The fashion photography of renowned UK-based fashion lensman Koto Bolofo, originally from SA, is being celebrated on homegrown soil with an exhibition that launched last Thursday.
His body of work spanning more than three decades takes centre stage at the Fashion The Image exhibition running until the end of May at the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography (Inside Out Centre for the Arts) in Johannesburg’s Forest Town.
The photography of SMag’s regular collaborators Ray Manzana, Themba Mokase, Steve Tanchel, Aart Verrips, Tatenda Chidora and Lethabo Machele also receives the spotlight. SMag editor Emmanuel Tjiya makes the cut as one of the subjects featured on the gallery walls.
“South African fashion has such a great sense of signature and an identity. It’s easy to say it’s creative, but what I know about South Africa is that the country is a good melting pot of cultures and the intermix of cultures continues to share and borrow from one another,” Bolofo tells Sowetan.
Dubbed the “godfather of African fashion photography”, Bolofo’s lens has shaped and influenced the global industry, and his byline has appeared in international style bibles Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and Numero. He has captured impactful images for Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Nike, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Loewe, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Gap, Hermès and Levi’s.
“[SA] is a unique country that trades in the interchange of mixing fabrics, textures and colours to create unimaginable and creative things,” he says.
On opening night, the local fashion industry came out in numbers to celebrate Bolofo and other local photographers – plus fashion bigwigs including stylists, designers, creative directors and other key production superstars.
Other influential style figures spotted included Ballen, David Tlale, Azania Mosaka, Nao Serati, Ponahalo Mojapelo, Aspasia Karras, Sharon Armstrong, Connie More, Lesley Mofokeng, Mzukisi Mbane, Thobeka Mbane, Thula Sindi, Lerato Moloi, Craig Jacobs and more.
Hanging on the gallery walls under bright lighting, the enlarged photographs shine in colourful and creative interpretations. These include high-fashion editorial spreads, campaign imagery, fashion films and experimental collaborations curated and captured by local creatives.
The photography exhibition was curated by SMag fashion director Armstrong and Wanted editor Aspasia Karras, in collaboration with Ercia de Greef and Ayabukwa Magocoba from the African Fashion Research Institute.
“I believe fashion made in SA is on the rise and the narrative has changed; it’s no longer just about showcasing fashion, but it’s about understanding the entire value chain,” says Tlale.
“On the continent of Africa, we are trailblazing and the world is looking into what is happening here. We keep saying it’s ‘African fashion’ – no, it’s ‘fashion made in Africa’ because we are crafters and have the skill and the world is not ready for what will come forth from Africa. The consumers, the labourers and the people who have the style are in Africa.”
Mosaka said that African designers’ rich storytelling is what sets them apart from their global counterparts.
“I think South African and African designers are doing something aesthetically different from other places and that people are over luxury brands and the Western aesthetic and Africans are starting to fall in love with our own aesthetic and how our culture and heritage are being interpreted,” Mosaka says.
“The storytelling is rich – tonight I met a traditional healer whose bones are on the Thebe Magugu outfit that I have. She tells me of the photo of her divination bones during a consultation that later Thebe took and made into a print. African designers are incredibly innovative and transformative.”
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