RENASCENCE Magazine
Issue
No.06.2
Fashion & Music
Editor’s Letter
 |
| Words by Monde Mtsi. Image by Neo Baepi. |
Stumbling
into 2018 has been a rather turbulent experience. Between finding my feet
(again!) and deciding to switch things up with the blog and magazine, it has
been educational in more ways than one. With the first quarter of the year
behind us, it was a tough decision to change the format of the production of
RENASCENCE Magazine; what still remains, though, is the passion that goes into
producing it.
With
that side, for the interim, RENASCENCE will be produced as a long-read post on
the blog, Renaissance Men. This helps us keep you informed, makes the read a
bit more byte size and allows us to track your favourite sections better.
During this time, we are working on rehashing things to provide you with a much
more fulfilling digital experience of one of your favourite men’s content
portals.
In
issue number six we focus on the illustrious relationship between fashion and
music. To keep it clean and easy to digest, we’ve dissected the issue into
three parts; each offering content to give you different perspectives on these
multi-billion, if not, multi-trillion dollar industries.
In
Part Two we look at getting layered for winter the street style way; Wearing
local as a vibe and how musicians do it in their music videos; In our feature
for this episode, we look at fashion’s most iconic fabric, style, trend – Denim
– its history, its features in music and its modern day presence in popular
culture. Our cover star for Part Two is none other than Jaden Smith – who also
happens to make it into our main story for this issue.
So
get your coffee fix, sit back and indulge in some original local content. Don’t
forget to share, comment and like when you’re done. Feel free to read it all
over again, as well, if it’s too damn good to let go of.
Lots
of African luxury love,
Monde
Mtsi
Editor
Editor’s Choice
In this nippy somewhat wet
weather, reasons to either stay dry or stay at home are always welcomed with
open arms. Of course sometimes we can’t escape the inevitable, however, there’s
nothing more enticing than indulging on heatwaves in the midst of the cold.
With
the Apple iPad PRO one can be forgiven for
simply switching off their phone and plugging into the matrix in the comfort of
your own home. Weekends spent indoors on the couch under a blanket are now even
more invaluable due to the power of work and play in your hands. With the PRO
you can work like a boss and meet all deliverables and every coffee break,
switch back to catching up on your favourite sports online or streaming your
latest Netflix addiction.
Sometimes
being at home alone can be a bore and bring about bouts of cabin fever. In the
bid to keep your itchy feet at bay, settling in with a bottle of 20 year old KWV brandy and your closets mates, is
just the medicine you need. Refined, acquired and sublime, this beverage
experience ensures prolonged conversations, hearty memories and a day or
evening well-spent. Pair the experience with your favourite cheese board, cold
meats and spreads; add some biltong and a soundtrack of classic tracks and
you’re guaranteed an unforgettable experience.
Should
your feet and body give in to the temptation to step outside the boundaries of
your walls, this gorgeous and warm 100% Wool trench coat from Trenery, availbale at Woolworths, will be the perfect
bodyguard. Literally. Tailored for a comfortable fit around the shoulders and
waist, this trench is the perfect length for day and evening. Its neutral
colourways, which include oatmeal, tan and navy, ensure you can office it for
the day or sport it for those evenings out with the boys. It also happens to
make an ideal outerwear item for date night, especially should the need arise
where your partner feels the nip and requires additional warmth without the
awkward backlash of rejection.
BODY GOALS
Our bodies go through a lot as
time passes, as seasons go by and as we age. Yes, we do age. Our skin, above
all, takes the hardest knock because of its predisposition to battle external
elements at all times. It is our duty to ensure we give our skin a fighting
chance, allowing it to maintain its natural strength, elasticity and ph levels
for as long as naturally possible. There are many ways to assist in this endeavor,
and these three products are fighting tools that’ll take you the distance.
With
up 500 individual sprays per aerosol, the latest innovation from Nivea
MEN, their body deodorizer gives your skin’s sensitive area – its armpits –
a fighting chance. With up to 24 hours protection, a fresh scent for all day
coolness, the Nivea
MEN Body Deodorizer is an ideal antiperspirant for the modern man with
needs that require a tools to keep him hydrated and dry without the worry of
body odours as the day progresses.
