Your Astrological Roadmap for 2023

Jan 9, 2023 | Lifestyle, Community

The cork is popped and the champagne starts to flow, fireworks dazzling overhead, and yet that oomph to grab 2023 by the horns is nonexistent. Not yet, anyway. And who can blame us when a year starts with two planets doing a backwards moondance, that of Mercury, the planet of communication, and Mars, the planet of action and motivation. We’re being asked to rather float into the New Year, to slowly glide across that pool on an inflatable floatie of our choosing (Unicorn, anyone?!) as we wait for the new year to properly start. No sprinting up that mountain of goals, just yet. Kick back and savour that sunset a little longer.

That’s right, the infamous Mercury Retrograde is in full swing until Jan 18th, causing mischief with Mars in the form of an overflowing inbox and no desire to tackle it. Lucky for us though, Mars will finally go direct on Jan 12th after almost 10 weeks of sending us into a procrastination spiral. So, until then, let’s just take things nice and slow. As Lao Tzu once said, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Amen to that. And after the past three years of living in a locked-down world, a state of flux, the astrology of 2023 feels like a breath of fresh air, a redefining of comfort on our own terms, and change in the form of more freedom to be ourselves and share our bold ideas. So, let your summer vacay stick around for as long as you can, or at least until Jan 21st when the first New Moon of the year in the sign of Aquarius arrives. Finally you can take some action and get intentional about the kind of fresh change you want to invite in this year. And you’re in good company because the planets are a’changing too.

The planet of structure – Saturn – has been moving through Aquarius since 2020, and that’s a tricky combo, with Saturn wanting to control and Aquarius fighting back…Sounds familiar, right? But on March 7th, our strict teacher Saturn, takes a plunge into the water sign of Pisces, and all of those obstacles start to melt away. It’s liberation time, baby. Think more of a focus on carving out time for creative projects, and of course, more compassion, more adaptability bubbling up to the surface, as well as wanting to be part of something bigger than yourself. Thank you Saturn. And for those of you between the ages of 28 and 30, your Saturn Return is fast approaching. Get ready for those life lessons. And for the rest of us, a bit more inner peace wouldn’t go amiss.

March is truly the month that just keeps giving, with it marking the start of the astrological new year when the Sun slides into Aries on March 20th. Ready to set your passions alight? This year is yours for the taking, and with the Lunar Nodes of destiny (kinda like a North Star that guides up where we want to go) changing signs from Taurus and Scorpio to Aries and Libra on July 17th, we’re in for a treat. A new story is about to begin where our purpose starts to align more with finding a balance between traversing that brave new independent path and being considerate of others. No-one needs to fall behind this year. This Lunar Node transit dance will last 18 months, and in this time it’s a chance to really show yourself how capable you are of living a life of absolute passion, where you not only empower yourself, but others too.

And with this Nodal shift, comes a whole new Eclipse season. Pop April 20th and May 5th into your diary, as we’ll be graced by two Mars-fueled Eclipses, in Aries and Scorpio. Forward momentum is coming, but look before you leap, as Eclipses can be unpredictable moments. Not quite ready for that new job promotion? Well, the Eclipses think you are. Ready, steady, go.

Meanwhile, the planet of transformation- Pluto, is briefly moving into Aquarius on March 23rd until June 11th where it will Retrograde back into Capricorn for the remainder of the year. Now, Pluto takes up to 20 years to move through a sign, and since 2008 it has been making shapes in Capricorn. This brief interlude into Aquarius is going to be a great opportunity for us to get our brains whizzing into action, to help us progress and start to question things even more. How can we be more innovative? We might start to see big shifts in the tech world. New business idea, anyone? Let those ideas germinate for a bit, then come 2024 when Pluto properly moves into Aquarius for two whole decades, send them out there. Nothing is too open-minded for this 20 year transit. 

And with Jupiter – the planet of expansion, moving into Taurus on May 16th, in the second half of the year we are going to see a lot of Taururean themes being magnified. Oh, this is a goodie! Everything Jupiter touches turns to gold. More abundance, more money, more sharing of your gifts, and then thinking about sustainability and how we can spread and share our riches more. Slow and steady wins the Jupiter in Taurus race, and you name it, Jupiter will expand it, but that soil has to be nourished for those dreams to bloom.

On the subject of blooming, how can we bloom together as a community too? With the second half of 2023 being a year of the outer planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune & Pluto swimming through earth and water signs, we need to think about Mama Earth more too. Use her as your playground, but look after her. Is that a glimmer of peace on the horizon…?

The final two Eclipses of the year are both Venus-ruled, which is oh so much softer. They’ll catch you if you fall. The Libra Solar Eclipse is on Oct 14th, and then the final Taurus Eclipse is on Oct 28th. A year of dancing precariously between Venus and Mars – the compassionate, considerate side of yourself with the side that wants to take big strides towards smashing that piñata full of ambition. Once that balance is on point, I guess you can say you’ve started to master the art of slowing down. Can we take leaps and still have soft landings? Sure looks like it this year.

Let yourself get away from having to be constantly tuned-in to the external world this year. How can you find more silence within? Take strides in your field, as long as it will benefit the collective too, but hustle culture isn’t coming along for the ride. That’s so 2022. And throw out people-pleasing while you’re at it. Being considerate doesn’t mean you need to be a doormat.

2023 is the year we finally learn that we don’t have to hurry, and you best believe the planets will make sure of that. So use this slow start to get reflective, to reevaluate the things you want to accomplish this year. Let earth and water be the elements that help you navigate the often stormy seas that life can throw us headfirst into. And why not climb back onto your Unicorn floatie while you’re at it. Make yourself a cocktail of patience, consideration, groundedness, adaptability, and throw in a sprinkling of joy for good measure. No shaking or stirring this year, though. Just let all the different parts fuse together by themselves. In the meantime, get working on that dive. Belly flops are welcome too. As long as it’s some kind of leap.

