www.theairplaneboys.com
What’s inside? Ntokozo Kunene
The Airplane Boys
The Black Stars in the building
Jeff Sheldon
Theo van Doesburg
special thanks
Michelle Bobb-Parris Marian Kihogo Jeff Sheldon Kirsten Tambara Justin Li Mickeal Costache Akosua Afriyie-Kumi Sanjeet Hothi Editorial contributor Ntokozo Kunene Creative contributor Paulo Ferreira
Editor’s note Please don’t base what I do on page view numbers. What I would like to achieve with this publication is to show you that possibility is not limited to resource capacity or social standing. I did it, so can you. I may not know your background or how far you’ve come to get where you are. To be Global Minded is to believe in yourself. If I had to tell you my life story, and the things that I’ve been through you’ll probably say to yourself “man, this kid is special”. I’m no different from any other Thabo or Lerato from Seshego. To my family and friends, I love you all. Tebogo Mohlahlana Dedicated to Kgalushi Koka
namedrop
Marian Kihogo website: www.mariankihogo.com/ twitter: @marian_kihogo
Marian covers a lot of industry happenings on her site. She’s also the contributing online editor for Push It magazine. Her blog gives followers a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the world of fashion. Most of us only pursue what is presented on the runway; people like Marian cover the lifestyle. She’s also a very successful stylist, fashion consultant, and cool hunter. Maybe it’s time people understood that art and fashion take place in the real world, and not on blogs. She also covers this issue of phsicsmag. I had the chance to interact with her and I can say that she’s very strong about what she believes in.
Marcus Troy The term super blogger doesn’t get thrown around easily. Imagine meeting Jay-Z at his office on a Monday and then flying out to Vegas the next morning to cover a trade show, then later that week, you fly to another city to dine with Steve Stoute. Marcus inspires me. I’ve never met him, and I know that we are worlds apart, but here’s somebody who is living his dream. He’ll say something like “don’t get at me when you’re still a seed”, which means most people want to use the internet as a fast way to the top. You know them, the type that spam you with links to their songs and blogs? He likes to give mention to “organic growth”, which makes perfect sense if you ask me. Here’s a little thing I’ve learned from Marcus: if you are that good, then the world will know about you one way or the other. You can’t force people into liking what you do.
website: www.marcustroy.com/ twitter: @marcustroy
Blogs: 5. Greedmont Park 4. Marian Kihogo 3. Mpumelelo Macu 2. Pantonism Life
1. Nalden
Music: 5. The Weeknd - Thursday 4. Stacy Barthe – Sincerely Yours 3. HHP – Motswa Afrika 2. Muzi – Somnolence
1. J. Cole - The Sideline Story Some people will always have something negative to say about everything you do. This is pretty much how I view rap blogs and their constant ‘denial’ almost, that J. Cole is one of the most talented musicians in the game right now. As long as we don’t let bloggers dictate to us what’s hot or not. I respect J.Cole’s grind, this album’s been a long time coming. How about you hold that thought for later? Sideline Story is my top album of the year.
Film: 5. Viva Riva! 4. The Art of Getting By 3. Ballast 2. The Tree of Life 1. Blue Valentine
Blogs are big business these days. In fact, some people make careers out of them. For example, take those bloggers that charge about ZAR 35 000 appearance fee, or those that charge ZAR 30-60 000 for banners on their sites. A rise in blogger popularity also makes it harder for us to judge the level of quality content available to us online. Almost everybody has a blog these days. People are quick to begin blogs without understanding why they get into blogging. Nalden is by far the most innovative blog on the web right now. It’s a Dutch blog that’s been around for 10 years. The reason I’ve chosen Nalden as my top blog this year is its ability to incorporate advertising into its content delivery. There are no flashing brand banners on Nalden. The content is always relevant to me. This concept is ahead of our time. All of Nalden’s banners are integrated into its ‘web-desktop’ format. This is serious coding, quality content, and fresh advertising all in one site. It’s mad interesting! I hope bloggers can learn from Nalden to come up with something that’s new and interesting.
Tebs Selects TOP 5
I judge a good film off of a few things; cinematography, the actors, the story, and the ending. After that I’ll look deeper into its budget, its screenings (Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto) and so on. I’m the type of person that will do research on a films director if I have to, usually after being blown away of course. Sadly, the last time I did something like that was in 2009, after watching a film called Choke, which stared Sam Rockwell. Well, there’s an independently distributed film called Blue Valentine. It pretty much covers all of my criteria except the ending. Did research on its director Derek Cianfrance, and found that the last film he directed was in 1998. WOW! Where has this guy been? Part of the film’s success is in its lead pair of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. I fell in love with Blue Valentine, and I rate it highly.
