally a gesture towards meaning and an artefact infused with it; an object carrying its own aura, its own sacred presence. 

This, as Katherine shares in our conversation, is her responsibility as a jeweller and artist.

PICHULIK x Matteo Cibic Collaboration, photographed by Alix Rose Cowie @alixrosephoto

PICHULIK x Matteo Cibic Collaboration, photographed by Alix Rose Cowie @alixrosephoto

aruba bracelet photographed by JDee Allin @jdee_allin

Kat’s creative journey has always been guided by her hands, and is rooted in a restless curiosity. “I studied fine arts and then trained as a pastry chef,” she recalls. “I worked in a bakery in London, interned at Art Review, and when I came back to South Africa I was doing many things — writing for art journals, running a food stand at a market, bottling peppers. I’ve always made things with my hands — pastry, art, craft — I’m a tactile person.” That tactile instinct, a need to shape and touch, eventually led her into jewellery almost by accident, sharing that “in the evenings I would craft just to steady my mind. My ex-boyfriend’s dad owned a rope shop and would give me scraps of rope and thread. I started making pieces, wore them, and people wanted to buy them off my neck. That was the end of 2012.”

Katherine’s work soon caught the attention of others. A friend, Alix-Rose Cowie, photographed her pieces in the Company Gardens, and the images were picked up by the blog Miss Moss, the iconic journal of fashion’s blogging heyday, self-described by its writer, Diana, as a ‘Compendium of Radness’. Shortly after, ethical Kenyan brand Laleso invited her to accessorise their Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week runway show. “Suddenly, what was just a random hobby became a business,” Kat says. The early days of PICHULIK retained an intimate, communal energy — a principle that remains present at PICHULIK’s atelier, today. “I’d have girlfriends come over in the evenings, I’d cook for them, and we’d sit in a circle while I taught them how to make pieces so we could fulfil orders. Very quickly, it evolved into a brand.” 

For Kat, jewellery has always been inseparable from heritage and storytelling, and her own heritage points to the North African tradition of intricate ornamentation and textile embellishment as a women’s pathway through identity and social connection. “My grandmother was born in Algeria and there’s a strong lineage of ornamentation, especially textiles,” she explains, and that growing up in a single working-mom household in the early ’90s, Kat was surrounded by costume jewellery, unconsciously absorbing its language; “I unconsciously linked big sculptural jewellery with agency and power,” she says, “In my family, jewellery has always been a storytelling mechanism. Not big diamond pieces, but keepsakes — objects with meaning and intention that are passed down.” Though PICHULIK intersects between the delicate and nimble, to the big and bold, the voice retained is always a declaration of womanhood and femininity as a pronouncement of strength. 

This is Goddess work, true to its meaning of omniscience. 

Of her design philosophy, Kat notes that, “I’m fascinated by alchemy — taking materials that aren’t considered precious and, through intention, design, and handcraft, transforming them into something valuable,” she explains. 

Kat’s conscious choice to work with materials sourced in Southern Africa renders PICHULIK wholly dedicated to local craft, and has given the brand its distinctive aesthetic and material quality across rope and hardware, and semi-precious stones from Southern Africa; materials not often associated with the decadence of jewellery-making, though through Katherine’s eyes and hands, even the most industrial or humble components are imbued with elegance. “I always see each collection as an episode of a female protagonist’s journey. I can look back at each one and know what I was going through at that time — what the medicine of that collection was. These objects are the medicine I’ve needed, the wisdom consolidated into form.” 

shimenawa earrings photographed by JDee Allin @jdee_allin

PICHULIK x Matteo Cibic Collaboration, photographed by Alix Rose Cowie @alixrosephoto

wave earrings photographed by JDee Allin @jdee_allin

Her creative process is both deliberate and exploratory, a practice she likens to foraging, with forensic intent. “I’m gathering information; from history, from philosophy, from whatever I’m reading, and then a word usually emerges. For this next collection, it was ‘Lacuna.’ It means a pregnant pause, where absence is incredibly full. That idea then starts to shape everything — the stones, the colours, the forms.”

“We work predominantly with industrial materials and hardy Southern African stones like jasper and tiger’s eye. Over time the work has become more refined. In the beginning it was all embellishment and beading, but as the brand and I matured, restraint came in and with restraint, comes depth.” This commitment extends beyond aesthetics into ethical practice: “We don’t do gold plating because it would have to be produced overseas. We’re committed to local job creation and handcraft. Our ropes are manufactured here or in Durban. Procurement decisions streamline our aesthetic. At the core, I’m interested in transformation — helping women reflect on their lives and ask: with what I’ve been given, can I make gold? Can I make magic?”