Written by: Siobhan Lumsden

Published 10 January 2023

 

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

WGSN X Coloro AW24/25: Collating Future Colour Forecasts with Confectionary /// Volume 2

Jan 5, 2023 | Fashion, Community

I have often wondered when, in the midst of this technocratic and contemporary world, we might approach a total abandon or rejection of the hyper-curated – particularly when all we want and all we consume, tends to arise by an eerie and mesmerising order of design. I feel this way about WGSN – the behemothic trend-forecasting institution – whose guarded and prized secrets are hidden behind a stringent paywall; trading in information that is invaluable and highly analysed from market, to brand and finally to us, the consumer. The open-source information that WGSN does share – like their podcast, Create Tomorrow, are bite-sized, interesting conversations with leading innovators in design, beauty, fashion and tech; as a resource for a changing world, changing consumers, and building better products. There is an aspirational feeling, indeed, when I listen to their work – all futuristic and streamlined realities abound, and then a sense of relative excitement when their bi-annual colour forecasting drops in partnership with Coloro. In our first edition of ‘Collating Colour with Confectionary’, released early last year in 2022, I wrote, ‘The other half of this collaboration, Coloro, is a company created to build colour systems for the creative industries; combining research based in the logical application and intuitive envisioning of colour as it pertains to brands, communication and design. Perhaps the most fundamental experience we have as human beings is the interaction of our visual cortex with refracted light, and such colour is an immensely powerful tool. It is the subconscious compass with which we approach our lives – emotional, mentally, physically and even spiritually. In explaining their system, the Coloro website states; “Coloro is based on a 3D model where every colour is specified by a 7-digit code. This code represents a point where Hue, Lightness and Chroma intersect. The system is built by a 160-step Hue wheel with a vertical axis of 100 Lightness values and a radial range of 100 Chroma values. Together, they create a new model to define human colour perception for a potential 1.6 million colours. The only limit is your imagination.’’ 

So why return to the AW 24/25 forecasting, and use the ugly-beautiful-cakes as a reference, once again? Within these neatly deterministic ways of understanding human behaviour and consumer psychology – when certainty is perhaps the most valued prize for understanding our culture/s  – so too, are we experiencing a rejection of hyper-filtered aestheticism. In between beautiful packaging or aspirational moodboards – the Instagram ‘photo dump’ has seen users subvert the curated social media platform from serious, to almost satirical – and when fashion influencers like Clara Perlmutter AKA tinyjewishgirl lean into absurdist abandon in expression of personal style, we know we are collectively experiencing a reckoning with the concept of beauty itself; in all its forms. As Bee Beardsworth writes in her piece for Dazed, ‘In defence of bad beauty’, “Bad beauty is no longer solely concerned with defying conventionality and restrictions. Bad beauty is about inhabiting a new sphere of expression that extends beyond the limits of binaries and societal constructs. It’s about visceral honesty and commanding the power that comes from total ownership of personal narrative and creative vision.” In taking the very tools laid before us, intended for us to be more beautiful – more desirable – more tasteful, and more palatable; make-up becomes strange and surreal, pulling looks becomes a performance of autonomy and healing – and baking cakes becomes a canvas upon which the tension of this entire clash between hyper-aestheticism and human imagination takes place. The more AI-generated filters are introduced, the more there will be the inevitable resistance; protest in the form of doing, expressing and being precisely in the way that feels true. 

Subversive cakes hold the spectrum of colours, florals and adornment – albeit oozing and engorged (and not-unlike the artifice of consumption culture itself, and in the name of indulgence, this style of confectionary puts cake makers like Berlin-based Rust Cakes, Brooke Cowitz of Cry Baby Cakes, NYC-based Cake4Sport, Food Bebo, and Made By Nez as arbiters of the femme-led culinary wave taking root across the world. In the juxtaposition between their work and the ascribed ‘meaning’ of each colour for AW24/25, I hope you find the comedic tension of being real in an often unreal society.

Intense Rust /// 015-33-25

“First forecast for A/W 23/24, Intense Rust returns to the palette for A/W 24/25 as a key colour. The warm and rich shade of Intense Rust is a trans-seasonal brown that evokes feelings of stability. Balancing luxury with a raw, earthy edge, this colour is reminiscent of soil, full of warmth and calm textures. It’s inspired by consumers increasingly valuing sustainability over newness, re-sale culture and products with long-term appeal. This colour communicates authenticity, quiet luxury and promotes a return of classic design.”​

Midnight Plum /// 151-22-09

“Midnight Plum is a powerful dark purple that connects to themes of space exploration and the metaverse. NASA’s James Webb Telescope images opened up the possibility to unravel mysteries about the origins of the universe, allowing colours in space to capture our imaginations. A tinted dark close to black, this colour celebrates darkness, connecting to a sense of mystery as well as gothic and underground sentiments. It aligns with the increasing consumer desire for escapism.”

​

Sustained Grey  /// 035-73-04

“Sustained Grey confirms the continuing importance of neutrals and more sustainable colour choices, which celebrates recyclability and the pursuit of ‘just enough’. Representing practicality and reliability, this colour is foundational and grounding with a utilitarian edge. It speaks to promoting balance and slowing down, as a timeless shade with trans-seasonal and long-term appeal.”

Cool Matcha /// 055-85-20

“Cool Matcha is a tinted pastel with a soothing and calm quality. Connecting both nature and technology, it highlights the importance of developments in nature-powered bio and plant-based materials, dyes, pigments and energy sources. As consumers continue to deal with feelings of anxiety and stress, we look to colour to help soothe the mind and bring a sense of rest and reflection. Cool Matcha is a quiet, pacifying pale with a therapeutic quality and is the perfect combination of a vegetal green and mindful pastel.”

