We hope you splurged on sparkles this past New Years Eve and are ready for a very exciting year for both existing and new LISOF students.
We have some amazing new Lecturer’s joining us in 2012, so stay tuned over the next couple of days while TheLisofBlog profile’s some of the talented and exciting Lecturers of 2012.
It is going to be a goodie. Are you ready…5…4…3…2..1. Happy New Year!
It is that time of the year, all papers and projects are marked and this exciting year is starting to slow down, but, only for a bit.
Plans for 2012 are huge and we expect the upcoming year to be explosive, with LISOF Cape Town activating in January 2012, our presence at Design Indaba in February and LISOF Jozi and Pretoria ready to produce some of the most progressive and exciting projects of 2012.
So bear with us as we catch our breath, between December 15th and January the 4th, and we at TheLisofBlog will be back in the New Year with an exciting new face.
We hope you are embracing the 2011 Spring Summer Trends to the max while you relax on the beach or sip champagne at some phenomenal party because we want to hear all about it when you come back.
Happy Holidays!
From all at TheLisofBlog
LISOF Blackberry Second Year Design Collaboration paired perfectly with G-Star Jeans.
True to its ethos, the LISOF Annual Fashion Show delivered in style this past Sunday, December 4th 2011, Atlas Studios. This year LISOF’s Second Year Design collaboration featured the Blackberry Interactive Playbook Range, with LISOF designed Blackberry interchangeable street wear jackets, perfectly offset by the incorporation of G-Star jeans. The choice of G-Star to showcase such a street-inspired range was driven by the incorporation of Blackberry’s Playbook into the range and the philosophy of G-Star itself, appropriately positioned as luxury items for the streets.
The LISOF Blackberry collaboration has shown a consistent commitment to capturing key street wear trends and design directions for the urban, technically savvy community. Since opening its doors in 1993, LISOF has earned the reputation of being the most progressive fashion school on the continent. It is an honour to partner with brands like G-Star in showcasing the Blackberry Playbook Range. G-Star’s knowledge of local and international key street wear trends afforded LISOF and Blackberry the opportunity to design around current colours, fabrics, silhouettes and key items relevant to high quality street fashion.
A special thanks to G-Star South Africa for realizing the importance of progressive street wear design in South Africa and giving LISOF and Blackberry the foundation on which to showcase what is a shared vision of all three brands - the perfection of a product!
The YDE Remix took place this past saturday to huge success! With LISOF‘s chosen stylists there was no doubt that those entering and exiting the store were in for a real treat. Congratulations to the Winner, to all YDE customers and staff, and lastly to the fantastic LISOF stylists who proved themselves to be a major styling force on the day.
To get a peek into the day find images of the YDE and LISOF Remix below.
LISOF Stylists at YDE Sandton
YDE
Remix Stylist
YDE Remix
Stylist and lucky YDE Customer
Remix Stylist and Lucky YDE Customer
Love, TheLisofBlog
Third year Commercial fashion student Kholofelo Mokgata is getting geared up for the “real world”. She says that being at LISOF has taught her about persistence; it has equipped her with networking skills and opportunities to work with major industry professionals such as LISOF’s very own lecturer Noni Gasa. She talks to me (Phendu Kuta) about her current frame of mind and future possibilities.
Kholofelo
FACTS PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT KHOLOFELO:
I’m quite an open book hey. People who are close to me know that I’m reserved and a bit shy at first, but once I’m comfortable around someone I can talk your ear off! When given the opportunity, I do express myself freely and loudly. Oh and I’m 27 years old, a lot of people are surprised to learn that I’m actually 27.
WHAT ARE THE MOST VALUABLE SKILLS YOU HAVE ACQUIRED AS A LISOF STUDENT?
People skills; I am more confident in my ability to communicate effectively with people in order to build productive interactions of trust and respect. The opportunity to interact with industry professionals has also taught me how to network. And most importantly, I am constantly learning that persistence is everything in the fashion game.
THIS IS YOUR FINAL YEAR AND THE YEAR IS ALMOST OVER, ARE YOU NERVOUS FOR THE FUTURE?