Kat has always approached PICHULIK with a commitment to integrity and intentionality, building a brand that is uncompromising in both practice and principle. This is what I referred to in terms of production authentically matching its outcome, and as Katherine shares with me, I’m all the more convinced PICHULIK is a blueprint for what is possible, ethically. “We’re a completely vertical business. Everything happens in-house — procurement, design, collateral, retail, wholesale. That’s allowed us to grow intentionally,” she explains. Central to this ethos is a refusal to compromise value: “One of our commitments is we never discount. When COVID hit, our revenues dropped to 10%. We took out debt to keep our staff employed, but we would not discount. To do so would devalue both the maker and the woman who wears the piece.”

Kat contrasts this approach with the broader industry, noting that many jewellery brands outsource and call it “curated jewellery” — essentially buying off Alibaba catalogues. “There’s little commitment to Southern Africa, to people, or to skill development. We’ve always done the opposite.” This ethical framework is similarly grounded in how the team itself is supported, in a way that is true to a practice of cultural sensitivity within South Africa’s context; “Our team is majority Xhosa speaking. Language is power, so we bring in a facilitator to support contract signings and performance reviews. Agency is fair wages, yes, but it’s ensuring people can advocate for themselves, and express themselves, as fully as possible.”

For Kat, culture, care, and integrity are inseparable from the work of PICHULIK. “A few years ago, two of my longest-standing employees were found to be stealing materials and reproducing work to sell at markets. It was the rest of the team who identified it, stood by the brand, and protected our team culture.

Written by Holly Beaton

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

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Roger Ballen Photography Centre Opens in Joburg with a new exhibition ‘PSYCHOPOMP!’

Aug 26, 2025 | Creatives, Community

A new chapter for photography in Africa begins this September with the opening of the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography in Forest Town, Johannesburg. Founded by internationally acclaimed photographer Roger Ballen, and designed by award-winning architect Joe van Rooyen, the space is one of the few institutions on the continent dedicated entirely to photography. Across three halls, and including an extensive photographic bookstore, the new Centre offers space for reflection, experimentation, and critical engagement — from the archival to the avant-garde.

“It’s always been my goal to create a dedicated space for photography in South Africa. I founded the Roger Ballen Foundation almost 20 years ago to support local photographers, but the missing piece was always a venue. With this Centre, I hope to provide a platform for powerful photographic voices, both African and international, and to engage the public in a deeper reflection on image-making today.”— Roger Ballen

The Centre launches with PSYCHOPOMP! — a provocative new exhibition curated by Berlin-based artist and theorist Boris Eldagsen, realised with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), that explores the evolving role of AI-generated images as a mirror to the unconscious mind.

Eldagsen is an award-winning photomedia artist and philosopher whose practice blends photography, painting, theatre, and film to delve into the hidden corners of the psyche. His career spans major exhibitions and festivals across Europe, Asia, and Australia, and he is internationally recognised for igniting a global debate on AI and art when he declined the 2023 Sony World Photography Award for an AI-generated image.

All imagery courtesy of Roger Ballen Centre for Photography
In support of the exhibition’s timely themes, Inge Herbert, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, notes: “We believe in the power of creativity, innovation, and the free exchange of ideas. At a time when AI technologies are rapidly transforming how images are created, shared, and understood, it is vital to foster education that equips audiences and artists alike to navigate this new landscape. By encouraging freedom of expression and critical engagement, we can help build a vibrant, sustainable creative ecosystem in which African voices contribute meaningfully to the global conversation on art and photography.”

Opening Events

Public Opening: Wednesday, 03 September 2025

Opening Hours: Monday–Friday: 10:00–16:00, Saturday: 09:00–12:00

Featured Public Programmes:

  • 03 September: 11:00 – Educational lecture: Ethics of AI in Art (Boris Eldagsen)
  • 03 September: 18:00 – Public lecture: Ethics of AI in Art (Boris Eldagsen)
  • 04 September: 11:00 & 14:00 – Educational lecture: AI & Creativity (Boris Eldagsen)
  • 05 September: 11:00 – Educational Lecture: The Future of Artistic Process(Boris Eldagsen)
  • 06 September: 10:00 Open day artist walkabout | 13:00 AI & Creativity (Boris Eldagsen)

Debut Exhibition: PSYCHOPOMP!

PSYCHOPOMP!, the Centre’s inaugural exhibition curated by Boris Eldagsen, brings together artists from around the world who explore AI as a tool for self-exploration rather than spectacle. In Eldagsen’s view, the exhibition draws on Jungian psychology to examine the “shadow” — those hidden aspects of the self we often deny. Featuring over 20 artists including Arminda da Silva (SA), Ian Haig (Australia), Rosemberg (Spain), Infrarouge (France), and Crudguts (Brazil), the show uses surreal, uncanny and often unsettling imagery to challenge perceptions of both photography and identity.

