In The Purple Seat: Ryan Keys

Ryan Keys is a young South African designer, born in Johannesburg. After developing a passion for fashion at a young age, he studied couture at Spero Villioti Elite Design Academy, and has successfully launched a store in Parkhurst. We had the privilege of having him in studio with us to answer a few burning questions.

1. How did you first discover your passion for fashion? And who influenced you into pursuing this?

 

From a very young age. Funny enough I actually used to dress my mom for a lot of events and all of that sort of stuff. Then I started getting big into photography and looking at all of those sorts of things and from there I decided that I need to do it and take the leap and decided to study fashion

2. What was the first garment that you ever made?

The first thing that I made was actually for a school project, we had to do a photoshoot for Art. So I went and made a skirt and jacket- well I bought the jacket and added the extras. And then we shot the stuff and yeah… That was the first official thing that I made.

3. What inspires your designs?

There are a lot of things that inspire my designs- one of them being travels. I like to travel a lot, whether it is in the bush or traveling abroad, I get a lot of inspiration from that. And mainly, funny enough, I actually look at the beauty in nature and those sorts of things. But the instead of looking at the beauty I look at the more evil side to things. So I might look at a butterfly but then I might look at it drawn to a flame or something like that, which does sound quite gross but at the end of the day it’s about what emotion you feel when you see the clothes.

4. What is your favourite part of being a fashion designer?

Creating fun, beautiful things. I like to see the look on a bride’s face when she sees her gown for the final time, the smiles. It’s probably the most gratifying part of it all: you’ve worked for two months straight to try and create a beautiful connection and people love it. I mean you never know, some people might hate it or love it… You never know what people will think of it. So I think that’s the major thing- seeing people’s reactions and liking what you do.

5. You were one of the designers at SA fashion week. What was that experience like?

It’s very very fun. That is one thing that I think people want to know the process of: Basically you get invited to show, and then after that you go for castings where you will see maybe one hundred different girls, they will walk for you and then you choose which ones you like. You then take measurements and then alter your designs. Then you do the final checks before the show and then you show. But everything is absolutely taken care of, I mean on the day you have people steaming your garments. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun but there is a lot of stress which keeps us on our toes.

6. Do you have a specific research process when designing a new collection?

Not necessarily, because I feel that every collection is very different. I think that the first collection that I did for fashion week was more about introducing myself to the people, so actually more of showing them what I can do. This year I was concerned about showing people dominance versus submissive. So with that I might read a book, like 50 Shades of Grey, and be like “okay. This inspires me” and then do a lot of research into why people like about it and how they harness it. So I will look at a whole bunch of things. So that I know what it can and can’t do, and basically live that collection for a while.

7. Who inspires you the most in fashion?

People around me, like my friends and family. I don’t actually look at other designers or things like that; I look at the people around me. The things they do. And from there I gain inspiration from them, whether it be a vacation that they have been on and then I decide that I need to go there and see these beautiful places or things like that.

8. What is your philosophy on the art of fashion?

I am very focused on my fabrics. Like I focus on my fabrics and fabrications and I feel that with fashion you are very much reinventing the wheel. But I feel that with my design aesthetic I am more concerned with the fabrication and how you make things. So your fit needs to be perfect, I mean you can take a cheap pair of pans, but tailored perfectly they can make you look like a million bucks. My fabrics I like to source all around the world and there are a lot of beads. So it may be a simple A line dress but then it’s completely beaded, and that’s the wow factor of it.

9. What do you think makes your fashion unique?

I’m very set on textures so I like to maybe make one thing out of feathers and then the bodice of it maybe leather, so it’s playing with many things. A lot of people have said to me that I like to use different things, so it may be a gold lace on a pure white and then people are like is it a bridal gown, is it an evening gown… And it can really be anything.

10. Which celebrity would be your dream client?

I would love to push the boundaries and dress someone like Lady Gaga, with something like that I would go absolutely crazy and push the boundaries. But then again I  would like to dress someone like Jennifer Lopez. I mean she has been around for so many years but still has an amazing body and looks absolutely amazing in anything that you put her in. So I would really like to dress her and do something classy and elegant.

