Bubblegum Club

Tag: Bee Diamondhead

  • AFROPUNK ensembles styled by 5 of Joburg’s most fashionable

    AFROPUNK festival has become a celebration of self-expression through music and art. One aspect of the festival that holds the attention of people is the outfits that people wear. These outfits have become as symbolic of the AFROPUNK movement as those who perform and share their creative practices. I had a conversation with five of Johannesburg’s most fashionable creatives about their sense of style, and how this has been translated into an outfit they would wear to AFROPUNK.

    Multidisciplinary artist, Anne-Marie Kalumbu embraces a style that is a combination of punk and hip hop influences. Having lived in multiple places, the city of Johannesburg has made an impression on how she chooses to present herself to those around her. With self-expression and healing at the core of how she approaches the various aspects of her artistic practice, as well as the core of how she approaches life, this seeps into her sense of style. Recognizing the fluid nature of what it means to be an inhabitant of this city, Anne Marie expressed that, “My style is more a reflection of how I am feeling at the time rather than a reflection of who I am.” Taking on the look of a revolutionary mystic queen, Anne-Marie’s outfit embodies the foundation of AFROPUNK – celebration and self-expression.

    Bee Diamondhead is a stylist, art director and all round fashion guru whose name has become embedded into Johannesburg’s fashion and youth culture imagery. When asked how she would describe her style, Bee stated, “I wear what I like”. This statement closely echoes the title of the book I Write What I Like – a collection of writing and speeches by the South African activist and black consciousness leader Steve Biko. In a sense, this statement echoes the sentiments behind the title too. Similar to Anne-Maries, Bee explains that how she feels in the moment is an important factor in determining what she wears. “Sometimes I feel like a boss bitch so lately I have been wearing a lot tailored suits. Double-breasted tailored suits. But then I still feel super sexy so I will wear them with literally nothing underneath, and just like a lacey bra…But it’s a little schizophrenic. There is not distinct direction or look that I go for. But now that I am older I wear a lot less prints and a lot less colour.” Vogue Australia’s fashion editor Christine Centenera and the street style of people at home who live in more urban or rural areas have a large influence on her, allowing her to embrace a kind of ghetto, out of the box understanding of pairing clothes. This can be seen in how she has combined high-top vans and a fanny pack with a headwrap and an African print dress in the outfit she imagines herself in for AFROPUNK.

    One half of the music and creative duo FAKA, Desire Marea, has had an impact not only on defining music and performance, but has also become influential for his sense of style. Tapping into the past and future spirit of Fela Kuti, with the modern twist injected a resonance with Ib Kamara, his outfits and approach to fashion is admirable. “My style is a Cunty Queen Moroka Aesthetic,” Desire explains. When asked to unpack this by explaining who influences this aesthetic, he expands by stating, “My mother, Queen Moroka, and Black People are my main influences.” This connection between femme energy and people of colour amalgamates into a powerful declaration which can be seen with every outfit he wears. “My style is a reflection of my truest identity. I dress my body in things that vibrate on the same level as my soul.” His AFROPUNK outfit allows for a feeling of confidence that lets the body pulsate to feminine translations of Bubblegum and Kwaito.

    Transgender model Elle constructs clean, yet playful stylistic choices. “I enjoy playing with shapes and texture, while also staying in the confines of trends,” she explains. For Elle, the street style in countries like Japan and South Korea has moved up in her list of style influences due to the way in which gender specific clothing and dressing has been discarded. “That stuff is super inspiring to me!” she expresses,” Locally, I’m a huge fan of Mathe Ribane and everything she does with style! But, I mean who isn’t?” Elle’s AFROPUNK outfit repeats this interpretation of style by working with oversized items and flowing fabric.

    Photographer and blogger Trevor Stuurman is another veteran in South Africa’s fashion scene, with prints being the signature of his Afrocentric style. For him, wearing and supporting fashion made by African labels is incredibly important. “I love celebrating the continent that I come from and that I am so proud of. And I think that it is important for us to wear where we come form on our sleeves before anyone else does, ” Trevor expressed. For him how he dresses should be a conversational piece, allowing for the sharing of knowledge about local fashion and textile designers. “Our bodies are the most natural platforms we have, and we should always use them to celebrate and uplift others.” Trevor’s AFROPUNK outfit holds on to the core of this fashion identity, while simultaneously ensuring that his clothing is practical.