“The artists in PSYCHOPOMP! don’t ask AI for answers. They use it to interrogate their fears, their shame, their psychic leftovers. What you see is what the machine sees in them—and, maybe, in you too.”— Boris Eldagsen, Curator

In his own words, Ballen describes AI as an expanding frontier:“AI is transforming photography and many other fields, raising urgent creative and ethical questions. That’s why we’re launching with this show. We want to confront these issues head-on—and set a tone of relevance and reflection from the start.”

A New Centre for a Changing Medium

The Roger Ballen Centre for Photography is the latest initiative of the Inside Out Foundation, a non-profit organisation established to support cultural and educational projects in South Africa. It stands alongside its partner institution, the Inside Out Centre for the Arts, with which it shares a mission to spark public engagement through the image. While the Inside Out Centre continues to host multidisciplinary exhibitions like End of The Game, along with music, poetry, lectures and film, the new Photography Centre offers a dedicated space focused solely on photography — expanding the Foundation’s vision with an emphasis on both local and international image-making.

“Art is not just a form of expression — it’s a mirror to the times. This Centre exists to ask questions, raise standards, and grow new audiences for photography and the visual arts in South Africa and beyond.” — Roger Ballen

Coming Next: October 2025

Opening on 20 October 2025, the next exhibition at the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography coincides with the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) Conference, taking place at the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre, our neighbouring cultural institution. The accompanying exhibition will spotlight global photographic responses to genocide and historical trauma. Featured artists include Marcelo Brodsky, Linda Paganelli, and Amy Fagin. Alongside this powerful group show, visitors will also experience Roger Ballen’s new body of colour work, drawn from his latest monograph by Thames & Hudson entitled Spirits and Spaces that will be launched at the centre for the opening of the exhibition. Curated by Marguerite Rossouw, Roger Ballen’s Artistic Director, the exhibition explores visual expressions of chaos, memory, and the afterlife.

All imagery courtesy of Roger Ballen Centre for Photography

Contact & Visit

Roger Ballen Centre for Photography

2 Duncombe Road, Forest Town, Johannesburg

+27 87 700 5998

insideoutfoundation.co.za

Follow: @rogerballencentre

 

Admission

General admission to the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography is R50. A combined ticket granting access to both the Photography Centre and the Inside Out Centre for the Arts is available for R150. Entry is free to the public on Saturday, 6 September 2025.

 

Press release courtesy of Roger Ballen 

All imagery courtesy of Roger Ballen Centre for Photography
For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

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Upcycling Alchemy: Introducing Kemet Apparel

Aug 25, 2025 | Fashion, Community

Born in the heart of the Vaal Triangle, this South African label, Kemet Apparel, is a movement rooted in memory, history and forward-thinking design.

Founded in 2018 by long-time friends and creative collaborators Sipho Mnune and Michael Cindi, Kemet Apparel began with a simple yet revolutionary intent: to create clothing that reflected their identities, beliefs and dreams in a world where fast fashion reigned supreme. Unable to find pieces they connected with in mainstream stores, and working within tight financial means, the duo chose to create their own path—literally cutting, stitching and building garments from scratch with the tools and knowledge passed down by their families.

“We started designing clothes for ourselves because we couldn’t find what we wanted. That’s when we realized—we weren’t just making clothes, we were making statements,” says Sipho.

Raised in a home shaped by a mother who was a designer and fabric specialist, Sipho absorbed the art of garment construction from a young age. Meanwhile, Michael’s fashion sense was honed by his grandmother’s flair for styling, a consistent display of elegance that left an indelible impression. Together, they are embedding their Zulu and Xhosa heritage into each piece with distinctive zig-zag stitches that celebrate a deep cultural fusion.

KEMET stands for ‘Kreative Entrepreneurs Making Exclusive Threads’, but its roots dig much deeper. The name was inspired by an ancient African civilization—Kemet, known to many as the  architects of Egypt’s great pyramids. This connection to a civilization that was innovative and African to its core, felt like a natural alignment to the founders. By adopting this name, the duo positioned themselves as the modern-day builders of something equally timeless.

All imagery courtesy of Kemet Apparel

One of Kemet’s most powerful moments came with the transformation of a 25-year-old pair of Levi’s jeans, a family heirloom, into a unique bucket hat. It wasn’t just resourceful, it was symbolic. The act of unpicking, repurposing, and recreating the denim into something fresh marked their conscious commitment to upcycling. “We realized that if a piece of clothing can be passed down for generations, then what we create now must also be made to last.”

