Fashion plays a huge part in our everyday lives. For some, it’s not just a piece of clothing but a way to express themselves artistically.
To celebrate Heritage Month, we spoke to some of our local creatives about fashion then versus fashion now.
We asked Mac Gee, a fashion designer and stylist who founded Mac Gee Jeans, about his sense of style. His looks include cool pants, and T-shirts bearing the faces of his favourite hip hop artists, such as Snoop Dog and 2pac.
When asked if today’s styles are different from fashion way back when, Mac Gee said: “I don’t think it’s different much, I think old trends are making a comeback – platform shoes are in style again and oversized pants or jeans are the coolest things now.”
We know that no outfit is complete without accessories. For Mac Gee, chains are his favourite as they go with everything he wears, whether it’s casual, formal or beachwear.
Like many of us, he has essentials that he always carries everywhere he goes: “Wallet, cellphone, some Stimorol gum for that fresh breath – especially the new retro flavour, it’s one of the favourites – and my cellphone charger … I can’t stand an off phone."
About the future of fashion post Covid-19, he said: “I think it’s going be wild and very expressive. But as old-school trends continue to resurface, I believe that the retro look might take over.”
Singer and songwriter Rowlene Nicole Bosman, who is known as Rowlene, got in the mix to tell us about fashion and music and how they correlate.
For her, necklaces are a fashion statement. She also never goes anywhere without a handbag. Its contents include a pack of Stimorol chewing gum, two types of lip gloss – Fenty and Dischem lip treatment gloss (aloe) – earphones, charger, sanitiser, an extra mask and her ID.
When asked if the music we listen to today is different from that of the 1980s and 1990s, Rowlene said: “Yes and no. I think it’s relative. It will always depend on the type of person you are and how you consume music. I think each generation has used and will continue using elements from the previous era to evolve and create new genres which people learn to love and which are incomparable to anything else. So as an artist, it's quite tricky to compare.”
She said music will always reign supreme regardless of time or pandemics like the one we’re living through now.