11. What does the future hold?

I can definitely see a lot more stores, the online store is launching soon. Dressing a lot more people, hopefully a lot more international celebrities, a lot more local celebrities, and just expanding the business in general. I don’t just see us being a fashion business, I see us doing accessories and then branching off into more luxury goods, I see us branching off into homeware. I can see us branching off into absolutely anything and everything, things that go with the brand.

 

 

Written by Ghia ten Doeschate

In The Purple Seat: John Owens

We had the privilege of interviewing Mr South Africa 2013/14, John Owens, who shared his Mr South Africa experience with us.

What is the difference between Mr and Miss South Africa? 

Mr South Africa is very similar to Miss South Africa if we look at it from a competition perspective but the way that you enter and the way that you win the competition is completely different. So Miss South Africa is a pageant and Mr South Africa is a competition. So Mr SA is looking for a model male, also a representative of the brand. We take the brand as a company so we look at it from that sense where Miss SA is more of a “face of”.

What are the requirements for entering? 

The competition is open to men between the age of 18 and 21, who are hungry and have a lot of dreams- with a valid South African ID and no criminal record.

What do you think the competition needs to achieve the same status and exposure as Miss/Mrs South Africa? 

I think mainly sponsors and a lot of money. Miss South Africa is owned by Sun International so that is already a huge backing, Mr South Africa is owned by an individual. So I think most probably the money behind it because it does take a lot of money to run a competition and for us to really take the title and save lives, we’ve really got to get out there and get more involved in a lot of things. And I think the more sponsorships, the more endorsements, the more companies see what we are all about because everyone associates us with a modelling competition and that’s completely wrong.

 Do you think that in a few years Mr SA will be able to achieve the same status as Miss SA, given that it is so much younger than Miss SA? 

I think so… If all the Mr SA’s stood together a bit instead of just moving away from the brand, like with Miss SA you could probably phone up Miss SA from 10 years ago and she would still somehow be part of the brand. That’s the one thing that I wanted to do- get all the former Mr SAs, obviously starting from me, still remains part of the brand. So it’s like an internal Mr SA club, and by that I think that the brand will grow. And believe it or not, Mr SA actually comes from the 1980’s.

It has been mentioned that you are involved with the Africa Blessing’s project. Can you tell us a bit more about this cause and how you got involved?

Well African blessings is actually just something that I do through the company that I work for so I am not actually actively involved with them, it’s more through the company and through the money that we make as well as the events that we get involved in. It’s purely through the company, but I have my own charity organisations that I do from The Little Fighters Cancer Trust and The Sunflower Fund. So I devoted my year to childhood cancer, and I said that I am not just going to choose one charity and devote my time to it, I will choose whatever charity is involved with child hood cancer.

Do you think that Mr SA is a good platform for giving voice towards charity? 

I do believe so but I think that you should do it for the right reasons and not do it to kind of get something out of it for your own benefit. Because I have a four year old daughter who is very healthy and bubbly and every so often I have to remind myself that it could’ve been different. It’s funny because having a title like Mr Sa, people want to listen and get involved and a lot of South African don’t know where to get involved. So though the Mr SA following that we have we definitely make a difference where we can.

Let’s move onto the juicy details- how has Mr SA affected your relationship? 

I actually had a relationship entering Mr SA and that relationship kind of fell apart after winning- literally about 4 months after winning Mr SA that relationship ended. But it’s unfortunate. I’ve said that I could never understand it, the celebrities out there. I could never understand why you have celebrities dating celebrities because I thought to myself “How boring would that be?” Because you have the same interests, you got the same type of things that you look at, what do you talk about in the evenings? Whereas where there is a celebrity and a person with a normal job, you at least have things to talk about. But after winning Mr SA I understand why you do that, because you need someone in your life that supports you 100%, you need somebody who understands if you get home at 2 o’clock in the morning and you are grumpy and you just want to go to bed. It’s affected my life 180 degrees.

So how do you think that the transition has been from being a normal guy on the street to being Mr SA?

Well it was tough in the beginning, simply because a lot of people look up to you because I am a very expressive guy. I normally say what’s on my mind whether it is positive or negative and I had to stop doing that. So I think that it’s changed me for the better.

So what does being Mr SA mean to you? 

