22 minute read
FASHION: INFLUHKS/LAZY
Samson Ajibade Photographer Ishaam Lazy Stacks
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Location INFLUHKS
SAM AJIBADE
FOUNDER AND CEO OF INFLUHKS & LAZY STACKS
My name is Samson Ajibade; I am originally from Lagos, Nigeria, the biggest and most populated city in Africa, the fastest-growing city, the powerhouse of Africa. I wouldn’t be a true Nigerian if I didn’t like to brag about my country!
I am the founder of INFLUHKS and the designer of the Lazy Stacks clothing line. The name INFLUHKS came about in an amusing way; while I was researching migration, I came across the word influx and somehow felt a connection and held on to it.
I have been in South Africa for eight years, and a lot has happened; my journey has been bitter-sweet and sometimes even crazy. So I’m sure you’re wondering how I navigated the hurdles of starting a business as a foreigner in South Africa...It all started when I was working at Travelstart as a digital PR strategist. I worked there for 3 years then COVID-19 hit, and 70% of the staff, myself included, were retrenched. I recall taking my son to Muizenberg and entering a shop in Blue Route Mall, where I saw several UK brands that I know were stocked in the shop. I decided to ask the owner how he was bringing the stock, and he mentioned having a container that shipped them in. Then I thought, wow, these are brands I’m interested in like ASOS, boohoo, Pretty Little Thing. I also remembered that these were sought-after brands back in Nigeria. I went on to ask the owner how he’d feel about having another shop in a different location with Cape Town, and to my surprise, he said, “If you find a shop, I can give you all the stock, I will even set up the point of ae for you”—just like that.
I rushed home to check commercial properties and remember I’d just been retrenched, so I was unemployed; however, I had money in account just sitting there. So I found a space and applied for it, but I wasn’t sure about anything; I thought I was a black person, a foreigner trying to apply for commercial property in a trendy street in Cape Town—prime real estate.
I mean, the odds were against me, but I went ahead and applied and prayed about it. I was so motivated because I believed it was divine intervention that I found a business partner without even looking for one. I knew everything else would fall into place because sometimes nothing can derail the process when it is aligned for you. I spoke to my business partner, who happened to be South African and didn’t know me from anywhere, about the number of documents I needed for the application, then without question, he forwarded them to me, and I applied.
My application was approved, my rent was very affordable for the first six months, and my business partner even gave me 1000 items as my initial stock. I decided to name the store INFLUHKS because it made sense to me; I had a strong backing, an inflow of good vibrations, positive energy into my life and the space; I also wanted it to be an inflow of local and international brands. When I started INFLUHKS, I only had global brands, but I really wanted to create my streetwear brand, and I also wanted to have local brands. As time went on and I started to meet more people, I came to realise that fast fashion was not a sustainable business, so I switched to thrifted items, which felt like a risky move for me, but to my surprise, I managed to triple my sales figures in the first month. After that, I decided to make my store a local and international streetwear hub with thrifted international brands in mint condition and local brands that positively impacted the environment.
Samson Ajibade Photographer Ishaam Outfit Lazy Stacks Location INFLUHKS
For example, Broke Boys is not just a brand; it’s also a movement. My goal is to bridge the gap between how Nigerians are perceived in Cape Town and show that collaboration is the way we should live as Africans. You can’t push a Nigerian away! My greatest strength is connection; if things align for me, they usually run smoothly; when I met my vendors, the energy was seamless. You’d think we’d known each other for many years.
INFLUHKS is made up of Lazy Stacks, Broke Boys, Brunch Club and Antionette Marie. The goal for INFLUHKS is to create more spaces for local brands to showcase their creations. We want to branch into local entertainment. This is why I have a studio in the back room of my shop. We want to elevate creatives in so many sectors. My dream has always been to create a place where artists can find themselves and grow, whether in fashion, graphic design or music.
I have my own brand Lazy Stacks, which is an extension of INFLUHKS—it’s all about the youthful rebellion of creative individuals. Most African parents want their children to be lawyers, doctors, or engineers; the Lazy Stacks brand represents nonconformity, making stacks (money) in your own creative way without adhering to society’s benchmark of productivity or success. Not working a formal job is commonly perceived as lazy but creative jobs can earn you money. Lazy Stacks will collaborate with creatives that share the same vision, people who don’t do anything they don’t want to do.