Sanex
has always been one of those go-to products for cleansing do to the brand’s
core focus on body hygiene and fighting germs to the best of their ability.
With a product track record of removing up to 99% of germs, Sanex’s
dermoPROTECTOR Shower Gel is a product that deals with your body’s
rejuvenation requirements without the wear and tear of some products. Balancing
your ph levels while cleaning your skin of odour and dead skin cells, this
Sanex shower gel also moisturises, ensuring skin not left dry when stepping out
of the shower.
Clere
is not just a product for women. Yes, we’re constantly bombarded with that
cocoa butter body cream that mother and daughter use, however, Clere has not
forgotten about the guys. Clere’s
Active For HIM is an ideal body lotion for the active guy; whether you’re
active due to gym or just have a really high-pace career and lifestyle. Expect
24 hour protection, UV defence and all day hydration. The body lotion’s formula
is non-greasy, meaning it’s an easy on and quick dry solution.
WEAR ZA
Local has always been lekker,
even if it has been in the shadow of US mass media. In recent years though,
South African fashion has again taken the fore with local artists and the
flavour on our screen is hotter than the best Indian curry.
In the flux of mass media’s
fashion regurgitation of fashion in music videos, South African musicians have
been quietly putting together a selection of great concepts to execute with
talented local designers. It’s only recently that peeps such as front row
Gucci-lover, Riky Rick have embraced local design such as designer Chulaap,
however, others have been doing it before him.
Apart
from the more old school artists and their styling in their videos, more
millennial talents that have graced our screens with local produce include the
hit collaborative effort of AKA and ANATII, low-key kool-kid DJ SPEEDSTA and
trap sensations WTF. Of course, they are not the only ones, however, they have
been more prominent; either due to the music video’s success or the popularity
of the brand they wore in the video.
The
local trap outfit, WTF_DBN, wore almost exclusively, Durban-based street brand REFUSEclothing in
their hit track, VOLOVOLO’s music video. Sporting a range of striped ensembles
against monotone numbers with solid block strips down the sleeves and seams of
trousers, the group pulled out great from the brand’s past seasons to combine
into one video blockbuster effort.
In
his video for ‘I Don’t Know’ Ft J. Molley, Frank Casino and Zoocci Coke Dope,
DJ SPEEDSTA can be sporting Joburg street brand – DEAD._93. The local brand is a
fresh underdog take on an androgynous streetwear label, something not
particularly pimping with local street brands, as they tend to design female
specific items in their collections – which DEAD._93 is of the ethos that ‘it
doesn’t really matter’. In the video DJ SPEEDSTA sports a signature jumper and
sweats in monotone white with a black strip down the side with the label’s
branding embossed.
‘Don’t
Forget To Pray’ by AKA and ANATII happens to be one of my fav tracks and video
on circuit at moment, regardless of my lack of interest in either artist in
particular. I’m super stoked that in this video, they worked with two local
stylists to incorporate three South African fashion brands: La Familia +
DEAD._93 + Billionaire. Their ensembles range from street style smart casual to
skater downtown edge and even a little bit of glammed up sophistication. The
styling is aesthetically international with a highly local flavour.
]
It
might seem rather nonsensical to make a big deal about this, however, consider
how much international media and fashion is consumed by the local market, how
much of everyday life, style and habit is influenced by sources outside our
very borders; you begin to see the relevance of having the conversation about
how much local produce are we exposed to through the channels incorporating the
local opinion leaders, influencers and even entertainment specialists we
consume through local engagement.
So
yeah, I’m excited that local musicians are taking the channel on to engage
local design talent and to showcase them through their music videos, which in
their own right, are developing into solid international standards.
TREND ALERT: THE LAYERED COAT
Winter is coming. Okay, perhaps
not the most original opening line, however, it remains a fact. Winter is upon
us and fashion need not take a backseat in your quest to stay warm. There are
always was of keeping up with the Kardashians – to sort of say – without going
stone cold dead in the freezing temperatures and wet weather.
This
season’s best trick so far has been the layered coat look. In a series of
different, and entirely up to you combinations, you can now double up your
outerwear layers with pride and take to the fashion streets knowing this is an
officially approved trend. Just keep in mind not to look like a hobo relocating
from one corner to another.