Ntokozo Kunene is one of the rising stars of the South African fashion scene. The vision that she has for herself and for the industry is exciting to say the least. Although she’s currently based in the U.K, she’s very keen on returning home and doing major things. Mabu (her brand) was launched in September 2010. After showing at the SA Fashion Week, Mabu received sincere feedback from one of SA’s top fashion commentators. Ntokozo speaks to phsicsmag about her ideas and aspirations. For more on this remarkable individual, follow her blog – fuzunina.tumblr.com – her MABU Facebook page, as well as her Twitter - @NTEEllectuality . She has also done some writings for ARISE magazine’s issue 13 as well as for its online platform.
“I think the younger designers in South Africa definitely have great ideas and unique concepts, which allow them to be on par with young talent abroad” phsicsmag (p): You recently graduated at one of Europe’s top design schools; do you feel any pressure to make an immediate impact on the world of fashion?
Ntokozo Kunene shaping garments, modeling dreams photography by
Simon Deiner / SDR Photo
Ntokozo Kunene (NK): I don't feel any pressure to immediately impact the fashion world because I feel I still have a lot more to learn. Although I have done a few internships, Elle New Talent, and SA Fashion Week, I still think I need to work for a company and learn from people who are recognised in the international fashion industry. I want to understand how the more established markets operate so that I can help to develop the South African industry to the point at which it’s on a level to operate, and trade, internationally. It would be great to have one of our cities, maybe Johannesburg, become a fashion capital, and join the ranks with London, Milan, New York, Paris, and Tokyo. p: Are you happy with the current crop of design talent coming out of South Africa? NK: I think the younger designers in South Africa definitely have great ideas and unique concepts, which allow them to be on par with young talent abroad. The only downfall back home is the lack of resources when it comes to things like textiles/fabrics. I think the availability of good quality fabric in South Africa makes it difficult for these amazing concepts to be communicated as well as they could.
p: What would you like to see happen more at South Africa’s fashion schools? NK: I can't really answer this question because I don't know what the curriculum is in South African fashion schools. I however feel that designers that come out of South African design schools are extremely well trained technically. Their pattern construction and sewing skills are phenomenal. I only did one year at a fashion school in South Africa, a few years ago, and I can only make a comparison from that one year to my first year at the European design college. I wish in my one year in South Africa we had more in depth courses on the History of Art and the History of Costume, because I feel it is important to have this background in order to create original work. Although nowadays nothing is completely new, and it is very difficult to create new silhouettes, the History of Costume assists in this understanding so you can attempt to manipulate what has come before, and create something original. Then I feel the History of Art is important because it opens you up to a whole new realm of inspiration. At the college I studied at, the two courses worked together, because we covered costume through the periods by studying portraits and illustrations done by artists of the time. p: Which business model would you recommend to SA designers? NK: This is an extremely hard question for someone who has never actually run a fully-fledged fashion house or operated in the clothing retail industry whether locally or abroad, so I can't exactly answer this question properly. I can say that I am excited about initiatives like WOZA (Wear Only ZA), and Fashion Fridays hosted by the store Twenty Two (a celebration of South African fashion, design, food, art and music), which are encouraging people to wear proudly South African brands. The opening of stores such as Twenty Two, Mememe, and Egality, and not forgetting The Space, which solely stock South African brands, is also a step in the right direction in boosting the South African fashion retail industry.
p: Earlier this year, you took part in the South African Fashion Week. What did you learn from that experience? NK: The best thing about this Fashion Week was the buyer's showroom. South African Fashion Week is concerned with the business of fashion, which means they assist the designers in creating relationships with buyers and stores so that you are able to sell your collections (very helpful for us new/young designers). It's all good and well to create, and have a spectacular show but at the end of the day, designers also need to eat, so you hope that people will actually be interested in buying your clothes. So basically what I learned from this experience was to how to communicate with buyers. I also had the opportunity to speak to some designers that I have admired for a long time, and they offered me some great advice about reaching that balance between wanting to go all out in designing, but also creating a commercially viable collection.
