Cape Town - These days every person is a fashion voice and has an opinion on fashion.
Asanda Sizani – fashion editor, curator and style consultant – says many are unaware that it takes artistic talent, education and experience to get ahead in this highly competitive field.
“Everyone wants to become a stylist and everyone looks at fashion editing and they think that their own ideas are what it is, but it’s not easy to do the work that we do,” she says.
“Just because a person is posting nice pictures on social media, that is not what we are all about. There is a lot of work, substance and creativity that goes into it.”
Sizani, who says “I don’t want to be a cool kid, but I want to be the change”, has been recognised by power brands such as River Island and Style Italia as a key industry influencer in South Africa and abroad.
Over the years, she has styled and consulted on major campaigns for Levi Strauss, Dark and Lovely, Yves Saint Laurent and Woolworths Studio W, among others.
Sizani says “beautiful pictures filled her head” as a young girl growing up in Bhisho, in the Eastern Cape.
“I always saw story boards and frames in my head. I always wanted to create beautiful fashion imagery and beautiful fashion narratives. I wanted to translate that into a space where it would live on forever,” she says.
That little girl, who was raised by a single mother, has since achieved a lot – Drum magazine’s fashion editor at the age of 23, fashion editor at ELLE magazine and appearing in Solange Knowles’s (Beyoncé sister) music video, Losing You shot in Cape Town. Her most recent career highlight has been writing a foreword for Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni’s upcoming coffee book on global style tribes.
“I didn’t have media and fashion around me when I grew up, but I naturally had a passion for beauty, the arts, fashion and style.
“I’d watch TV shows such as The Bold and The Beautiful and its Forrester Creations fashion shows. I also had a few family members that were musicians, so I was surrounded by dance and music,” says Sizani.
“I planned to pursue the arts after high school. I wanted to be an art director but, at the same time, I loved to write. I needed to find something that was going to fuse both of these things together, but I was also developing an interest in fashion,” says the graduate of The Red and Yellow School Of Logic And Magic.
Sizani’s first taste of the fashion world was working as an in-store stylist at Jenni Button.
“That was where I got my first education into fashion. I got to know how to style, how to deal with customers and how to speak fashion. I also learnt about fabrics and colours,” she says.
Sizani’s aesthetic sense of style is evident as she arrives for our meeting in the CBD. She is dressed in a black pants and top, covered by a long coat. Her outfit is topped off with a pair of white sneakers.
“My personal style hasn’t really changed much over the years, I’ve always had an eclectic style. I love cultural dress from different cultures, whether it’s the Japanese, the Maasai or the Xhosa way of dressing… I just love culture and I fuse that with sportswear. I love the simple, minimalist, modern style. I dress how I feel and I know that I don’t want to work in an environment that is going to restrict the way I dress,” says Sizani.
Her styling inspiration comes from anything, from local culture to current trends, she explains.
“I am a very visual person and I first need to see the garments before I conceptualise. Although the garments will inspire my creation, my research and the knowledge of local culture and current trends also come into play.
“I always give it a signature twist of mine, I love layering, dimension and proportions. One good trick to styling is to do something unexpected, try and put a little spin on it. If there is a scarf, don’t just put it around the neck like a normal scarf.
“When you are shooting something, like an editorial, that is an opportunity for you to create a fantasy, to create a stunning visual that actually grabs a person’s attention and makes them say ‘wow’.
“If I am shooting 10 images I want all 10 of them to be strong. When it comes to my work, I am a perfectionist,” says Sizani.
She says that this is an exciting time to be in the fashion industry as there is a lot of talent in Africa. Her favourite designers include Black Coffee, Laduma Ngxokolo, Lukhanyo Mdingi and Rich Mnisi, as well as Orange Culture and KISUA. Stella McCartney and Chanel are two of her international favourites.
Sizani also lists creatives such as Trevor Stuurman, Anelisa Mangcu and I See A Different You – a trio collective from Soweto, as her favourite fashion influencers.
“I like people that are not confined in the whole blogger sphere, but that do something different.
“For me street-style is just so dated and boring.
“It’s like, ‘what do you have to say, what is your message and how are you going to use this opportunity as a blogger to tell your own story and stand apart from the rest?’.
“What I love about each of these guys is that they are on their own trip and each of them is not just a blogger, but are doing their formal work, their arts and creative stuff as well… they have multiple skills,” says Sizani.
About her choice of career, she says: “I am not in it for the goodie bag and I really wish that some of our young, upcoming fashion creatives also weren’t in it just to sit in the front row and be seen at the red carpets.
“That free stuff doesn’t pay your bills or fulfil you in any way .You constantly have all these brands that you are blogging about and endorsing, and it’s not authentic. Your voice is not credible because one day you are talking about this brand and the next about another. I wish that our bloggers could find an authentic voice and use this as an opportunity to actually make a difference and say something,” she says.
Sizani adds that, nowadays, a lot of people aren’t shopping with trends in mind but are tailoring their shopping experiences to suit their budget and taste.
“Joburg people love fashion and they love to be on trend and current. It’s all about what’s new and what’s coming. Meanwhile, Capetonians are more chilled and artistic.
“I find that people in Cape Town dress more for themselves than people in Joburg where it’s mostly about status and being seen.
“And there is nothing wrong in that, it’s different cities but it all comes together in a beautiful authentic South African way.
“It’s always nice to see all of our uniqueness and flair coming together,” she says.
And the future? Sizani is now not only consulting for magazines, but for advertising agencies as well.
“I have grown and learnt so much about myself over the past years. And I have become bolder and braver and not afraid to go after what I want. I am currently working with a lot of advertising people, but this time as an expert and not as an assistant.
“Now I am one of the decision makers because of my growth and experience… it’s a great place to be in,” she says.
Cape Argus