Local Hypebeast - A project that was conceptualized in 2020 but is only coming to light now makes it even more personal to me. When I first thought of the editorial concept, my aim was to collect as much local brand items from the brands, as most featured in the project are friends and colleagues in various fields and networks. I purposefully used the word “Hypebeast” to equate the level of quality and value to the high-end street style brands many of our fellow citizens pay an arm and a leg for just to ship over from overseas.
Our young and native brands hold value, inspire culture, and possess the style to compete with international brands. Have you experienced the joy you feel supporting local couture and taste? Local fashion has gone beyond it’s predecessors and the phenomenon of bootlegging. Carving it’s own land on the global sphere, creating a seat at the table of fashion for South Ah. The beauty of these brands is, if you take away all that hype and all the noise that these brands have rightly earned – they are and it will still be a go-to brand with timeless, staple pieces that are essentials and the target market doesn’t cap.
Shot in the streets on Braamfontein, Johannesburg I used a couple of my friends who are friends or loyal customers to the brands represented. Knowing them personally and the aesthetic they would bring to the shoot made it easier to capture them. Today one of the models (Thato Bokote) is one of the founders of a local brand, FriendlySA and we recently did some work together and excited to see what the future holds for Friendly. My goal for 2022 is try and curate another shoot involving more local brands and sustainable brands to pay homage to the growing fashion industry in our country even if it’s not the big guys.
It came down to narrowing down the pieces According to styling of the shoot and the sort of street look. The brands featured in the editorial are : Artclub & friends, Cape Town based brand founded by the lovely Robyn Keyser,Float Apparel, Cape Town based brand founded by the float friends,SELLE, Johannesburg based clothing brand founded by Lindiwe Modiselle, and pieces from the family down in Cape Town, the Broke Boys.
Credits:
Photographer: Andrew Mkize
Models: Tshiamo Machobane ( @mildtai ), Thato Bokote ( @mantankarisi ), ___Alma dala and Gontse Malatsi ( @martian_68 )
Location: Juta St
Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Stay Bless,
Stay BROKE.