“South African Fashion Week is concerned with the business of fashion, which means they assist the designers in creating relationships with buyers and stores so that you are able to sell your collections” p: Everything that is fashion related is shifting online. Are South African designers on par with global internet trends? NK: I actually recently wrote an article on the rise of African online retail, and while doing research on this I came across a study about the growth of South African online retail in 2010. Yes, we are on par with global internet trends, according to this study the total spent online grew 30% from the previous year, which was also assisted by the increase in experienced internet users in South Africa. What excites me the most, however, is the availability of South African brands online. Now the world also has access to our local fashion even if they don't have the opportunity to travel to our sunny shores. Some examples are sites like 36 Boutiques, which stocks South African brands, and My Asho, which stocks African brands including some South African labels. Très, très exciting that I can now order my favourite South African brand while sitting out in London.
p: I know you to be somebody who’s always ready to take on new challenges, what motivates you? NK: 1) My family, for one, because they have taught me the meaning of hard work and what you can achieve if you remain focused. 2) Being African! People on our continent are doing amazing things, regardless of whether resources are easily available to them or not. 3) The desire to constantly reinvent and be dierent. I am a designer, at the end of the day, and so I'm always on a search to create something new 4) Aesthetics - I love beautiful surroundings and things so this also inspires me to create
for more on Ntokozo: @NTEEllectuality fuzunina.tumblr.com
The Black Stars in the Building
I’ve been in the scene for a minute now, and I can say I’m impressed with the success of some Ghanaians that are buzzing on my fashion radar. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but names like Adrien Sauvage, Zandile Blay, Marian Kihogo, Joshua Kissi and my girl Akosua Afriyie-Kumi are making waves online. Ghanaian fashionistas are global minded. Their willingness to explore new cultures through travel and education has helped them to innovate outside what I would call ‘common African fashion practices’. Coming from South Africa, I feel as though we have put too much a burden on Johannesburg to be our country’s cultural melting pot. The same goes for people in other countries on the continent, such as Nairobi for Kenya, and to a certain extent, Lagos for Nigeria. This means that for South Africans for example, we might be pushed to have a ‘if it’s not a hit in Joburg, then forget about it being a hit anywhere else in the country’ type of mentality. This line of thinking goes for anything, whether it’s a new musician, a fashion designer, or an artist. But to be fair, Johannesburg has given birth to some amazing sub-cultures, both pre and post-apartheid. The problem, I think, is that creatives tend to close their eyes on what is happening in the rest of the fashion world, just focusing on mainstream thinking which in the end gives rise to that mentality I spoke about. Be it in trends in social media, blogging, or more technical aspects such as the cuts or quality of their garments, fashion people back home are far behind. What can we learn from our West African fashionistas then? Well, it starts with benchmarking your brand globally. For example, you have to see your blog’s popularity from a global standpoint, if you’re a blogger or your garments if you’re a designer. Not too many people have the capacity to think globally, yet we live in a world which is virtually borderless because of the existence of the internet and social media. Ask yourself why every black kid in SA is suddenly sporting the bowtie look? Evidence to this is through the influence of blogs such as Street Etiquette. But yet again, this gives rise to yet another problem. Back to the one city mindedness, the bow-tie look was a hit in Joburg a while ago. Could this mean that the city gave birth to this look or did the city’s ‘cool people’ at the time see the look on foreign blogsites before it hit our shores? Proving this is tough, but one thing is certain, for the look to be all over the country, it had to start in Joburg, that’s certain.
Joshua Kissi - blogger
The second success we could take from our fellow West African fashionistas is that of perfection, attention to detail, quality, staying true to your brand! Do SA designers move garments straight off the runway? Or do they have to wait for like a month for their first order? Perfecting the technical know-how is what lacks back home. If I were a blogger like Joshua Kissi, why not be the best blogger on the continent? If I were a tailor like A. Sauvage, why not be one of the best in the world? Back home, we have a culture of complacency. Starting off something dope doesn’t mean it is dope forever, you need to be consistent, and improve with every new offering! In closing, I would just like to point out the success of this new generation of fashionista Black Stars. Perhaps there may be other Ghanaian fashion success stories out there, but these were the ones that I came across.
