10 minutes with local taste makers

Rukee Kaakunga

It’s hard not to be starstruck when you’re sitting down with Namibia’s favourite fashion journalist. In her own words, Rukee birthed not only her beautiful daughter, but the exploration and emancipation of the local fashion scene through print media. She’s the well-manicured hands behind our monthly fashion feature, and if that doesn’t say enough about her deep-seeded love for clothes and creativity, the rest will surely confirm it.

Her impressive career portfolio begins with not one, but two degrees. Badass. Second to a qualification in journalism, Rukee took up a degree in public relations which later landed her a jam-packed-schedule job at TribeFire Studios. Her writing graced the pages of Namibia’s largest newspaper back in the day. While her journalistic endeavours spanned the spread of categories within the recycled paper publication, it was the entertainment segment that caught her attention. Rukee was growing weary of the lacklustre attempt at featuring fashion, as it revolved largely around international brands and, according to her, was neither relevant nor relatable. So she did what any extraordinarily bold individual would and began writing raw, honest reviews of the local fashion industry.

It’s no small feat – putting your head on the chopping block – but Rukee simply refused to pussyfoot around the fact of the matter: that at that time, the industry needed a little shaking up and someone to be brutally honest as well as incredibly constructive. How else are we to progress? Surely not by being false in the face of fashion that needs us to be real with each other.

Her bona fide fashion policing paid off. The opinion pieces featured on her personal blog provide feedback on events like the Windhoek Fashion Week and the Miss Namibia pageant and are reviews the fashion world look forward to. According to Rukee, designers have often responded positively to her critique and used her constructive criticism to further their creative work. It’s safe to say that after many years of keeping tabs on the local, continental and global industry, Rukee is the woman we turn to for frank fashion advice, the only fluff being a faux fur or feather.

Rukee’s die-hard closet essentials say everything about her: timeless elegance. A crisp white shirt and classic flattering denim “without holes” she adds, these are a few of her favourite things. Long before Marie Kondo told us to purge our closets of the things we don’t wear, Rukee was doing it on a regular basis. She says, “It’s about quality, not quantity.” Everything she owns, be it a pair of shoes or said crisp white shirt, she wears. The only exception being her little girl’s closet which Rukee says she’ll surely learn to scale down and invest in everlasting pieces in her own time.

The couture bug bit in primary school when Rukee and her classmates were fiddling with paper dolls. She proceeded to design fashionable garments to adorn her paper doll. The paper doll wore Prada. And her friends, who took little interest in the details? Well, Rukee dressed their paper dolls too. When the time came, her subjects shifted from one-dimensional to designing matric farewell dresses for her peers which she admits were quite outlandish. It’s no coincidence that risqué rhymes with Rukee.

I ask for her take on the air of self-importance that has infiltrated the local creative industry, or more specifically the importance of sharing knowledge and expertise in a realm that is tight knit and frankly, tiny. Rukee reckons not to sell yourself short when it comes to your talent and what to charge, but it’s equally important not to willy around and burn bridges when values and ideals don’t align. She’s the kind of creative who rationally scopes the pay, platform and bigger potential, because sometimes the impact that a project can have outweighs the cheque at the end. Rukee’s advice is that sometimes the sacrifice is worth it. I’m taking notes, are you?

Charene Labuschagne