10 minutes with local tastemakers

Kevin Perestrelo

I met Kevin for the first time at one or another fashion event in Windhoek. He graced the room, dapperly dressed and photographing the plethora of people posing for their five seconds of fame. Then I met him again, daringly dressed on the festival grounds of Rocking the Daisies. So when we meet at Sicilia on Independence Avenue, I’m surprised to see him just… dressed. But honestly, who gives a shit?

He hops out of his ride, AirPods in, mask on, and sits down at the very table I was initially seated at, before I moved inside due to the bustle of Windhoek’s main street. Obviously, we share an eye for aesthetics, which is the name of Kevin’s game. So much so that he delivered a TEDx talk on its principles. Before you get too excited about his insightful speech – TED has yet to release the footage. I’m also impatiently waiting.

Kevin is a freelance videographer, photographer and art director. No, wait, sorry – he is THE freelancing videographer, photographer and art director. Landing jobs often based on a single photo from his portfolio. Go figure - since his still images speak volumes of the kind of creative that Kevin is. Baffled by the blind faith that a lot of his clients have in him, he shows up and not only delivers but exceeds expectations. The reins have to be pulled in a little every now and again, as Kevin intrinsically directs in the spirit of Wes Anderson - with great attention to uniformity and symbolism - and is reminded that not all his clients come with a natural knack for the vehicles of cinematography.

He initially studied law (dropping out to pursue a career in the creative industry) and is now versing himself in business in order to bridge the gap between creating for the sake of sanity, and still paying the bills. That, and also the fact that he’s scheming to venture into sustainable and functional fashion.

Of all the trendy places on Independence at our disposal, Sicilia seems like an unlikely choice for this meeting. But as per usual, there’s a method behind Kevin’s madness. It’s his way of travelling, given our current circumstances. The Sicilian ambience (and pizza) of this traditional establishment is why it is his regular spot for double espressos and dining. It’s old-school, just like Kevin.

So old-school that he prefers jotting down ideas on his typewriter after he found that an iPad just isn’t intentional enough. His peers give him crap for refusing to own a TV. His preferred means of watching Wes Anderson movies is a projector.

Intention is one of his biggest guiding principles, a practice essential in the creative field of often scatterbrained artists.

When leaving his curated apartment in the morning, Kevin imagines the kind of film he’s starring in (and most definitely directing) for the next 24 hours. Today’s film is along the lines of Basquiat, sipping strong coffee in a cosmopolitan corner of the capital, catching up with an old acquaintance.

Very much like the movie I last saw is my favourite, Kevin’s favourite project is always the most recent. The latest in his portfolio just happens to be a high-budget short film for a Canadian musician’s EP. As director of photography it brought him a great amount of pleasure to create for an artist he actually listens to. When your two worlds meet like that, it hits the kind of sweet spot that many creatives can only dream of. And the end product is almost always of an exemplary standard.

He speaks six languages and collects coffee table books like it’s his fulltime job. But there’s also a great air of family orientation that grounds everything he does as well as his entire persona. He’s a contemporary man, with old-fashioned charm and an immaculate eye for the symmetry, colour theory and intent that sets his work apart from the rest.

It’s people like Kevin, existing fiercely in the creative space, producing world-class standard content and redefining the status-quo, who are the reason I started this series. Don’t you dare call him pretentious – Kevin isn’t pretending to be anything. He simply is.

Charene Labuschagne