I don’t want people to continue thinking of Nigerians in a negative way; I want to spread positivity; I do all these things to ensure that we all work together in unity and provide equal opportunities for everyone. I don’t want it to be just about me; I want to showcase local designers as a whole; everyone should be included and have equal exposure. If you come into the store for the first time, you won’t even know who owns INFLUHKS; I work here 9-5, clean, pack, attend to the customers, I don’t want to be at the forefront, I just want to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Down the line, we’d like to have stores in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban, supporting local brands in the same way.
My advice to creatives out there is to start now; even if you don’t have the funds, try to organise your ideas, and if you aren’t feeling motivated, reach out to me or anyone who inspires you and talk about your ideas. The best time to start anything is now; whether it’s music or fashion, graphic design, start pushing out as much content as you can on social media and try to learn something new and apply that to your original ideas.
Watch this space for some of the most inclusive collaborations the continent has seen!
Fuata Moyo is a Swahili phrase meaning “to follow the heart”. Based in Cape Town, Fuata Moyo is a brand and production company that combines art and fashion to create unique pieces with personality. Co-owned by siblings, Kabambi, Martine, Lucien and Tshimaro Mbiola, who come from a creatively gifted family with art and design embedded in their DNA. The brand offers an array of styles from fashion, accessories to art, as well as experiences that include the customization of jackets, sneakers or anything your heART desires.
FUATA MOYO
follow the heART
The IAA team interviews Kabambi Mbiola, the co-founder of Fuata Moyo
Tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Kabambi Mbiola; I’m an artist, painter and fashion curator. I was born in the Lubumbashi province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I left my home and birth country due to instability in the early ‘90s and moved to Cape Town, South Africa, with my entire family and have been living here for 24 years. I started school in Cape Town with the gift of the discipline of both art and fashion curation. I believe that love is a spirit that motivates every artist’s journey. I’m very passionate about documenting my creative journey and the art
of collaboration or sharing knowledge with others using the creative mode. I am an individual who is passionate about all aspects of creative work.
What inspired you to start a fashion brand, or do you even view yourself as a fashion brand? I’m the kind of person who draws inspiration from almost anything or everything in life. I get inspired by my friends, my family, my surroundings and my everyday life experiences. I was born in a family where my dad, his uncle and my mum’s younger brother were fine artists.
My dad passed away thirteen years ago, but my uncle is still a fantastic artist. On my mum’s side of the family, my uncle, during his career, was a great fashion designer. I grew up with seven siblings with very bold personalities; some are into fashion, some into art, and some in different aspects of creative work. I grew up around very artistic siblings, so it was easy to be inspired to create things. My inspiration also comes from my family and our everyday lifestyle experiences.
Fuata Moyo is more than a fashion brand, the concept of Fuata Moyo and the words are a Swahili proverb meaning “follow the heart”. The “he” in the heart is always written in different colours to highlight ART. I believe that when you pursue what you love, you find creativity along the journey. When I created Fuata Moyo, there’s another saying, “home is where the heart is,” and I believe the foundation of everything creative starts at home. With Fuata Moyo, I get to work with my siblings; my younger sister is an amazing painter and makeup artist. I call her the baddest artist in the game. I have a younger sister who’s a fashion designer
and a brother who is a unique individual with an extraordinary mind for creative direction. I brought my siblings together and created this brand based on love, passion and our father’s legacy.
What makes your brand special? Fuata Moyo is a brand that combines two media forms: fashion and art. We treat our clothing like art pieces. In fact, we’re currently working on an exhibition called “Follow The HeART”. We’ll be working with young creatives to design some beautiful garments. They will use the garments as a canvas, with the creative freedom to paint whatever they like on these garments; we will then exhibit the garments the same way as art pieces. People always look at art as something you collect to hang on your wall, but you can actually wear your art. That’s why I mixed the two mediums, which are very special to us, and many people also find them unique. We do several limited editions, bespoke designs; we also do customisation. People can bring pieces like denim jackets, and we’ll paint a portrait at the back of the jacket. We customise sneakers and bags, too; basically, you become a walking masterpiece when you wear Fuata Moyo clothing.
Was it easy to start a black-owned business? Oh man, you know, overall in South Africa, the fashion industry is very tough; as a person of colour, my goal is to set up a production company where we can produce our own garments and help young designers like ourselves. We had the most significant problem you’d face as a young person of colour trying to start a fashion business.
When you approach factories, they have a system of working with minimum order quantities. So when you want to make one shirt style, every company would require you to produce, for instance, fifty or a hundred items of the one shirt. So, as a person of colour coming from a less advantaged background, it isn’t easy for you to create entire collections because you need a lot of money to start it off. I think that is the number one and most significant challenge that young black-owned entrepreneurs face — simply having the capital to make sure that you meet the demand.
