FOLLOW THE FASHION DR
SOUTH AFRICA
Before I had arrived my goal was to “e-connect” via Instagram with local South African talents to creatively collaborate with while I was away on holiday. I wanted to connect with the local hairstylist, makeup artist, designers, stylist, photographers and creative directors to get a different view of art and design while also learning about their history and country through a local lens. My concept for “Vaccines” is simply to create a virtual space for you to meet me every month and get a healthy and stylish dose or “Vaccine” if you will of travel, fashion, lifestyle and to be a part of an international experience that will connect you to interesting people, fascinating places and beautiful things. As someone who for years loathe the idea of social media, blogs, youtube channels and so on I wanted to create a vehicle that would use social media for me as it was created to be used, which is to connect globally,inform and inspire.
I hope you enjoy!
Prior to landing into Cape Town my journey had taken me to Johannesburg for a few days of exploration and relaxation. This would be my third time visiting the mother land but it was my first time to South Africa (previously I had only explored the west). After taking in what I could in my short stay I jetted off to Cape Town, a place that I had heard so much about. A place with such rich history and deep roots. While I was in NYC prepping for my trip I started my “e-search” in South Africa for the top creatives and came upon Sarah Keogh (@iamsarahkeogh), a female fashion photographer with a strong eye and love for advertising and fine art photography and Monde Mtsi a super talented model-like stylist who happens to have an incredibly unrelenting love for all things locally African. I knew right away that together we three could create pure magic. After countless emails and whats app messages we all finally met for the FIRST time in Cape Town at a coffee shop in the business district and after 2 minutes my confirmations were reconfirmed as Monde laid out images of the looks and Sarah chatted about photographic direction. I then expressed what I wanted to get out of this shoot and after some modifications we were all on the same page.
Cape Town
The next day the fun began. At 5am I headed via Uber to Sarah’s apartment which she shares with her energetic cats and boyfriend. Soon after, Monde joined us with endless suitcases of fashions and such. My adrenaline pumped as we boarded the car and drove to our first location which was The Township of Langa which is one of the oldest areas in Western Cape. Langa was an area established in 1927 for Black Africans only.
"My adrenaline pumped as we boarded the car and drove to our first location..."
Next we headed to the most colorful stop on my journey which was Muizenberg Beach. One of the highlights of this historical beach would be the bold and bright victorian style bathing houses that are situated along the beach.
Muizenberg Beach
After catching some waves I headed back to the city for community drum lessons on LongMarket Street at the famous “Djembe 4 All” this might have been the coolest and most striking of experiences overall. People from all over the world meet here with master drummers and collectively make beautiful music. Besides being totally taken out of my comfort zone, I also learned to play the drums. Everyone is welcomed and embraced. All you have to do is be open, grab a chair... sit on it, pull the drum close to your body and play with the rest of the crowd! Pure Magic!
longmarket
street
"...pull the drum close to your body and play with the rest of the crowd! Pure Magic!"
As the evening came to an end I needed a great cocktail and some local ambience so I headed to The Cape Royal Hotel and made a dash for the beautiful Zenith Sky Bar & Pool. The views were breathtaking and the drinks were even better. This was the perfect way to end my eventful South African adventures.
credits
Photographer:
Sarah Keogh
http://www.sarahkeoghphotography.com
@iamsarahkeogh
Stylist: Monde Mtsi
@_renaissancemen
Locations/ Looks:
Langa
Suit & Shirt by: Ohema Ohene
@ohemaohene
Leopard Print Sandals: Brother Vellies
@brothervellies
Muizenberg Beach
Jumper, Boiler Suit and cap: MXVV Nigeria
@mxvv_ng
Djembe Shop Longmarket Street
Coat, Shirt, Scarf: Mo’Ko Eloisa
@mokoelosa
Sky Bar Green Point
Cropped Shirt & Trousers: Laurence Airline
@laurenceairlineofficial
Sandals: Imprint
@imprint_za