Not anymore. I was extremely nervous and anxious at the beginning of the year though, but I have been telling myself to focus on first things first lately i.e. getting this qualification. What is meant to be will be.
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR, IF YEAH, WHAT IS IT?
I do. I would love to begin my fashion career in retail; therefore I am looking at anything in the business management of Fashion. I will be grateful for whatever opportunity that comes my way, whilst pursuing my writing on the side of course! I intend to continue to write for anyone who is willing to give me the opportunity and to sharpen my writing skills by enrolling for a creative writing course.
TAKE US THROUGH YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE IN FASHION SO FAR.
The Platinum Group
I worked as a full time stylist at Hilton Weiner, in visual merchandising, customer care and the entire running of a clothing store at operations level
Writing
The opportunity to write an in-store trend report for ifashion came about after meeting the passionate and friendly Angie Hattingh, former editor of iFashion With the guidance and encouragement from Noni Gasa, Sarah Badat and Angie Hattingh I wrote my first published article for South Africa’s leading fashion website!
Styling
I was a Stylist Assistant; assisting Noni Gasa on the December 2010, Top Billing Magazine shoot, with Anele as the cover model. I gained so much knowledge and was exposed to so much in just that one-day shoot!
I was also fortunate enough to assist Noni Gasa for the July issue of FAIRLADY Magazine 2011- the “SA’s star designers dress our starriest celebs”, shoot. My duties involved taking behind the scenes photos and helping with photo shoot logistics. I even got a short photography lesson from phenomenal photographer: Marguerite Oelofse. I feel very fortunate to have been mentored by the South African style icon, Noni Gasa.
Noni Gasa with Reggie Molamu of Reggie Star and Fairlady fashion editor Chu.
WHO DO YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO WORK FOR NEXT YEAR OR IN THE FUTURE?
I definitely want to work for Woolworths and iFashion on a full time basis; Style.com and even Vogue, US one day. But I am more interested in getting started, where I get my start is irrelevant right now, wherever I get a break will be the ideal job opportunity for me.
WHICH UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES OR SKILLS DO YOU THINK YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO A FASHION BUSINESS?
I believe the unique attributes that I possess are: honesty, passion, ambition, strong-will, determination and diligence. As a “late bloomer” in finding my career path, I am very much aware of my abilities, limitations and where I am going. The skills I have acquired working in retail would also contribute positively to any fashion related working environment.
YOU HAVE AN IN-STORE RETAIL TREND REPORT COMING UP. WHAT IS THE REPORT ALL ABOUT AND WHERE CAN PEOPLE READ IT?
Basically I hit the stores to see what the predominant trends are at the moment. I tell readers where to find these trends and provide them with different pricing information, background knowledge on the popular trends and how to dress according to the trends, so their shopping experience is a breeze. My latest article should be live any day now, on iFashion. To see Kholofelo’s article on iFashion, click HERE
P.S. LOOK OUT For Kholofela’s feature in Protégé Vol.1
Tumi Seepe
Tumi Seepe
Genevieve de Castro
Genevieve de Castro
Phate Senyolo
Phate Senyolo
Ellen Lin
Ellen Lin
Evelyn Lobelo
Evelyn Lobelo
Meet our chosen Stylists from LISOF who will be remixing up a storm, on the 12th of November at the New YDE Sandton Store. Each LISOF Stylist will be paying extra care and attention to the lucky YDE customers.
In the meantime, check out our Stylists and choose who you want to be styling you this Saturday.
Claudia Piyaekis
Claudia Piyaekis
Dineo Mnguni
Dineo Mnguni
Love, TheLisofBlog
First year design student Thomas Van Dyk has got so many tittles under his name, ASSOCIATE at SA Fashion Week, FEATURES WRITER for the iFashion feature ‘ShopTalk!’ and on top of all that he has works as a night staff SUPERVISOR for a bookshop in Parkhurst. I (Phendu Kuta) probed this individual his background, success and some tips for fellow students.
