On November 13, 2021, GAIA Africa officially opened the doors of its Clubhouse to the general public, three years after its founder and CEO, Olatowun Candide-Johnson launched the premium, all-female membership club. Commenting, Ms Candide-Johnson, in an official press release, said, “It is incred…
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Mercedes Benz Unveils Project MAYBACH designed in Collaboration with Virgil Abloh
Following the shocking news of the passing of Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s menswear artistic director and founder of fashion brand, Off-White, Mercedes-Benz has chosen to publicly unveil his collaborative design at the Miami Rubell Museum between the 1st and 2nd of December 2021. Project Maybach…
Rich Mnisi balances Opposing Emotions in Nyoka, His First Solo Exhibition
What are you most scared of? What if your greatest fear is only a dark curtain you need to pry apart to reveal true beauty? What if “joy and tragedy, light and darkness, dreams and nightmares are connected” and not opposite concepts at odds with each other? These are part of the questions South A…
ASPIRE Luxury Magazine Founder and Editor-in-Chief Makes MIPAD Global Top 100 Under 40 Class of 2021
In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade for People of African Descent commencing 1 January 2015 and ending on 31 December 2024, with the theme “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development”. The main goal was to elevate the Black race by…
South African Artist Nelson Makamo, Turns the Porsche 911 Carrera to His Canvas
Growing up in the 1980s in rural Modimolle, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, a young Nelson Makamo fantasised that he would one day hold the keys to his own Porsche 911. What he did not anticipate was a chance encounter with a modern-day model during a residency in Franschhoek, in Western Cape…
Want to Smell like Rihanna? Get the First-Ever Fenty Eau de Parfum
If you’ve ever wondered how Rihanna smells like, or you’re a superfan that has always wanted an intimate interaction with the singer, you may never get the opportunity. Well, until now. Rihanna has officially announced her first-ever perfume, the Fenty Eau de Parfum. Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, …
David Adjaye is Designing the Africa Institute Sharjah
The Africa Institute has commissioned David Adjaye and Adjaye Associates for its new, state-of-the-art building in Sharjah, UAE, and the designs have just been revealed. The new campus will feature red concrete volumes with soft pink hues and will include numerous spaces of different characters,…
ASPIRE Pick of the Week: Bunmi Agusto and an ‘Escape to Within’
To the rest of the world, she is an artist – one that may be further described as brilliant, incredibly talented, and all other adjectives that aptly capture the work she produces. But for Bunmi Agusto, she is more than the bold drawings and paintings that draw life from the deeply-rooted i…
Trend Alert! Luxury Brands and Affluencers.
As consumer habits continue to evolve, and brands navigate the ever-changing landscape to reach them and remain relevant, a new group that can play a key role in making this happen has emerged. Known as the ‘affluencers’, luxury brands, in particular, cannot continue to ignore this group in their…
Bringing Up Race: Uju Asika’s Guide for Parents to Build a Prejudice-Free World
As I sit down to write on Uju Asika’s Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World, the media is rife with the story of the killing of 20-year old Daunte Wright who was shot by a cop during a routine traffic stop in the US. At first glance, Daunte’s […]
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