Killarney race course in Cape Town comes to life every Wednesday evening with petrol heads lining up to see if they can show off their remodeled cars and driving skills. With engines revving and adrenaline pumping, two drivers stare each other down while they wait for the signal to push their vehicles to the limit. With the crowd cheering, the wheels of the cars screech as they take off, a cloud of smoke creating a ghostly silhouette. It’s all about who can get to the finish line first, and look cool while doing it.
Robot2Robot started in 2015 as an initiative to curb illegal street racing in Cape Town and to give those who are interested in the activity, as a driver or spectator, a safe environment for racing. In an effort to keep racers off the streets, the City of Cape Town provided funding for the event. While the investment from the city is crucial, Reagan Paulsen (co-founder of Youth95 streetwear) states that it is important that the people who attend the events and have a love for the street racing scene are the ones who are documenting its cultural history.
Understanding the connection between Robot2Robot and certain aspects of street culture in Cape Town, Corner Store teamed up with photographer Nick van Tiem for an editorial at Killarney, tapping into the elements that keep people coming every Wednesday. Models are photographed as members of the crowd caught in a moment of intense reflection. The mood of the editorial shifts with images echoing the slow sunset.
Next gen Cape Town Streetwear brand Youth 95 have collaborated with International playboy and DJ extraordinaire K-$ on a capsule designed to suit you and your parents. K-$ has always existed well within the realm of fashion and streetwear and who better to make the move into clothing production with, than his good homies Seraaj Semaar and Reagan Paulsen of Youth 95.
Having referenced casanovas, mac daddies and supalovers of old as the key influence on his style, persona and musical language it’s only right that the K-$ spin on Youth 95’s signature full piece tracksuit, jumps off of the playboy logo, used as the centrepiece to the crest of Playboy Football Club. P.F.C plays on both K-$’s love for football and the hold that the off-duty-sportsman look has had on everyone for a minute.Initially the capsule was created as a K-$ exclusive, a commissioned set of flight suits built specifically for comfort, but quickly grew into a capsule made available to the public. It includes tees sporting a reworked version of the of the iconic October 1971 cover featuring Darine Sterling, the first black solo cover star in the Playboy’s history.
The capsule drops officially and exclusively at Corner Store CPT on Friday 2 June – the drop marks a special occasion in the history of corner store, as the store will be adding a variety of new brands to their roster – Sadly, Young and Lazy will no longer be with the store as they move onto a new chapter in their story.
Photographer Imraan Christian and stylist Gabrielle Kannemeyer have been working with Andpeople and adidas to put together a co-creation studio at AREA3 in Cape Town. They have been appointed the Creative Directors, which involves them being in charge of the fluid structure that makes up the programme. They have put together talks and workshops.
The idea behind the programme is to allow young creators in Cape Town the opportunity to be introduced to a studio space and work collaboratively under the guidance of Gabrielle and Imraan. With adidas as the supporter for the project, creators were provided with three apparel and footwear drops from June to August – June being Campus, July the NMD and August will be the EQT.
Imraan explained that the plan is for the studio to produce 4 shoots per week featuring the products allocated each month. Creatives have been encouraged to push boundaries with regards to styling, concept and execution. “We are pushing them to think unconventionally about the cube,” Imraan explained.
“We thought a work studio would be a great place to share teach and learn – it’s an extremely intimidating place to be if you’re not used to being there (all the lights and complicated machines and people watching, etc.). We want to dismantle the fear and teach them that anywhere you create in is a home,” Imraan explained.
Imraan and Gabrielle have been working with the creatives in the space helping them from the initial phases of conceptualization to execution and post production. “You’ll find us in the space helping creators build and execute their projects every Friday, Saturday and Sunday alongside Ra-ees Saiet, our space manager who runs the space by managing the foot traffic, assisting in bookings for creatives to shoot their projects, John Second our studio manager who teaches the creators how to operate and set up the equipment as well as Keenan Oliver our studio’s general co-coordinator and producer.”