Apricot Crush /// 024-65-27

“This balancing bright is an activating vitamin tone that embodies a full spectrum approach to health and wellbeing. Encompassing the natural vitamin- and antioxidant-rich benefits of apricots and oranges, it also draws from the beauty found in nature. Through times of so much uncertainty, Apricot Crush continues to confirm its importance, acting as a colour full of hope and positivity.“

Written by: Holly Bell Beaton

Search Festival makes their long awaited return and reveals the full line up for 2022

Dec 15, 2022 | Music, Community

Search Festival makes their long awaited return and reveals the full line up for 2022 

Search is a 3-day music festival that ushers in the New Year with world-class explorations in sound, visuals, sculpture, sustainability and friendship. Returning to the beautiful cradle that is Utopia farm near the picturesque village of Swellendam, Search Festival have announced their full lineup for 2022, and it’s looking stronger than ever. Over the course of eight years, Search has shaped itself around independent music culture, creating an empowering environment founded on DIY principles and volunteer participation. The aim is always to create a safe, ecologically sustainable and socially conscious space for all to flourish in and an unfaltering association with only the most exciting and innovative voices in music. This is what sets us apart: connecting talent, scenes and genres in a way that always feels honest and surprisingly organic. The festival’s love for experimental and innovative sounds (and for artists that have been making an impact in the South African and international music scenes), are showcased in full force this year. 

Taking place on December 30th through January 1st across three stages, Search shares a programme of forward-thinking legends with emerging local, regional and international talent to soundtrack your New Year’s, including Nabihah Iqbal, Charles Webster, Surreal Sessions, Omagoqa, SENHORÂ, Xuzi Xafa Xafa, Stiff Pap, KDOLLAHZ and Rose Bonica, among many others. 

Nabihah Iqbal and Charles Webster, two integral artists from the UK music scene, are included as headliners for the festival. Nabihah Iqbal is a highly regarded multidisciplinary artist, researcher and digger known for her NTS and BBC Radio shows and her recordings for Ninja Tune Records. Charles Webster, accomplished DJ and producer, is an important figure in electronic music, creating and curating multi-genre sounds hovering between House, Downtempo and Jazz, with releases spanning over three decades. Both these artists have lived in South Africa and have shown a keen interest in its music scene and culture.

 

The line up also aims to showcase acts who share and create distinct South African sounds. Heavy Gqom sounds from Surreal Sessions (playing at Boiler Room Festival next year) and Omagoqa (booked for Sonar Barcelona 2023). SENHORÂ, who has been pushing the best in local SA dance music as well as KDOLLAHZ who has been an advocate for Yaadt remixes, synonymous with Cape Town culture. Live act, electronic music duo, Stiff Pap have also been included in this year’s line up, known for their experimental fusion of Gqom and Kwaito and vernacular rap. 

Furthermore on the live front will be the debut of Xuzi Xafa Xafa, a new alias from the renowned Nonku Phiri bringing to life her new electronic focused persona, while the synthwave sounds of  Blu Flame (made up of Hlasko and SunSunSun) and the electronic-classical hybrid of Haiku Haiku, round out this year’s powerful list of first-time appearances. 

 

The festival has also brought in some of the deepest diggers to explore the sounds of Jazz, Funk, Soul, Disco, Experimental and indigenous music from across the globe channeled to the soundsystem by Sound Of Xee, Fly Machine Sessions, Hypocrite & DJ Okapi – and to celebrate, some of the best DJs and Producers in House & Techno will be performing. Artists who’ve been keeping the city moving throughout the year, ready to propel us into the 2023, including Kyle Russouw, re.dah & Thor Rixon (Live), Biodive, Mandy Alexander, Ray Bennett, Rose Bonica and too many more to mention. 

In addition to the eclectic line up programmed by Aaron Peters (The Other Records and The Other Radio), Search has invited Tamzyn Botha, curator of Shade Brixton and Brixton Light Festival, as the Site Creative Director. Her work focuses on collectively workshopping and individually upcycling unwanted items to create memorable and highly imaginative art pieces and spaces. Her exciting take on the discarded is surely going to bring something uniquely unforgettable to each of the Search stages and hidden spaces as well gearing a sustainability focus for the festival. 

Purchase tickets HERE

For more info visit www.searchfestival.co.za

Published: 15 December 2022

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

Food and Festive Family Feuds // Navigating family dynamics over the holiday season

Dec 14, 2022 | Navigating Reality, Lifestyle

Here we are again. Hurtling, head first towards the full stop at the end of another year. A year filled with all kinds of traumas, tragedies and hopefully some semblance of positive transformation. As storefronts and streetlamps start donning the familiar face of capitalist Mr Claus, Mariah Carey starts defrosting after another year in hibernation only to chart with a Christmas banger that probably nets her more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. A time filled with the wonders and joys of the festive season when temperatures soar, and our coastal towns are somewhat begrudgingly flooded by GP number plate after GP number plate. The festive season is supposed to be the season of giving. A time for family time and togetherness, but let’s be honest here, festive fun very quickly and very often turns into festive family fuckery.

Look, family dynamics can be complex, really complex, even within the context of a nuclear family (parents and their children). I am positive that I piss my parents off enough that they would like to punch me in the throat occasionally. Still, the introduction of extended family and the complexities that may carry, well, it’s a wonder families aren’t at each other’s throats more often. 

Familial situations are complex because individuals are inherently emotionally quite complex. We interact with each other, wounded by our fears, insecurities and baggage, expecting there to be care and space and understanding from family that, at the end of the day, is forced on us, not chosen. This doesn’t even consider that it has become very apparent that the generational gap and the factor it plays on many tricky-to-navigate touching points can often lead to frustrating interactions. A  younger generation finds themselves with the self-imposed moral responsibility to educate their elders on why their views or opinions are problematic, outdated or factually incorrect, only to be met by elders who often dismiss the views and opinions of younger (usually) more inclusive members of the family without taking the time to internalise the concerns from a generation they have seemingly already deemed to be too soft.