Thomas Van Dyk and Lucilla Booyzen
WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
Im Just a regular Afrikaans boytjie with an affinity for metallic shoes and extremely bad b-grade horror movies. I grew up in small towns across Mpumalanga. After school I moved to Potchefstroom where I studied Urban Planning at the North West University a.k.a. ‘die PUKKE’. After my studies I moved to Johannesburg. I’ve lived in Jozi for just over two years now. It took a month or so to get used to the ‘big-city-living’ (the traffic’s still a challenge at times), completely starting over from scratch in terms of career choice, as well as trying to get a foot in the industry – I can however say I’m a bonafide Jo’burger now!
WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO IN THE FASHION CONTEXT & OUTSIDE OF FASHION?
I have a lot of respect for so many people in the local industry. I’m going to sound a bit like a fanboy, but we have pretty amazing people teaching at LISOF. I really do have to mention my boss as well though – Lucilla Booyzen is probably the single best mentor I could have ever asked for. This is the woman who really put South African fashion on the map when she started SA Fashion Week 15 years ago, and it’s been such an amazing learning experience working with her, the rest of the SAFW team and all our designers. Outside the fashion context I look up to people who constantly push the boundaries and think innovatively, like Johnathan Liebermann – the brain behind the Arts-on-Main development, as well as Adriaan Hugo – the furniture designer behind Dokter and Misses. We really do have a wealth of local design talent and I’m an instant fan of anyone that advocates local design and designers.
WHAT ARE YOUR ‘MUST-GO-TO LOCAL STORES’ AT THE MOMENT?
For menswear, I’m a big fan of LOOM in Parkhurst. Their store is like an orgasm for the visual senses! I like going to the different markets over weekends, the night markets at Arts-on-Main and trunkshows. Dirk de Waal that produces a lot of our shows at Fashion Week hosts amazing trunkshows every few months where you get a chance to buy some amazing pieces from people like Stiaan Louw. I’m also quite in love with Cape Town-based designer Adriaan Kuiters, but you don’t really see his stuff up here often.
HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TIME?
I won’t lie, it’s difficult working 3 jobs while studying at the same time AND making it look effortless. Let’s just say time-management is still something I’m coming to terms with and the lack of sleep. My biggest downfall is that I’m a bit of a ‘yes-man’, and struggle to turn down opportunities when they present themselves. I’ve decided to really just throw myself into the industry, doing and learning as much as I can from every possible aspect of it. Inevitably certain things are bound to slip along the way, but a valuable lesson I’ve learnt is the way in which you recover from those bumps, and learning to avoid them in future. I’m getting better at it though!
HOW DID YOU GET THE JOB AT SAFW?
I did a volunteer internship with SA Fashion Week during their Winter Collections last year. I assisted one of the associates with the show production elements – working backstage, packing chairs, fetching media from the airport etc.
I really enjoyed working with the media and Lucilla noticed that. The next season, which was the Summer Collections in March, they asked me back. This time as Lucilla’s personal assistant and also responsible for hosting the out-of-town media. From there, I just never left. With time I got more responsibilities and with the recent Winter Collections in September I was fortunate enough to take on some designer liason responsibilities, which meant that I got to work very closely with all the designers and show producers. I signed with Fashion Week as an associate right after this. I’m now the social media administrator in addition to being a designer liason.
ADVICE FOR STUDENTS LOOKING TO WORK IN THE INDUSTRY?
The best advice I could give someone looking to work in the industry would be to chase down every opportunity they can. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty or pull your nose up for any of the grunt work. It’s an insanely competitive industry and you absolutely have to go the extra mile to distinguish yourself. Make yourself indispensable – work the extra hours. Commitment and dedication always shines through and will make you memorable.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SHORT TERM GOALS?
There’s a lot of pressure on design students to establish themselves fresh out of college, and a lot of people unfortunately falter at the first hurdle because they don’t have the necessary support and experience. At the moment my focus is to sharpen my skill set by learning as much about the industry and diversifying myself as much I can.
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