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…
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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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Luxury Personal Shoppers in Africa Are Experiencing a Boom in Business
With retail most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, both companies and consumers have had to revisit their shopping philosophies. And this also applied to the vast contingent of luxury personal shoppers and high net-worth individuals in Africa, who would otherwise travel abroad for their Louis Vu…
IWD 2021: Waris Dirie and Others who #ChoosetoChallenge (Part 3)
This article is the concluding part of a series to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day that is centred around the theme, Choose to Challenge. To read the previous articles, click here. In this concluding part, we introduce you to the ever-smiling Waris Dirie, whose life’s histor…
IWD 2021: Kamala Harris and Others Who #ChoosetoChallenge (Part 2)
This article is part of a series to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day that is centred around the theme, Choose to Challenge. To read the first article in the series, click here. We continue with our special feature for Women’s History Month, and in this second par…
IWD 2021: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Others Who #ChoosetoChallenge (Part 1)
This March, which is recognised globally as Women’s History Month, we will be highlighting the women and men whose lives and achievements perfectly embody the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, Choose to Challenge (#ChooseToChallenge). Our introductory article on t…