 

Now, I can’t speak about all the different kinds of festive family dramas. Simply put, the scope of this kind of topic is too vast and complex. At the end of the day, family traumas are often linked to personal traumas. Individual issues range hopelessly too far and wide in severity and context that it would be irresponsible to try to cover them in a single article. Instead, what I think would be far more helpful is a little crash course on some tips and techniques to at least survive through the potential turmoil. It’s not about being selfish, it’s about self-care. 

 

Another strategy that is absolutely crucial in managing festive time family fuckery is setting up clear and communicated boundaries. Is there a family member that just rubs you the wrong way? Well, clearly communicate to them and those around you that these are your boundaries in terms of topics of conversation and/or actions and that these boundaries (within reason) are unnegotiable. We all come with our own internalised baggage, and that is something that should also be respected.

Often when tensions are high, we can lose sight of what we are all there for. However strange it may sound, remind yourself and those around you why you all got together over the festive period. Meet up with people that you WANT to, to celebrate and create lasting, hopefully, beautiful memories.

Most importantly, of all, put yourself first. Remember earlier when I talked about self-care and self-love? Prioritise that. If there’s a family member that makes you feel uncomfortable, unsafe or any negative emotion for that manner, fuck them. We don’t get to pick our families, and I don’t think we should be forced to like them. You and your own well-being should be put first.

I know some people are dreading this upcoming festive flair. Dreading seeing their parents, grandparents or that one Oom that really gets way too friendly. Dreading the expectation to put on a smile and spend time with people they don’t necessarily like very much away for a getaway or in a place that is starting to feel less and less like home. But here’s to hoping that you and I both can use some of these strategies to not only survive this holiday season but hopefully grow and even thrive. It’s been a long two years, damn, it’s been a long life, and I simply won’t accept family (of all things) fucking up our well-deserved end-year break. Family drama can often make you feel like an extra in a soap opera, but I guess that’s just another day in our lives.

Published: 14 December 2022
Written by: Casey Delport

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

Vans and Surfer Nathan Florence Team Up to Create the Ultimate Surf Travel Kit

Dec 13, 2022 | Community

Vans and Surfer Nathan Florence Team Up to Create the Ultimate Surf Travel Kit

Inspired by Nathan’s favourite essentials, and built for exploration

Costa Mesa, CALIF – Vans, the original action sports footwear and apparel brand, is proud to announce a new collection with surfing legend and Vans Surf team rider Nathan Florence this holiday season. Nathan Florence is immediately recognisable for his style and power in the water and is also just as well-known for his adventurous and fierce spirit. Nathan’s new collection with Vans represents the progression he brings both in and out of the water.

 Nathan travels the world in search of the biggest and best waves, and his new collection with Vans is inspired by these global pursuits. Built with travel in mind, the collection leads with the UltraRange™ VR3, Surf Boot 2 Mid and an assortment of functional apparel pieces. This head-to-toe collection of true essentials includes all of Nathan’s favourite footwear and apparel, built around functionality and versatility, all in his signature red and black motif, and adorned with signature details that appear on all of his surfboards.   

 

The hero style of the collection is undoubtedly the re-engineered and rebuilt UltraRange™ VR3, which features a knit upper textile crafted from 50 percent organic cotton, 34 percent recycled PET, 14 percent recycled nylon and two percent spandex. Built with environmentally conscious materials in mind, the UltraRange™ VR3 supports responsible manufacturing through the Leather Working Group certified tanneries. The brand-new EcoCush™ midsole is made using 50 percent biobased EVA foam, partially derived from plant-based sources. The VR3Waffle™ outsole compound is made with 60% regeneratively-grown, natural rubber sourced from farms utilising agricultural practices that are intended to promote biodiversity, enhance water cycles, improve soil health, and/or sequester carbon—all while maintaining the grip and durability Vans has been known for since 1966.

The collection also includes Nathan Florence board-short in black, an OTW LS tee in black, and an OTW SS tee in chili pepper. 

Not many surfers are as at home on the North Shore as Nathan Florence. Hailing from Haleiwa, he can be found charging waves on the biggest days, and his accomplishments in heavy surf over the years speak for themselves. Growing up in the fierce brotherly battle of who could pull into the biggest tube or launch the highest air, Nathan was shaped into the charger he is today by never backing down.

Vans’ Nathan Florence Collection is now available at select Vans retailers and at Vans.co.za. For more information about Vans sustainability initiatives, visit vans.co.za/sustainability.

Head HERE to shop the collection 

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Published: 13 December 2022

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

ONE PARK – A NEW PLACE TO LISTEN

Dec 12, 2022 | Lifestyle, Music, Community

One Park has just launched its listening bar, a first for the country and continent.

Situated in Cape Town, One Park is fashioned after the Japanese kissaten, audio focused lounges & coffee shops. Expect high fidelity, highly curated sounds varied with heritage inspired cocktails, natural wines and delicious bar snacks. One Park is a place where old and new meet. Owners Matt and Mishka transformed a hundred year old heritage building into a record store, eatery, online radio station and listening bar. 

“After almost three years of red tape and construction we’re finally ready to share the sound bar.” says Mishka. The newly opened upstairs which includes the listening bar and online radio station The Other Radio is a floor for the ears. Enjoy a rotation of local DJs, live acts curating their favourite music for an immersive listening experience. A key to the enjoyment of the listening bar is the finishes – natural wood tones, local artwork and a fully customised speaker set. Matt describes the design as such, “It was incredibly rewarding to work on the interiors, from curating the walls, to the wood and bar finishes and adjusting the lighting. These details give the space a home-like feel, a place to relax and listen.”  The corner nook couch has the sense of intimate, private but still part of the whole space perfect for any celebrations.