  • Girls in Film // a network for womxn in the film industry

    Nikola Vasakova is the founder of Girl in Film (GiF). Working as a video producer in London, she knew a lot of women who worked in film in different positions but they all did not know each other. Nikola expressed that it can be quite isolating being a womxn in the film industry, so she decided to put together an evening where all of her girl friends in film could get to know each other. The response to this event was an indication of how necessary it is for womxn to support one another through their various positions in the industry. “Straight from the start it turned out this was something that people were really into and lot more people turned up than I expected. It grew from a small gathering of friends to a 200+ guest list of women from the film industry in all capacities,” Nikola explained. With this enthusiastic response, GiF has grown and continues to articulate its core objectives – to connect, champion and support a new generation of female-identifying filmmakers through their events and online platform.

    Connected to this is Nikola’s advocacy for finding new ways for visual storytelling from the point of view of the female gaze. “We need stories with the ‘female gaze’ as much as with female sensitivity to characters, their stories, the message that they or the directors want to convey. There’s a lot that’s missing in current film landscape, stories that have for a long time been missing in our discourse whether those they touch on human rights, sexuality or identity and I find this is what interests female directors a lot at the moment, so I’m excited to be giving platform to those voices,” Nikola expresses.

    Having hosted events in London, Prague and New York, GiF will be coming to Johannesburg on the 18th of December. In its first GiF event in South Africa,  Zandi Tisani, Bee Diamondhead, Sihle Hlophe, and Phatstoki, will dissect the topic of young womxn spaces, race & politics in the South African film and creative industry.

    I had an interview with Nikola to find out more about GiF and the event in Johannesburg.

    Who is part of the GiF team and what is everyone’s creative background?

    Nikola – I’m the founder, producer and curator of our online output. I’m mostly running GiF in UK on my own but I’m surrounded by incredible women that help me on the way – like Julie Machin who is producing our Jozi event. There’s Julie Zackova who is running GiF in Prague. There’s also a string of freelance writers, spearheaded by amazing Leah Abraham that has contributed many articles to our website. Jaqueline Awuku and Dora Cohnen who researched so much content for the site. Many other people on the way that helped with events, writing, connecting etc, big shout out to Vanessa Dos Santos in US too! I’m connecting with people in NYC to make our event there a regular occurrence.

    How has GiF evolved since it first started?

    I’m still in awe that from a small idea that started as a friends gathering in 2016 we have now visited NYC, Prague where we now have a solid branch and have come to South Africa! That’s huge for me, I really never dreamt things would happen so quickly and I’m so happy and humbled that women around the world are responding so positively. I’m really excited for the future – I have big plans to 2018 but I don’t want to get ahead of myself yet.

    Why do you think it is important for GiF to have an online presence in addition to the events you host?

    Events are great way to connect with people IRL instead of just URL – however, not everyone lives in large cities – it’s important to represent voices in different parts of country or different countries and give them platform too – which is why I started the online video platform.

    It appears that GiF is based on an intersectional foundation. Could you please share more about this?

    GiF has always been intersectional largely due to the community it grew out of. As an immigrant WOC in London, surrounded by other WOC, representation of racial and social diversity was never a question for me. Initial name ‘Girls in Film’ was mainly penned as I liked that it spelled out ‘GiF’ which is a nod to digital culture that we are all experiencing at the moment – rather than routed in the traditional film & TV, GiF mainly represents new generation of filmmakers who’s films are often found online than on terrestrial channels. However, by having ‘girls’ in name doesn’t mean we are ageists or exclusive of non binary, female-identified people. So yes, intersectionality is very important for us to communicate.

    Could you share more about the kinds of events you have hosted in London, Prague and New York?

    We have hosted screenings, workshops and panel talks with leading figures in the industry.

    What influenced your decision to come to Johannesburg this year?

    Julie Machin, who is part of our GiF family has been working in Jozi on and off over the years and during her last visit, she decided it would be great to set up GiF event as there are so many great creative womxn doing interesting stuff. Conversation about representation in the industry are as valid here as they are everywhere else and Julie spent some time talking to creatives in Johannesburg to make sure this event is their own and they can decide what they feel is important to talk about.

    How did you decide which films would be screened on the 18th?

    Curating films for GiF always lies in finding the talented creative voices and stories that are relevant to the audience in each territory. Johannesburg will probably be different to Prague but that’s the exciting part. However, the quality of filmmaking stays the same throughout all our curation. We are selecting films from the speakers but we’ve also chose to open the event with Femme in Public from Jabu Nadia Newman. She’s in Cape Town so a bit of her will be with us and we feel her film will also be a great catalyst to open the discussion about the non-binary representation on and in films.

    How did you decide who will be part of the panel discussion on the 18th?