Case
in point: Fashion week season, during the AW18 shows, the people on the streets
were rocking this look – effortlessly I might add. From the avid fashion lover
to the veteran style vixen, the layered coat was the thing of the moment in all
forms, shapes and styles. Even the colour and texture combinations were
inspiring for the streets.
How
To Wear It: Simple. Apply two layers of coats or jackets on to your outfit and
you’re good to go. For instance, wearing two denim jackets in alternate shades
of blue and volumes. If you’re going corporate, wear your suit, add your coat
and later a trench coat over that for effect. The idea is to keep light and
warm or dry and warm – pending on the weather you’ll be fending off.
ICON
From humble beginnings as a utilitarian product to a now multi-billion dollar
industry, Denim has paved its way into everyday life as the must-have item for
all. From huge corporations producing a variety of styles, to private luxury
labels creating once-off pieces for collectors, fashion’s go-to product has its
place in the world – even in music videos.
For almost a hundred and fifty
years a simple cotton-twill fabric has been the ultimate go-to wardrobe item
for every teen, adolescent, young adult and man and woman on this planet. Born
from a desire for manufacturers to create a more practical than comfortable
form of protective uniform for factory workers, a one hundred percentage cotton
twill fabric was created: it was called Denim. Literally created to resolve a
work-related challenge, the fabric soon found its way through the system, with
workers starting to wear their workforce uniform publically on their off-days
due to the discovery of how comfortable and practical the fabric was – one of
the key factors included durability.
Through
fashion, brands such as Levi Strauss, Diesel
and G-Star have taken the fabric and turned into a huge mass money-making
industry delivering hundreds of styles to billions of people worldwide. Once
the denim jeans bug bit, it was easy to then create and market new product
pieces, from dungarees, shirts and jackets, to now tees, cardigans and even
sneakers – the snowball effect has been catapulted and it has no sign of slowing
down in momentum. If fashion alone wasn’t enough to encourage this worldwide
dominance of a singular fashion icon, music jumped in on the bandwagon and took
it to another level. From the 80's and 90's through artists such as Britney Spears
and Justin Timberlake wearing matching denim outfits, Madonna in ‘Ray Of Light’,
and pop bands TLC, N’Sync and Destiny’s Child going denim is more, to name a
few, the fashion craze grew more fame and truly become an international fashion
icon.
You’d
be forgiven for thinking in the 00's denim would have taken a back seat,
however, we’d be sure you were living in the stone ages if you missed some of
the most prolific contemporary representations of denim in modern music and
fashion. One such moment was Beyoncé, with her music video styling for the
track ‘Formation’ off her visual album experience – “Lemonade”. In one scene,
Beyonce and her dancers are seen through what appears to be security cameras at
a parking lot dancing through a segment of the track in full head-to-toe denim
ensembles. The moment is as enunciated as that of a marching military brigade.
The styles vary from vintage inspired to classic 80's to modern day ‘IT’ looks.
It’s packaged in such a manner that you’re drawn in to the wardrobe which
appears to be the same yet each look has definitive differences from another.
In
another presidential move: Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith,
brother to Willow Smith, dropped an epic track accompanied by a moderately
hyper-real minimalist video titled, ‘ICON’. In the video, Jaden is seen
stepping out of a parked luxury sports vehicle wearing a sports-luxe inspired
denim outfit with a pair of sneakers. We pretty much see him in the same scene
in the same outfit throughout the song – another factor for us, that points out
how relevant denim is in modern times – you need not wear anything else. The
added level of contemporary matter for this denim feature in music is its
relativity to sports luxury and how denim can be adapted into any trend and
level of class without discrimination. In Icon, through Jaden Smith, denim
cycles through age, evidently reiterating its power: that it can afford buy-in
from anyone of any age and any background.
A
true fashion icon, denim has transcended boundaries and allowed people’s
imaginations to run wild: with designers on how to adapt the fabric and trend
into fashion on a regular and relevant basis and with consumers on how to wear
denim products in ways that continue to identify them as individuals in a sea
of conformists. If only one thing can be of any certainty, it’s that denim is
likely to stay prevailing, to stay on trend every season and to continue being
the wardrobe staple for any and all persons.
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