The listening bar includes a one of a kind DJ Booth and specialised speaker set designed by Phil Kramer. One Park’s system is both classic and modern , using restored Altec cabinets from a 60s movie theatre, brand new CNC’d biradial horns and biamping. It’s a hybrid approach that sounds as good as it looks. It delivers a realistic and natural sound to the listener. Kramer says “for me it [the system] was a combination of all skill sets – cabinetry, CAD, hunting for old parts, electronics, a

deep love of vintage hifi and aesthetics. It was interesting to use everything simultaneously, and makes the outcome extremely satisfying”.

Apart from natural sound, the listening bar serves the popular Bird’s Eye cocktail, made of fresh turmeric, chilli, orange liqueur and Leonista reposado, paired with sticky lamb ribs and mint chutney. The bar snacks are made by the downstairs Eatery run by Chef Lisa Knipe and Yoraya Nydoo. They offer a variety of small plates made to share that are inspired by Lisa and Yoraya’s heritage. One Park is a sensory experience where food, music, shopping and art meets. Browse the latest releases at The Other Records, share small plates at the Eatery, purchase a painting by Givan Lötz or Black Koki, stream The Other Radio and finally drink and listen to high quality sound at the Listening Bar.

One Park is open from Wednesday – Saturday 4pm – late Sunday 12pm – 9pm. 

Walk-ins welcome.

Reservations recommended for Eatery.

 

Published: 12 December 2022

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

Dune Tilley’s Point of View

Dec 9, 2022 | Interviews, Creatives

Dune Tilley was 17 when CNN asked him to participate in a photographic series for International Youth Day. In his commissioned self-portrait, Dune is perched on a chair between two women, a tender hand on either shoulder; the feminine forces that shaped him – his mother, and his second mother, Dune’s domestic worker. Embedded in the image is the precise dichotomy of South Africa; the response to CNN’s brief on what each young African photographer felt most concerned about in their country. For Dune, born some years after the cessation of apartheid, his subject was the disparity of his two maternal figures; the accompanying text reads, “These two figures, although in my eyes represent that of my motherly figures, in the eyes of the country (they) take on two very different roles and narratives. Although a similar age to my mother, my domestic worker was previously marginalised by the government, leaving her with no access to education and a low standard of living while my mother had access to a high standard of education and grew up in a quiet suburb. The wage gap between my mother and my domestic worker harps back to a disadvantaged majority due to the legacy of apartheid.”

To have a point-of-view as is so boldly required of artists is something we believe to be forged in the furnace of age; a slow, perspective kindled by all the pain and all the glory that the battle scars of time bestow upon us. Then, there are those who seem to have been born with those battle scars already emanating; Dune Tilley is one such being. At 22 years old, Dune holds a body of life’s (and living) work that impresses, with said point-of-view utterly responsive to what it means to be a young human being with vision that our elders either dream of, or fear. I was cautious to begin this story pinpointing Dune’s age; but I did, because I think the weight it symbolises outranks the need for discretion. When the keys are handed over to our generation(s), and people are welcomed for their talent and minds into spaces usually gate-kept – magic occurs, and a new cultural chapter is unleashed; such as the one Dune’s image for CNN beckoned for. The hope and possibility of South Africa’s future. 

“I come from a very artistic family – it’s always been a big part of my life. Growing up, I was really encouraged to be creative, and to make things. I wasn’t into academia, but I found a lot of joy in art-making and design. With photography, it was when I got a film camera at Milnerton market, and I became obsessed with it. I got a job with a local nightlife company to shoot events following that; and I had a fake ID, obviously. So from 15, I was shooting nightclubs, and through that I started finding unique individuals. Nightclubs are the perfect place to see firsthand how people really are, and that encouraged the documentary-style reportage that began after that. I’m not really sure how, but someone at CNN saw the work I was doing and invited me to submit an image, as a young, rising photographer in South Africa. That was a big stepping stone in my career, from amateur and into a more professional space.” Dune says in our conversation, and it’s a theme that continues as we speak; Dune has worked ceaselessly since he was 15, grabbing hold of almost every opportunity presented to him. In the perfect blend of right time / right place, inner-determination, and a fixation for image-making; Dune’s honesty of image is derived from a childhood experience. On this, he says; “when I was much younger, between birth and eight years old, I was pretty much deaf. We only realised when I was in grade 2 or 3, when my spelling wasn’t where it was meant to be, and all throughout that time – my comfort was picture books. I have always felt safer visually. After CNN, it really emboldened me to take photography a lot more seriously. I had some amazing mentors, too – who I begged to let me assist them. Sweeping studios and building lights, that kind of thing.”  

 

After high-school, Dune found himself a long-term documentary gig with a South African band, an experience that taught him many, many things; namely, what it means to make images beyond qualms, and ultimately, when to let go. Working directly with Roger Ballen, an idol of Dune’s, the creative experience itself marked his development in many ways. While the project never came to full fruition, Dune was already on a fast-track to somewhere he couldn’t have known yet, saying “I think it’s important to hold things sacred in an industry like this, it gets so easy to justify your way out of any moral or ethical thought. You can spin yourself in a circle, but to create good work that reflects who you really are; you have to be prepared to be totally honest. I learned that fast and hard.” On the other side of this poignant teaching, Dune counts mentors such as Gabrielle Kannermeyer, Raees Saiet, Duncan MacLennan and Ashley Benn; all of whom welcomed Dune into the realm of making the kind of art that he was destined to make; the stories that must be told, “they all really allowed me an overwhelming amount of freedom and space to work creatively at a really big-scale, at a really young age, to become the photographer that I am now. I think people don’t understand how much impact it has to allow someone into a space to make pictures, and what it does to your own perception as to what is possible beyond age – beyond our preconceived notions of the requirement to be ‘professionally’ creative.” Adidas is notably at the forefront of these sentiments; and perhaps it is why it remains one of the most important brands in the world, today. Not only is Dune a long-time photographer of adidas campaigns; he is now an associate creative director for adidas South Africa through room studios. Talent is irrelevant to age, and adidas demonstrates their commitment to vision. 