Adrein Sauvage - tailor
Toronto is the epicenter of talent. I remember when K-OS and Belly were the only Canadian rappers I knew. All this changed when Drake burst into the hip hop scene about four years ago. Since then, we’ve been introduced to artists such as The Weeknd and the rest of the X.O team. One Youtube comment reads “there must be something in the tap water up there” (Toronto). As somebody who always wants to be in the loop when it comes to new talent, it’s always a new feeling when you make a discovery. The Beau Monde Collective is currently the hottest thing in the Canadian alternative scene. This collective consists of the much talked about Airplane Boys. Beck Motley and Bon Voyage bring more to the hip hop scene than just a convincing style sense. Their lyrics are profound, their production is on point, and their music videos are of the highest quality. To say that the Airplane Boys are dope is an understatement. In early 2011 I had a listen at their Where’ve You Been mixtape and became an instant fan. What caught my eye, however, was their Born To Be music video. I couldn’t believe that there were unsigned artists capable of creating something that impressive with just their friends and the people they knew. Every era has had its fair share of rap duos; the 80’s we had Eric B & Rakim, the early-mid 90’s had Methodman & Redman, and the late 90’s early 2000s had what is considered the biggest rap duo of our time Outkast. The Airplane Boys could go all the way to writing their names in the hip hop history books. I would also like to salute their creative team at Beau Monde. These guys have set the standards very high, whether it’s through music, art direction, photography, design or film, the Beau Monde Collective is a name to make a note of. As for Canadian music, it’s very exciting to see people that are changing the game. I’m sure there is something in the tap water up there, but whatever it is, they should add more of it. I managed to get through to Beck & Bon for a phone interview. One thing that surprised me about them was just how down to earth these two were. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but the patience and humility they displayed throughout our interview will go a long way. It was exciting to hear them talk about South Africa and how they’d like to visit us. Until then, they would like you and me to spread the word. Their mixtape (which is for download on their website: www.theairplaneboys.com ) was produced by Illangelo (who’s produced for Drake, The Weeknd and Talwst). You can also follow them on twitter @theairplaneboys or like their Facebook page. Here’s how the interview went down.
phsicsmag (p): What was it like working on your debut mixtape with Illangelo? The Airplane Boys (Beck Motley & Bon Voyage) Bon: It was amazing...I mean, It was a learning curve for us. In terms of the recording process we had to be in the studio for like an hour, but we would be there for late hours and just trying to fit the songs in to a time. We didn’t really have the money to pay for studio time so it was just a lot of ‘run -and- gun’ type of mentality. p: And Beau Monde, that’s your creative team right? Beck: That’s our crew, that’s our family. It’s the foundation behind The Airplane Boys. Not only do we make music but we have a brand director, a producer, a photographer, art direction, it’s all about arts in this crew. We’re all brothers, we all grew up together in the same neighbourhood, we all think alike and we hangout. It’s the foundation of The Airplane Boys artistically and moving forward. p: You’ve recently got back from touring the U.K with Snoop Dogg. And you’ve also opened for Big Sean. What did you take out of these experiences? Beck: In terms of opening for Big Sean it was a humbling experience because that’s a young artist that’s coming out now, that’s relevant, a lot of the young kids grew up to that and one that we got to see throughout , an artist that has longevity. For Snoop it was incredible because it was overseas. People drive on the right side, everything’s different there. The currency’s different, you feel like you’re far from home. We’ve never performed for like 20 -25 thousand before and Snoop garnered that kind of audience overseas. We are humbled by the experience; even fans on our own tour further share our music out there. p: One of the first things that struck me about you guys was your heavy style presence. Does fashion play a role in shaping who you are musically? Beck: Fashion plays a big role in shaping our music, arts in general. Every time we get the chance to go to art galleries and fashion runways we’re inspired by a lot of colours and watching films, reading books, anything that has to do with expressing yourself. Because that’s what we are first and foremost. We’re trying to express our stories as storytellers on our music. We have a message in our music all the time. Any form of expression we try and look into it. Whether its films, fashion, just art in general. p: Where do you see yourselves five to ten years from now? Bon: That’s hard to say. We just see ourselves established, more presence, Beau Monde the company growing, moving forward, really just touching the people more. p: Any projects, tours, or happenings that we can look forward to? Beck: We just out in Los Angeles right now finishing our next mixtape. We’ve been out in the U.K, New York, doing a few songs here and there, and letting the environment write our music, so when we’re in the U.K we listen to a lot of electronic and dubstep music and try to implement that into our body of art. And here in Los Angeles we’re more under the sun, so our music’s gonna translate to that. We just gonna pick the best songs and ready it for the top of the year, give it to the supporters, the believers.