With this sharing of knowledge and resources, Imraan hopes that it will aid these creators in getting a foot in the door and encouraging a sense of community amongst them.
Photographer: Lara Fisher | Lighting: John Second | Stylist: Conway October | Models: Mathew Bell, Shakadelics & Conway October.Photographer: Alexandra Truter | Lighting: John Second | Stylist: Antonio Druchen | Make up: Gareth Coleman | Models: Britani Khan & Damian FredricksPhotography: Sara Lagardien and Haneem Christian | Styling: Sara Lagardien | Styling Assistant: Justin February | Models: Saaimah Badroodien, Saadiq Soeker, Sara Lagardien and La’eeqa Mosam | Makeup Artist: Haneem Christian | Lighting: John Alex SecondEditorial by Jaimi Robin | Photographer: Jaimi Robin | Lighting: John Second | Stytlist: Jaimi Robin | MUA: Haneem Christian & Jaimi Robin | Models: Kayleigh, Haneem Christian & Saaimah
In the context of local streetwear, Youth95 is somewhat of an anomaly. With the rise of the local fashion celeb, having ‘brand owner’, ‘designer’ or ‘creative director’ in one’s insta bio became all the more popular. If used correctly, this became a viable way of gaining attention or recognition from peers, as well as a younger gen of would-be clothes kops looking for something close to home; a tangible entry point into a magical world.
No disrespect to those who have managed to create something special through an identity they initially projected through social media. Definitely not. It’s just to say that very many of those who make the initial step do very little to build on it. This prediction without actualization is 100% not the case with Reagan Paulsen and Seraaj Semaar, both 21, whose Insta bios read ‘Co-owner of Youth95.21.Student’ and ‘Co-owner of Youth95’ respectively. Having started Youth95 in 2014 on the tail end of the initial boom that came with the resurgence of streetwear on an international level, the pair have done what many of their contemporaries have failed to do. That is working hard enough at a high enough standard to exist for long enough for their story to unfold, for their idea to form into a body of work; the only thing that truly qualifies one’s claim to own a ‘brand’.
Having previously released small, well received t-shirt capsules since their inception, including collaborations with local entities such as Basic, the boys have jumped into technical wear. Having produced a collection that included various incarnations of the classic cuffed sweat pant in early 2016, Youth95’s latest offering sees their first two piece tracksuit hit the market. The pair were inspired by the ideas they encountered that surrounded tracksuits as they grew up. Although worn as something of a uniform, the tracksuit was never considered something you would wear when trying to look your best. Inspired by the subversion of the common tracksuit currently happening through grime and the rise of the road man, the two set out to add their voice to the story. They have created a non-seasonal uniform constructed out of lightweight waterproof material and fitted with breathable mesh lining to keep you cool in the warmer days and cozy during colder months. The centre piece of their collection is their luxury tracksuit, a nod to brands like Juicy and Sean John who ensured the ‘tacky’ garment was raised to near couture levels, their answer to the luxury sweat suit is constructed out of towling.
The new collection, set to drop at the end of January, is presented in an amazing lookbook shot by photographer Luke Maritz, who has himself staked a claim for a portion of the local streetwear pie through his utility brand NOT SEEN. The lookbook was also styled by Reagan and Seraaj. The images contrast the sleek simplicity of the Youth95 Track Suits with the industrial feel of one of Cape Town’s many fringe areas. The contrast tells a story of evolution in that both the tracksuit and the raw urban texture would once have been labelled ugly, but by contemporary standards have come to represent a raw beauty that is dominating current streetwear culture, both locally and internationally. Couple that with Nikey bubbles and the car motif and we see a snapshot that represents the various visual influences that would have sprinkled themselves throughout the designers’ consciousness, growing up in Cape Town. That moment, much like the moment Cape Town Streetwear is currently experiencing, will live long in many of our memories, so long as passionate young people continue the push to document our story so as to crystallise our moment.