    As we are talking about race, we wanted to make sure that women of colour are navigating this discussion and we were lucky to be able to secure these amazing womxn (Zandi Tisani, Bee Diamondhead, Sihle Hlophe, Phatstoki, Palesa Shongwe) to come and share their knowledge and opinions on stage. We also wanted to make sure we bring together highly creative minds and a great representation of diverse voices by their style and industry specificities. Phatstoki is the new generation. Bee is highly successful and navigating in between creative and commercials projects. Zandi is making moves with her TV show in development and her long feature project. Sihle has so much experience and her new film is touring festivals now, and being able to have Palesa Shongwe as the host will bring a lot of knowledge in the discussions.

    What are you hoping will be the outcome of GiF coming to Johannesburg?

    We hope people leave inspired and that we inject some self confidence in womxn that want to pursue career in creative and film industry. And also hope that this is the first in many more to come!

    The event will take place on 18 December at The Bioscope in Maboneng from 18h45.

  • SANDTON CITY // an ever evolving landscape

    Sandton, often described as the richest square mile in Africa, is a concrete and glass habitat that is constantly transforming. In the last few years, it’s evolution has been increasing at a rapid rate. Yellow sand, piles of bricks, and orange cones have become the welcoming party for anyone walking or driving through the area. Buildings are getting taller, wider, and even more over-the-top. We are exposed to the operations of the corporate and construction surgeons who make building plans and rip our electric cables to give the area a new face lift.

    Sandton. A place married to the rich with luxury as its maiden name. However, for this marriage to continue there has been a necessary combination of the formal and informal sectors. People who were never imagined as the occupiers of streets in Sandton, have now made a way for themselves to be accommodated for in this space. While they may be viewed by some as the people who are out of place, they are in fact the arteries that keep the money pumping through Sandton’s veins.

    Photographer Jonathan Kope saw an opportunity to photograph Sandton in the midst of its evolution. I interviewed him to find out more about the story behind the shoot.

    Tell me about the decision to make the backdrop for the shoot Sandton?

    When a production decides to shoot on ‘location’ in Johannesburg, especially in a commercial or fashion sense, creatives often seems to want ‘ generic South African urban grit’. Teams shoot the CBD, or on top of buildings overlooking the cityscape and aim to capture the ‘real’ city. But the repetition of that urban trope ends up being a dishonest representation of the wider city as it dismisses the more ‘everyday’ places as unworthy of celebrating. The idea of shooting Sandton – the most banal, normal, peak Joburgy place –seems somehow both an interesting departure from the tired usual and the most obvious backdrop for a pairing that wants to take a more realistic and honest approach to shooting the city.

    What is the basic story that you were trying to get across with placing the model in various locations in Sandton (particularly spaces that show construction sites and unfinished buildings in the background)?

    Sandton, to quote its promotional material, is the richest square mile in Africa. It’s also experiencing an unprecedented building boom, with a new shining corporate HQ seemingly going up on every corner. This burgeoning creates an interesting landscape of contrasts – slick surfaces and roadways torn apart to lay electrical cables, Sandton’s old landmarks about half-finished buildings. It’s a perfect mess of a place in which to shoot; atop the initial concept of depicting somewhere well known and well recognized, we see said space in total disarray. It’s odd.

    And it’s also a moment in time that is finite – we needed to shoot it before it was put back together.

    In the initial email about the shoot there was mention of an informal economy that has developed around this area to cater for those who are part of building this new Sandton landscape but who fall outside of the formal economy. Can you share a bit about how this falls into the story?

    It’s yet another layer of complexity which makes the site so compelling, or at least so compelling at present. Sandton is usually a sheltered enclave peopled by the wealthy of Johannesburg. Much of what happens in Sandton takes place in hi-rise office blocks, or inside the various malls around the area. One seldom sees people out on the street, except perhaps getting in and out of Ubers to nip down to the Gautrain. This describes much of suburban Joburg – no evidence of street life. The key exception to this being the CBD. Now, however, with the intense construction work taking place all around it, there is an influx of workers who ordinarily wouldn’t be seen in the area, and most definitely are not taking lunch breaks at the Flamingo room on Nelson Mandela square. So a sort of informal trade has developed to service the needs of this populace, and it all takes place on the street outside the shopping mall. There are food stalls, tuck-shops and the like doing a brisk trade with the men in safety gear and dirty overalls, as professionals in luxury vehicles drive past to park their cars for the evening’s shopping at the Sandton Woolies. Suddenly, temporarily, Sandton has a semblance of being a vibrant and dynamic place.

    Share a bit about your creative and conceptual process while putting this shoot together?

    We, that is Bee and myself, have found that we are in a similar creative space. We want to create ‘honest’ natural imagery that is tied to a place and a time and that reflects a certain common humanity that is recognizable and without pretense, but is at the same time alluring. A mix of the odd and the normal. Just like people.

    Conceptualizing becomes a fluid process when the team is in sync. We started with the kernel of ‘why are we shooting what we’re shooting’ and ‘why here’ and built layers from that, with the help of some spontaneity, good logistics and good luck.