What drives us to purchase a specific item of clothing? Remove the brand name, remove the “Made in”, does provenance play a role? What about presentation? Is there a guarantee that whichever item is presented in front of you is the ‘real’ item that is presented in front of you? A certain American defense minister once said; “There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.” His statement, which is conspiratorial to say the least, can be applied to anything, including fashion. Are those jeans that you on really worth the price you’ve paid for them? They may have been presented to you in one of two ways; either discount quality or premium quality –notice how there is no ‘middle segment’. Branding is the business of relationships. The 20% returning consumers are said to account for 80% of the turnover (80/20 rule). To make it easier for you, I’ll go on to say that I do care about provenance. I do care about the price, but only to a lesser degree. I care about aesthetic, I care about the feel, and I care about a lot of things, as long as I don’t see somebody wearing the same item of clothing that I’m wearing, be it at a social event, an airport, or a school library, then I’m fine. I care about originality. If I had to relate that originality to a brand, then it would have to be Ugmonk. I care about Ugmonk. During late 2009, I was flipping through the Urban Outfitters website when I saw this amazing t-shirt. I decided to buy that t-shirt directly from the brand’s website. Three years later with my collection up to date, I’ve made a friend in the brand’s founder Jeff Sheldon. Jeff is a typography designer turned entrepreneur. He founded Ugmonk in August 2008. He’s based out of the greater Philadelphia, PA area. Jeff tells me that ever since he could hold a pencil he “loved art”. Later in life he studied graphic design, and finds himself doing what he loves today. His t-shirt designs can be distinguished by the iconic lettering and numbering typeface on them. Ugmonk’s new collections are always better than the last ones, which explains my title ‘never outnumbered’. Ugmonk was the unknown that was unknown to me, but today it is the known that found me. phsicsmag (p): What’s the inspiration behind your Ugmonk brand? Jeff Sheldon (JS): It all started with a simple idea – design fresh high-quality unique items. Just one month after I had graduated college, married my high-school sweetheart, moved to Burlington, VT, and started a full-time design job, I found myself brainstorming about launching my own brand centered around my love for typography and minimal design. I felt like the design culture at the time was really lacking in this area, and apparently this design sensibility connected with many people all around the world. What started as an outlet for my passion and entrepreneurial experiment quickly grew into much more than just selling a few shirts. Ugmonk didn’t start with a formal business plan and in fact I had very little background in business.
“Rather than following the “traditional”model of starting a business, I just tried to apply common sense and research to figure things out as they came up. I’ve found that the best way of learning is by doing.”
Rather than following the “traditional” model of starting a business, I just tried to apply common sense and research to figure things out as they came up. I’ve found that the best way of learning is by doing. p: Your brand keeps reinventing itself with every new collection. How do you maintain this momentum throughout every design phase? JS: Though Ugmonk started primarily as tshirts, I always wanted it to be about the design. Applying the same design principles to a variety of products from sketchbooks to mugs, has allowed me to keep the momentum and interests levels high. p: Finally, Ugmonk has really become a part of my identity. People know me by my tp: Besides the sick typeface, I love the quality and shirt collection almost! What would you like feel of your t-shirts. Would you agree that consum- to say to all the Ugmonk fans out there? ers are starting to look into quality that is affordable? JS: All I can say is thanks! Without you guys supportJS: Yes, quality has always been top priority for ing Ugmonk and buying the products that I create, I me. I’m obsessed with the details. I think there’s wouldn’t be where I am today. One of the best parts been a recent shift in culture where consum- about running a brand is knowing that my customers are more aware of the craftsmanship that ers enjoy the products so much that they come goes into products and are willing to pay a little back to buy again and also tell their friends about it. more for a product that is well-made. With that in mind I still try to keep the Ugmonk line affordable.
“Ugmonk is about building a community of people who appreciate the same design qualities whether it be a hand-made leather journal or a typographic tshirt.” p: Over the years you’ve introduced products such as bags, notepads and other collector’s pieces. Do you see Ugmonk evolving into a lifestyle brand? JS: Yes, if I had to classify it I would say Ugmonk is a lifestyle brand. While you could call it a fashion brand or tshirt brand, it doesn’t really follow those models. Ugmonk is about building a community of people who appreciate the same design qualities whether it be a hand-made leather journal or a typographic tshirt.
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Theo Van Doesburg’s Dada
and
Style
De Stijl (1917) The De Stijl (The Style) movement wanted to reflect the basic elements of art and design through shape, colour, and composition. Paintings were characterized by cubes (known as cubism) and natural colours. Theo van Doesburg is the lesser known of the De Stijl founders. Theo van Doesburg’s De Stijl publication has raised more questions than answers. Is style related to simplicity? Why would one try to define style if the definition is rooted to an individual’s tastes, traits, and personality? Is there such a thing as ‘basic’ art and design? Do you think Ndebelism is a characteristic of De Stijl?
Dadaism (1916) So the Dada movement came before the De Stijl. I won’t bore you with a history lesson, but Dadaism was founded in protest towards WWI. Dadaism is anti-art. Theo van Doesburg was a key member of the movement too. I guess this is why Dada art came across as being an extreme case in trying to define what style is or what expression is. It left me puzzled. Theo Van Doesburg’s work shows us how important it is to be controversial in art and particular-
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