 

Dune is a self-confessed ‘yes man’ – someone who is known to venture into spaces and scenarios that others might resist. This grit and flexibility bore him his relationship with Ashley Benn, founder of Room Studio – together they share a tried, tested and mutual vision for making work that stands out as wholly reverant and exemplary of South African culture, design, creativity; basically, the anima that makes our country as spotlighted and coveted as it is today. This led to international work that includes Asics China, Spotify Russia, BMW, Mercedes-Benz – and then some. Dune says, “When Ash started Room Studio, I was in third year at university. We met up again by chance, and he was telling me about this avant-garde creative studio that he was cooking up, and I told him then and there that if he did – I would drop out tomorrow and join. Whatever that meant. I got the offer to join the team as a concept lead soon after that, and dropped out immediately. Room is the internal creative studio for adidas South Africa, so my focus is there entirely now. It organically transitioned into an ACD (associate creative director) reassignment, and that’s been about two years.“  

Dune speaks of Room as he does about everything else; with clarity and affection, and the acknowledgement of his rare position – but this ‘rarity’ is only because of his age, I feel, and soon – it will be Dune’s work that stands alone as a testament to his purpose in this world. From our conversation, and the wild focus of all his images, Dune is no longer ‘emerging’ – but in his established professionalism, the future remains wide-open. We are enamoured in witnessing what will become of it.

Written by: Holly Beaton
Published: 9 December 2022

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

Design Academy of Fashion’s 2022 Graduate Showcase | Qhakaza : To Bloom

Dec 8, 2022 | Fashion, Community

It is pretty obvious that at Connect Everything Collective Media, fashion is a big deal for us. We take it very seriously as one of our favourite and most precious forms of creative expression; and it has been a wild year for the greater fashion industry, and here in South Africa? We are in the midst of a boom. With South African designers and brands having far reaching success across the world – and our industry is emerging in its rightful place as a sartorial centre on the continent, we are committed to noting the critical function of fashion education in seeding this wave of notoriety.

Design Academy of Fashion was founded in 1999 by Daphne Treadaway, and later acquired in 2006 by Bianca Fobian and Suzanne Aldridge – remaining one of South Africa’s most critically acclaimed incubators of the future generations in South African fashion. Their three-year pathway offers an intentionally curated focus for students: with subjects ranging across four modules: Design Cluster, Technical Cluster, Commercial Cluster and Contextual Cluster. Each cluster informs their students of the practical, theoretical and entrepreneurial acumen required to not only orient their sartorial view-point; but to harness it within a real-life context whether it is brand-building, or placement within the fashion industry in varying roles. The place for fashion education is exceptionally important, and Qhakaza : To Bloom exemplified what it means to equip and nurture the next generation. 

With a turnout from industry ranging from H&M, to Truworths and Superbalist, alongside family & friends – each graduating student showed their final collection, and took the honorary designer ‘bow’; did we get emotional? Yes; because this graduating year, as mentioned by director Luke Fobian in his speech, are the pandemic class; having seen 2020, 2021 and this year through together; from adapting to digital learning, to a return this year. This year’s alumni stand-out as resilient emerging designers, destined to make it happen, despite the obstacles – and that is somewhat of a prerequisite for an illustrious career in the industry. Head of Department, Nikki St. Quintin, reflected on the show, saying “our 2022 Graduate Fashion Show was testament to the incredible amount of hard work and dedication both students and staff put into this year’s showcase. We are so proud of the talent that exuded from each level of the programme.  Seeing how far they have come in their journey and knowing that they will have a significant impact on the African fashion landscape, is both exhilarating and incredibly rewarding.”

 

SCENE 1 /// FIRST  YEARS /// DRESSES:

“ H A P P Y   C A M P E R ”

/// 1st years were asked to explore the Gorpcore trend in a series of dress designs. Gorpcore – named after the colloquial term for trail mix (“Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts”) – is a style focused around wearing utilitarian, functional, outdoors-inspired gear. Details to be incorporated were camping inspired items such as webbing straps, clips/buckles, hardware – D-rings, drawstrings and toggles, functional pockets, structured hoods, velcro, zips, press studs and rivets, colourful twine, rope, and bungee cord. /// –  Nikki St. Quintin, HOD

The first year segment was a profound technical flex; with the brief encouraging students to draw on everything they had learned this past year, and envision as much detailing into a cohesive, Gorpcore masterpiece. For many students, this year would have been the first time consistently sewing beyond a DIY style set; and the sheer amount of variation and application we saw come down the runway was clearly indicative of a focused, attentive class and their varying lecturers. In the two years to come, their garment construction skills will be proliferated across many garments, eventually culminating in a cohesive graduating collection. Scene 1 showed an astute focus of ability and mastery over a single garment – the dress – in a multitude ways, and in a variation of burgeoning aesthetics and points of view. 

SCENE 2 /// SECOND YEARS /// MENSWEAR

FIELDS COLLABORATION

/// “Outside beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field”, I’ll meet you there” -Rumi

In collaboration with the contemporary South African menswear brand FIELDS, our second years were asked to choose their own inspiration, interpret and design AW23 looks for the brand, while adding their own unique signatures to their menswear designs. /// – Nikki St. Quintin, HOD Collaboration is the kindle for true success in design. For the second year’s menswear segment, Fields – founded by Mikael Hanan – formed the foundational reference, yet the students were required to understand what it means to take a reference and channel it through their own, unique design language. Referencing is the bones of design; many have said there are no original base ideas left in fashion, only the originality with which we can update and make an idea brand-new. With juxtaposing yet seamless moods of sharp tailoring and casualwear, we loved seeing menswear encouraged as a space for thoughtful ideas on masculine dressing, and a profound necessity for the design students to begin to think clearly about creating for a customer within real-life contexts. 