    Credits:

    Photographer: Jonathan Kope

    Styling: Bee Diamondhead

    MUA: Annice Roux

    Model: Hauwa Dauda Asingar from Ice Models

    Fashion Assistants: Amy Zama, Shawn Ntuli

    Fashion: Stylist’s Own

  • Bee Diamondhead // the queen of tattoos, piercings and Instagram stories

    Bee Diamondhead is a name so molded into the South African fashion scene that it is almost difficult to distinguish the two as separate entities. During her rise in fashion as a stylist, editor and creative director there has been a great deal of media coverage on her background and work. In this article we try to get behind the face that is Bee Diamondhead and get to know the strong woman behind the daunting title and array of experience.

    If you have Bee on social media you would be able to agree with me that she has the ability to create a personalized experience for her audience from her selfies and zero fucks given Instagram stories that often follow the format of informal chats with people when she is out partying. Bee’s social media, fun and sassy in nature, can offer you something super cool to look at if you need a distraction from that stupid fuckboy that just slipped into your DM’s.

    In our interview with her she reveals that she does not curate her Instagram gallery though it might be perceived as an editorial statement and her stories a bit of a reality show. Expressing that for her, social media’s purpose is having fun. “I think generally people take it way too seriously. It should just be fun. It’s not as serious as people make it out to be.”

    Bee tells us that her Instagram stories are made on impulse and are a way for her to sometimes get things off her chest. Taking enjoyment in what she refers to as social media rants, she is just there to have a good time. Instagram and Twitter are the only social media platforms Bee interacts on as they are the ones she feels allow her not so serious side to flourish.

    “I don’t really care what people think or say. I felt like on Facebook people are way too serious and my life gets very serious. I spend a lot of time alone and I need to have fun. So if I’m going to go on social media it can’t be too serious. Twitter, I talk a lot of shit on Twitter. I engage a lot on Twitter, a lot of the time I shouldn’t. I’m totally black Twitter. Pro women, pro black girls and I get into a lot of fights. I have to check myself sometimes.”

    Identifying as pro black women, Bee is unapologetic about who she is. She does what she wants to do, goes where she needs to go and hopes that she inspires other black women to do the same and inhabit any space that they want to inhabit. If you love the coming of age teen rom-com of the 90s, Clueless directed by Amy Heckerling as much as I do, perhaps you’ll agree with me that Bee shares some similarities with Dionne Davenport who’s character was known for her witty one liners and killer fashion sense.

    Bee’s multiple piercings and tattoos are just as recognizable as her styling and social media presence. With her first piercings having been done by her mother with a needle and thread while she was a toddler, Bee’s piercings and tattoo journey has become a bit of a tag team mission with her mother. “My second piercing was with my mother. I was visiting her in England where she lived at the time. I decided I wanted a belly ring and my mom took me. She got a tattoo the other day and I’m going to go visit her soon. She’s booked another tattoo for us. She’s waiting for me to send her a design. Who are you?,” Bee expressed jokingly as if directing the question at her mother, “I guess that’s where it comes from. I have 14 piercings now.”

    This spontaneity and wanting to connect with real people relates to one of the activities that she finds most inspiring. “One of the best things for me to do is to go into town and like walk around, be in spaces that I don’t spend a lot of time in. Just being down so to say. Just being like ubuntu, you know. And not feeling myself too much… It keeps us honest and it keeps us authentic. And we need that for sure.”

    Bee’s desire for honesty and authenticity is filtered into how she approaches her work. Creatively, she loves learning worlds and coming up with strong concepts based on this. Investing time into figuring out every aspect of the person she is styling or the context around a project she is working on allows her to build a story and fully capture characters through garments.

    She has also taken this year to be part of projects that are close to her heart including working with the filmmakers Zandi Tisani and Laurence Hamburger. She has also been working as an art director and casting director for artist and long-time friend Kudzanai Chiurai for his latest exhibition which will be showing at the Goodman Gallery later this month. Having collaborated together for the past 11 years, Bee explains that this exhibition is particularly special. “We work really closely together on all his exhibitions and this one was special because this is our last one this series that we have been doing for the last couple of years and he is not going to bring out any work for a while. So it is going to be the first time in years that we are not doing this work together. We have become like family and the work has become very special to the both of us. I am excited for it to come out.”

    Bee continues to inspire many up-and-coming people in the fashion industry with her kick-ass attitude and drive to push styling and art direction into a new realm.

    Photography & Styling: Jamal Nxedlana 

    Hair: Mimi Duma

    Makeup: Orli Meiri

    Photography & Styling Assistant: Lebogang Ramphate