We are taking it one day at a time and are looking for ways to raise funds for our design and production hub to help young people like ourselves because we know what it takes. We want to make it possible for them to produce whatever quantity they need rather than high quantities. We hope this will mean more young designers will come up. The system is crooked; it just needs to be fixed. A person should be able to walk into a production company and ask for ten shirts.
What are some of the challenges you faced while setting up your business? Oh my gosh! I started my business in the most challenging time in the fashion industry; I launched my business a month before lockdown because none of us anticipated or predicted COVID-19. For years I’ve worked in retail and had my own art gallery. I’ve done many things, but people have always put me in the bracket of fashion and have been waiting for years for me to start my brand. When I began, many people were excited then COVID-19 happened.
At that moment, you either give up on the dream and go back to reality, but what motivated me is I got laid off from work, so I took it as a sign. I had no choice; it was the most challenging time; you’re wondering what will happen financially, but that’s when I started my brand.
I would post video clips online, and from there, the reception was amazing. We started the brand during COVID-19, with no budget, which was the toughest financial time of my career. I trusted the journey and the moment and knew that nothing could stop me when the vision was bigger than the fear. What was challenging the most was only the time that I started, but the rest is history.
We’ve moved forward with it, and now it’s just taking every obstacle as a stepping stone to elevate to new heights. That made us bold and confident in what we were doing. My brand has been around for five months, and we’ve already done so much. We’ve collaborated with prominent brands such as Johnny Walker, Jagermeister and we’ve painted murals — the reception was just excellent. Now I’m sitting down interviewing with I Am Ashanti. Things keep getting better and better; it’s been a fantastic journey!
What is something important to you as an artist/designer? Nothing is more critical to an artist than their legacy. We still talk about all the great artists like Basquiat or Picasso because they left a legacy through their art pieces. My dad left us a gift, and we continued with it. For me, it’s also important that my kids can pick up from where I’ve left and take this legacy to new heights. It’s also about inspiring the next generation of artists; Africa has many talented young artists and designers. It’s about creating a platform for them and encouraging them by showing them that they too can make it even if they come from a less advantaged background. Knowledge is power, so the key thing for me is sharing knowledge, collaboration and becoming an inspiration for the next generation of creatives.
Which piece of work or design are you most proud of and why? A couple of days ago, someone in the U.S sent me a video of a painting we created at the very beginning when we started the business. It was a portrait of Nelson Mandela. For me, your artwork is like your baby, it’s like a puzzle, and every piece is just as essential as the other. I am proud of all the work I put out, and the proudest moment is to see people embracing your work, wearing your garments, sending you pictures of their homes and how much they love your painting. I can’t pinpoint the one that stands out the most, but I think the early work I did was my proudest because it kept me going and showed me the potential. As I said, I treat my work like my children; you have no choice but to be proud of all of them!
What advice would you give to aspiring black artists/designers? My entire brand is a piece of advice. Fuata Moyo means to follow your heart, do what you love. There’s a saying I love using, “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Find the one thing that makes you so happy that you forget about eating or sleeping. It’s all about following the things that you love, and that’s where some of the most outstanding work comes out.
A creatively gifted family
Art direction is my role at Fuata Moyo, maybe because of my attention to detail and a great artistic eye, of course. I was raised in a creative household. Art has always been a massive part of my life, where my late father was an artist. After he passed, my passion for art, fashion, and beauty was born. Losing a parent can feel like losing part of yourself. All you know is them being there for you, guiding, helping and supporting you. It’s hard to imagine life without your parents, especially when you are still a minor.
It was such a challenging period that I would have never survived it on my own. That taught me to appreciate the support structure, my family, the Mbiola’s. Together we found comfort and hope that we could overcome anything and be as strong as our support system. I started pursuing my art at such a young age. I showed great potential in my early years; about a month before my father passed, he identified my talent and taught me about paint and technique. Art became therapeutic and is now part of my everyday life.
I studied art and design at Cape College and continued my studies at CPUT, where I earned a bachelor in graphic design. I am the most introverted person in my family, more of a loner than the rest; that’s why I prefer creating in private. We all have such different personalities, but at the same time, it works so perfectly for us; we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Love has always been the foundation of everything I do (do what you love, love what you do). I trust my heart to lead me. I’m living my life in the pursuit of my dad’s footsteps. As life progresses, we face many challenges, but the one thing that has kept me grounded and focused is my family and faith. I’m always trying to develop and improve. My faith helps me handle the pressures that come with the continuous changes. My faith also helps me with self-improvement both in my career and in my personal life. It helps me to stay grounded and goal-focused.