SCENE 3 ///  SECOND YEARS /// AVANT GARDE

/// Second years were asked to design an outfit using only white bull denim and fabric manipulation for this years’ Avant Garde Scene. The theme “SPEAK YOUR MIND” asked students to investigate their internal thoughts around the ideas of social activism and what kinds of world issues they were passionate about and would like to explore in an Avant Garde design. Topics they chose to explore include the refugee crisis, poverty, mental health, depression, coral bleaching, loss of innocence, animal captivity or cruelty, police brutality and human trafficking. /// – Nikki St. Quintin, HOD 

This segment was a very deep moment in understanding the power of sartorial consciousness; the idea that through clothing, we can express the very complex nature of being human. There was major Lee Mcqueen energy through each look; with the first look a disconcertingly brilliant transition between a straight-jacket style piece, in which the model had to essentially contort to walk down the runway – breaking free at the end, and walking back sharply and intently. With a limitation on fabrication, the white bull denim lent itself to each look as the perfect canvas to flex working with heavy, durable materiality – and playing in the realm of the surreal and obscure, in order to translate difficult truths. This segment was the study of intelligent design – design that evokes, that discomforts – design that is necessary in and amongst ready-to-wear. An essential space of growth for every designer to find the ‘WHY’ of their vision. 

 

SCENE 4 /// THIRD YEARS /// GRADUATE COLLECTIONS

The show culminated in the graduate collections; eleven students, for whom the world waits wide open creatively and professionally. This was the moment that all they had learned, interrogated and envisioned came through in a five look collection founded on a brand concept that they had spent the year nurturing. Cohesion is key in a collection; whether this is stylistic oriented, led by the colourway choices, or strength of narrative concept. Each graduate collection felt to be designed in touch with an audience in mind; whether sub-cultural, or a specific customer – a special reminder that each designer is speaking both for themselves and for whom they imagine their clothes to be worn by. 

With a deep focus on mentorship and industry integration, the showcase hosted an advisory committee led by industry titans Lukhanyo Mdingi, David West, Nicola Cooper and Thato Lehana. After deliberation and connecting with each student, the Design Excellence Award was given to Amanda Trom for her stand-out collection, conceptual branding and vision under the moniker VNTU. We couldn’t agree more; with her technical, stylistic richness shining through in an identifiably clear landscape. Another stand-out collection for us was the menswear collection by Christopher Emefiele; a concise dialogue on Nigerian, British masculine dressing. The strength of DAF as a school, and of the students themselves; is that we could imagine each designer finding a path ahead, overall encouraged by the idea that there is a seat at the table for every kind of essence and expression. Speaking to this, director Bianca says, “the Design Academy of Fashion creates an environment where students can unleash their unique potential. The students rose to the occasion and produced outstanding work that showcased their distinctive design aesthetics and individual perspectives. I am excited to see what the graduates do next.”

 

Written by: Holly Beaton
Published: 8 December 2022

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

An iconic city deserves an iconic drink. Introducing Cape Spritz.

Dec 5, 2022 | Lifestyle, Community

Few drinks cut as pleasurable a form as the exquisite spritzer – the word itself stirs up images of balmy summers in southern Europe; days spent languishing along the Amalfi coast or Saint-Tropez. With a rich heritage as a ‘summer wine or cocktail’ – spritzers are intended to be steeped in freshness, as the perfect accomplice to the hot months ahead. This mood is precisely the latest vision and offering from the minds behind The Duchess – South Africa’s award winning alcohol-free gin & tonic. With Cape Town as a local and beloved expression of coastal immersion, Cape Spritz is set to invigorate South Africa with its very own spritzer: ‘Cape Town on tap’. We are absolutely here for it. 

With no artificial flavours, Cape Spritz is an all natural, beautifully blended symbol of summer Cape Town. The serve is a distillation of Swartland Rosé, infused with natural peach, punctuated with carbonated bubbles – and finally finished off with a sea salt rim, derived directly from the ocean. Lower in alcohol, at just 5%, Cape Spritz is intended for easy, extended drinking; Cape Town’s very own spritzer – with a sincerely distinguished ode to our landscape encompassing the elements of ocean, orchard & vine. 

Launching on tap and exclusively to an array of selected local bars in the city; the intention behind every sip is the unbridled joy of living and playing in Cape Town during the summer, the quintessential experience of that sought-after Mediterranean mood, right here at the southernmost tip of Africa. Why yearn for holidays spent elsewhere, when we have it all, right here? The first official taste of the Cape Spritz world was shot by Aubrey Ndiweni – the master of evoking solar-soaked delight – with this campaign initiating the pursuit of Cape Spritz; to capture the essence of Cape Town, on tap. 

Now being served at Rockpool, Sotano, Strolla, Presidents Hotel, Mojo Market, Bacini’s, Judds Local and Firemans Arms to name a few.

Product Photography: 
Kleinjan Groenewald and hyperlink his IG @k.groenewald 

Follow Cape Spritz on IG: @capespritz 

www.capespritz.com

 

 

 

Published: 6 December 2022

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

World AIDS Day: The Importance Of Knowing Your HIV Status

Dec 1, 2022 | Lifestyle, Community

Growing up in the 21st century, set against all the ways we are socialised and cultured into bias and prejudice, the HIV epidemic has always struck me as a paradox of both the fragility and resilience of being alive and of being human. That fact that we are at the mercy of microscopic organisms is sometimes a hard thing to reconcile for creatures such as us; so clearly endowed with vast ideas, vast abilities and vast systems. Yet, with the recent pandemic and all its polarising qualities; I look to the history of HIV as a clear example of what happens when we strive for access to healthcare, medical intervention, awareness and de-stigmatisation. Today, someone who is HIV-positive can lead an incredibly full, beautiful life; and with the correct intervention, the virus itself can reach an ‘undetectable’ status. This is an incredible feat against a disease which has ravaged the world for nearly 40 years ; and to which none of us are beyond facing.