That ethos runs through all their creations. Whether they’re merging contrasting tones of denim or embellishing garments with vibrant cultural stitching, every decision is intentional. Kemet Apparel’s commitment to sustainability recently earned them recognition from the very brand they once upcycled—Levi’s Strauss—who invited them to their Cape Town factory. There, they witnessed firsthand the global standards required for quality, longevity, and circularity in fashion.

At the same time, their appearance at Twyg’s Africa Textile Talks 2025 proved a turning point. Engaging in urgent conversations about fashion’s environmental impact, the duo walked away energized, informed, and deeply inspired by one key takeaway: collaboration is essential. “We realized it’s not circular if it’s not a circle. To truly make an impact, we need to work together.”

Sipho and Michael have also taken on the role of educators, spreading awareness of the dangers posed by fast fashion—particularly in communities new to the language of sustainability.mTheir approach is inclusive, accessible, and deeply human. Whether breaking down complex issues like climate change and textile waste or simply showing someone how an old shirt can become something new, they’re changing the narrative.

“Sometimes someone just loves a piece and doesn’t know the story behind it. When they find out it’s upcycled—it changes how they see fashion altogether.”

All imagery courtesy of Kemet Apparel

Currently, Kemet Apparel is preparing to launch a deeply personal Spring/Summer collection titled “Virginia”, named in honor of Sipho’s late mother—whose early guidance continues to shape the label’s DNA. This collection promises boundary-pushing creativity while paying homage to the values that started it all.

Looking ahead, the team is exploring retail partnerships with major names like Mr Price and H&M, along with potential collaborations with local sustainability champions including Rethread, Broke, Blondmilk and Levi’s.

They’re also gearing up for pop-up events in Johannesburg and Cape Town this November, aiming to create spaces where style meets dialogue, where communities can come together to share and celebrate fashion with meaning.

By 2026, they plan to open Kemet Apparel’s first official retail store.

In their threads lie stories of mothers, grandmothers, old jeans and a shared determination to create a world where style and sustainability exist as one.

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

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Nasty C drops ‘Leftie’ with Blxckie

Aug 22, 2025 | New Release, Music

The South African rap heavyweight, whose name is synonymous with global hip hop innovation, has just dropped “Leftie” with Blxckie. It was born out of real fan demand, previewed at his Pass The Aux sessions and whispered about in packed rooms across the country. Now it’s here.
Over a brooding, bass-heavy beat, Nasty C and Blxckie tap into their duality. Gritty street ambition collides with spiritual gratitude. “Take it from Park to Drive, take off like a Leftie,” Nasty spits, setting the tone for a song that is both metaphor and mission. 

“Leftie” is the gateway drug to FREE, Nasty C’s much-anticipated new album, set to drop 12 September 2025 and now available for pre-add. A sonic declaration of independence, FREE is a project that reflects the rapper’s journey not just as an artist but as a man reclaiming his voice, his time, and his truth.
“FREE is basically just me feeling like I’m free from external pressures,” Nasty C explains. “Free to create whatever I want and be whoever I want for however long I want to be that person.” That same liberation can be felt in every bar of “Leftie.” From lyrical acrobatics to emotional snapshots, like watching his newborn being breastfed, the record grounds the superstar in something deeply human.
 

While the music is blazing, so is the man behind it. In recent weeks, Nasty C has been spotted bagging groceries at Spar, fixing engines in a mechanic’s shop, and giving fades at a local barbershop. These “odd jobs,” as the internet calls them, are no gimmick. They are part of a living experiment, one that mirrors the mindset of FREE. “I wanted to experience normal people’s version of working hard,” he says. “It helps me connect, it keeps me grounded, and honestly, I just love it.”
This is an artist who is not only redefining his sound but also his reach. He is connecting with fans in queues, at workshops, and on the streets. Whether in a music video or behind a counter, Nasty C is giving his audience something real. Something they can hold onto.
With “Leftie,” he is doing the same. It is a record that cuts deep and punches hard, offering vulnerability and bravado in the same breath. Blxckie slides through with charisma, luxury, and lyrical flexes that match Nasty C’s introspection line-for-line. “Leftie” hits like a checkpoint in the evolution of South African hip hop and will be a track that bookmarks a chapter in both artists’ journeys.

Connect with Nasty C:
Facebook: @nastyczzle
X: @nasty_csa
Instagram: @nasty_csa
TikTok: @nasty_csa
YouTube: @NastyC

 

Listen to ‘Leftie’ here

 

Press release courtesy of Sheila Afari PR