Well to me it means quite a lot of things but I think that mostly it’s just setting a good example for other men in South Africa, I think purely because South African’s, specifically men, we don’t go to army any more so that whole transition of going from being a boy to becoming a man. So you look at 22/23 year olds out there with no direction in life, living with their parents, they’ve got no dreams- no ambition. Simply because of the role models and a lot of mean in South Africa grow up in broken homes where they grow up with either a mom or a dad and they grow up with no role models. We’ve got role models like sports players and actors, but it’s not easy if you don’t have the background to become someone like that. Specifically for myself, coming from literally nowhere. Winning a competition, making something out of it, I think it’s important for me to be a role model and just show other men on South Africa that anything is really possible.

What do you think of your predecessor compared to you compared to who came after you?

Well I don’t really know a lot about the guy that won the competition before me simply because he had his own race that he had. The guy that won just after me now, I actually know him from before he won Mr SA and I’ve assisted him through his reign as well, where I can, but my role was a little bit different. I had my things that I had going on but I got involved with the new competition as well. So all top 12 finalists that took part a couple of months ago I knew every single one of them. And the guy that won now, Armand du Plessis, very very nice guy, he really is. He’s very different to me, he’s got different things that he wants to do so I think that’s a good thing for the brand. That means that I can continue to do what I want to do and he’s going to make a different road for himself. He has different things that he believes in.

Do you think that this allows the brand to evolve more?

I do think so. I think that as a Mr SA you should, as long as you put the brand before your dreams. I know that people will go “But no, Mr SA is all about you”, but it’s not. It’s all about the brand. If you do things for the brand, and you put the brand out there and every big decision you make is for the brand then eventually the brand will look after you. And life will look after you because you get given 12 months and in the 12 months you must make the most of it.

Written by Ghia ten Doeschate

Daniel Baron2nd Album Launch

Daniel Baron, together with La Toscana in Monte Casino, pulled in the masses with Daniel’s second album launch. The second studio album titled Apollo was brought to life with Daniel’s outstanding performance of his latest songs, a few well known covers with a twist and a couple of old songs.

The night was full of fun, dancing, amazing lighting and fantastic music. 

The South African trio of the night, including, guest appearances by Marc Lottering and Vin Deysel, made the night a worthwhile trip. Marc Lottering started off the evening with laughs and Vin Deysel ended it with an unforgettable finale.

The sponsors of the event included, 947, Redken, Toms, uber and. Dermalogica Dermalogica pulled out all of the stops with free goodie bags with samples inside, and a photo booth styled area to take pictures with a card to have the opportunity to win prizes. The first three hundred guests who came through the doors, got a goodie bag upon entrance.

There were albums and t-shirts on sale at the door. Both, the album and shirts, were something worth buying. There were two different styled shirts, for men and women. The men’s shirts had the artwork that is on the album cover.

The second album has music that pleas to all moods and speaks to girls, boys, men and women alike who have been through heartbreak and trying times but who have also overcome those difficulties and faced them head on. It is an album everyone can relate to and feel the passion that resonates through Daniels lyrics and emotion. However it is has “feel good” elements to it as well, leaving no stone left unturned.

According tp Daniel Baron’s website, “Baron’s music has received recognition from the highly acclaimed Patrick Magneralla (Manager of Green Day and Goo Goo Dolls). In 2014 Baron recorded a song at AfterMaster Studios in LA with the team behind the Lady Gaga album, The Fame Monster.”

“In 2013 he was selected to open for Bon Jovi as a part of the ‘Because We Can’ World Tour.
Daniel performed with his band to a crowd of 60 000 at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Over and
above his local success of album sales, touring, playing at festivals and performing to large audiences
and corporates, Baron has also achieved on an international level. “

For more info go to http://danielbaron.co.za/

Written By Shannalee Doran 

#SpraygroundSA launch

 

 

Sprayground specialises in high-street fashion bags, especially backpacks. Created by US designer, David Ben-David four years ago, the Sprayground backpacks reignited a "bag renaissance" with its heavy use of pop culture and has become a street favourite amongst its own cult following. They're bold, artistic and not afraid to offend.


 




Seen on the backs of some of the biggest hip hop artists in the world, like Chris Brown and Rick Ross, Sprayground has even recently joined forces with renowned director and cultural icon, Spike Lee for their new range.



Sprayground has featured in top international media outlets, located in some of the worlds best boutiques and is sold in over 35 countries. These designer bags will now be heading to SA and will be available from 15 March 2015.

 

 By Ghia ten Doeschate