Today, 1 December, is World Aids Day – and this year’s theme is ‘EQUALISE’; because as much progress that has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, so there are many barriers in our continued progress for equality, access and stigma reduction, and ultimately, eradication of HIV entirely.

According to a report by UNAIDS; “In 2021, there were 38.4 million [33.9 million–43.8 million] people living with HIV, and 54% of all people living with HIV were women and girls.”  We spoke to Zella Young, COO at LifeSense Disease Management, to learn more about the importance of knowing your status, and the invaluable purpose of antiretrovirals: the treatment for HIV that has seen leaps and bounds into a what it is today; a single pill, daily, that saves lives.

 “Part of the barrier to equality in the HIV epidemic is that everyone needs to know their status. Once you know your status, and have accepted it, taking steps to get treatment can be instrumental in being able to live a normal, healthy life. Many people are living with HIV, and are in relationships, and yet the stigma of a positive-status can be such that they feel incredibly alone, in a bubble of fear, and if they are not on treatment, they are at a high-risk of developing AIDS.

 HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system (CD4 Cells), and starts making “copies” of itself. The more “copies” there are of the virus, the more CD4 cells are attached, resulting in a compromised immune system putting the individual at risk of other infections and diseases. When the immune system’s CD4 count, the cells that fight viral infection, is lower than 200 cells/mm3, it then constitutes a person receiving a diagnosis of AIDS. Antiretroviral intervention ensures that someone’s CD4 count does not lower to that degree.” Zella explains, pointing out that there is a clear difference between HIV and AIDS; and while the two explain varying states of having the virus, that there is also an incredible hope.

The general protocol for HIV testing at pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, both public and private is that when someone chooses to get tested, they are pre-counselled by highly trained people, and should they receive a positive diagnosis; they are then further counselled on appropriate steps to take. The key principle of this process is that everyone is counselled with empathy, with all their questions, fears and concerns answered. Then, it’s about sharing the good news with the patient; which is that HIV is not a death-sentence, and it is not a hindrance to living your life. If a patient who is HIV+ starts immediately on their treatment, it will stop the virus from replicating in the body. This is what can allow the body to ensure it is protected against HIV, and maintain a high CD4-count, and a low viral-load.

A central aspect to how we de-stigmatise HIV is through education, cultivating honest, non-judgemental awareness around sexual health. It is imperative to practice safe sex, and in particular; ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’, known as ‘PrEP”, a medication that can be administered to people at a high-risk of HIV exposure. Zella explains, “PrEP is a form of antiretroviral therapy which is given to individuals that want to protect themselves from contracting HIV. PrEP is taken continuously whilst the individual is at risk of contracting HIV from an infected individual. If you are in a situation where you are not already on PrEP, it must be taken at least a week before sexual activity in order to protect yourself from contracting HIV.Very importantly, to qualify for PrEP; one needs to be HIV-negative. These are measures everyone can take to ensure that they secure their own agency and safety in any circumstance that might arise. Guidelines indicate that condoms should still be used for the protection against sexually transmitted diseases”

After testing positive, with immediate and consistent treatment one can achieve an undetectable viral load which can lead to an HIV-positive person not transmitting the virus to another person through intercourse; this means that under the correct course of action, an HIV positive person can practice sex with their partner, without protection. This is only, and I stress, if we continue to build individual and collective accountability for how we face HIV and as well as being honest with your partner about your status. It does not mitigate sexually-transmitted infections and thus practicing safe sex is something that should always be of the utmost priority.

 In South Africa, we have the largest, national HIV program in the world. The support for this disease exists nationwide and it is state-funded; it is essential that these conversations are brought into every community across the country, as every person in South Africa is entitled to HIV health-care and support, whether through medical aid or state-facilitation. As Zella clearly says, “One of the major challenges that we face in South Africa is the stigma attached to HIV. People are reluctant to go forward and disclose their status, and therefore do not access the necessary treatment that is available.”

With the state of our country often in contention; it is incredible to know the utmost seriousness with which our government has handled the HIV epidemic. As Zella explains, this extends to motherhood; with South Africa offering some of the best, direct support pre and post-natally for HIV-positive mothers, “Our government has the most amazing pregnancy program, which people need to know about. A pregnant woman can immediately be tested for HIV, if her status is confirmed as positive – treatment begins immediately. Then, she has her viral load tested again within six weeks. The minute the mother becomes undetectable, she will not transmit HIV to her baby; even if she was positive at the time of falling pregnant, as long as she gets onto treatment, during the pregnancy. All throughout this, she is supported, and after attaining and maintaining an undetectable viral load, she is then highly encouraged to prioritise continued treatment. The minute the baby is born, they are given what we call “PEP” – post-exposure prophylaxis – which mitigates the exposure in-uterine and during the delivery. If mom decides to bottle feed, the baby receives PEP for six weeks; if mom decides to breastfeed, the baby will continue PEP until such time they are weaned off the breast.”

The availability of these resources are localised in our areas across the public and private health sector; and HIV is not a bygone issue, despite the progress we have made. Like any disease, it does not discriminate; and everyone, across every socio-economic, class, sexual, racial and gender spectrum can be infected. We need to have these conversations in our communities, with our friends and families; and most importantly, we need to know our status. We invite you to ‘equalise’ the conversation and fight against HIV.

 

 

Resources ///

Steps To Getting Tested

UNAIDS South Africa

The South African National Aids Council

Donate Here

EVERY SOUTH AFRICAN IS ENTITLED TO HIV TESTING AND TREATMENT.

 

 

Written by: Holly Beaton
Published: 1 December 2022

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