My family and our situation drives me as well as the desire for success and producing greatness. In my family, they know me as the perfectionist—it’s actually a problem, LOL.
Our business model is to manufacture garments in a small capsule; we also upcycle old clothes. I love the fact that we recycle denim and give it a new life with art customisation. It helps that the world is becoming more and more into sustainable fashion. We work with a small CMT and empower a few skilled seamstresses, and they are a great help when working on our collection.
I’ve achieved some personal goals: getting my degree, travelling because of my work, and collaborating with a few international brands such as Jameson and Jägermeister. We also have another extensive collaboration in the pipeline; watch the space! Additionally, running a business with my siblings has been such a blessing; owning an enterprise is also #familygoals.
Lusamba “Lusee” Mbiola
My role at Fuata Moyo is the head designer, and I specialise in concepts for the women’s range. I construct all the mockups before they go to production. It all started when I was sixteen, it was spontaneous, but I just had this interest in creating content. While my sisters were away at a Christian camp one weekend, I was alone with my brothers at home. I then decided to surprise them on their return with an amateur fashion show, so I took some of my clothes, cut them up, did a bit of DIY, and came up with five looks. When my sister’s returned, I paraded the house dressed in my creations, and that was when they encouraged me to do an even bigger fashion show for our community. So, I got my friends to model, made the clothes by buying pre-loved items from vintage stores, cut them up and created a few things over a month. My high school at the time agreed to sponsor the food, and the turnout of my community fashion show was overwhelming, especially considering that it was a paid event.
After the show, I auctioned everything. The amount of capital I accumulated at that time was mind-blowing. That’s when I realised that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! That’s where the passion for fashion came along; I could already see myself as a fashion designer. Ten years later, I still look back to that moment and that day.
After high school, I studied a four-year degree in Fashion Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. I graduated in 2018. I decided to incorporate art and fashion for my graduation collection by painting all my fabric as a form of textile. It was amateur painting, but I came up with a unique display for my project.
I never saw the link between fashion and art until after my studies, when I became interested in drawing. Eventually, I found myself painting for fun, and the only difference is that I painted on fabric rather than canvas. My passion for creating has always been my first love; the thought of a corporate career gives me anxiety. I like to express myself in all forms of art; I want to maximise my potential for creativity. One of my personal goals was to be part of a black-owned business, and I’m grateful that I’m doing it with my family.
Finally, my advice to people out there is; it doesn’t matter where you come from; success is a mindset. You don’t need money or a good background to succeed, work hard, and God will fill the gaps. When people see your hustle, they’ll want to help or be a part of it, so don’t give up.
Tshimaro “Fuego” Mbiola
Tshimaro Mbiola, better known as Fuego, is an artist/model/creative director and stylist born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in South Africa. Given the opportunity to work with the people who inspired him the most—his siblings, Tshimaro joined the Fuata Moyo creative team as a designer, curator, and creative director of the brand. Through his art, he shares his story as an immigrant born into two worlds, shaped by similar yet contrasting cultures, resonating towards both but never fully immersed in either. rience-based. He was an apprentice for nine months under the guidance of Paul Van de Spuy; then, he was employed as a junior designer under The Wear South Africa umbrella.
From very early on in his life, Tshimaro found his calling; with his innate gift of drawing as the blueprint, Tshimaro draws his path in the South African creative industry, learning from all his siblings, he combines multiple mediums and skills to become an artistic powerhouse.
Today, Fuego and the rest of the Mbiola clan continue to break new ground in the Cape Town art scene, fusing art and fashion with family and growth. Fuata Moyo tells the story of his past, the family’s present and the future of fashion.
Watch this space for the Fuata Moyo website exhibitions and visit them here to see the fantastic work they’ve done so far.
Growing up as the last born of seven mega creatives, standing out and having a voice was pretty difficult, but instead of using the shadows cast by his siblings as a crutch. Tshimaro chose to use that darkness to find his true light and voice —that’s when Fuego was born.
Although he excelled in his academic career, Tshimaro opted toward the less traditional means of education, which was more expe-
Their collections are designed in capsules in collaboration with local artists, designers, as well as an in-house team. Fuata Moyo’s approach is to implement a circular economy, reflected in their increased use of recycled and sustainable materials. Aiming for a well-curated offering at all times, they strive to make their product range local, original, and authentic.
Stockist We are EGG - Cavendish Square www.fuatamoyo.com
