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What if the fashion images you’ve admired for decades trace back to Africa? Today we explore the relationship between fashion and photography at the retrospective of world-reknowned photographer Koto Bolofo.
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00:07What if the fashion images you've admired for decades trace back to Africa?
00:11Today, we explore the relationship between fashion and photography.
00:15Photos have shaped how Africa is celebrated or sometimes even misunderstood.
00:19But first, here's a snapshot of what's to come.
00:22From weekend escape to city-wide obsession,
00:25how this hiking group is helping young Kenyans reconnect with nature.
00:29The five best ways to find your zen in the heart of Malawi.
00:34And we see how Zambian Music Producer by JFAM is using tech to bridge borders
00:39and create the next global sound.
00:42I'm Miettanichi Tambira and you're watching Afromax.
01:02Just like our other stories here on Afromax which aim to showcase modern Africa,
01:06this home is no exception.
01:08My colleague Palesa Tembe takes us around a unique eclectic family home that is far from boring.
01:15Get ready to be inspired.
01:17Across Africa, incredible homes are raising the bar of modern design.
01:22This series gives you a front row seat to unapologetically stylish spaces.
01:27The kind you can't help but save, screenshot and dream about.
01:34This might be a family home in the southern suburbs of Cape Town,
01:38but boring was never part of the brief.
01:41Think beautiful golf course views and a home that knows how to have a little fun.
01:46Today, Palesa Tembe steps inside to meet designer Lisa Marie Theophanes,
01:50whose super eclectic style beats family loving that's bold, expressive and anything but predictable.
01:59Lisa, it's so lovely to touch base with you and you're introducing me to the Remarkable Project.
02:04And that's what I love about my job is that every project is different
02:07and I get to put my stamp on lots of different spaces.
02:13With this project, it was a full gut of the home.
02:17So I came on board towards the end of the building work to just pull everything together,
02:22which is my passion.
02:23What I particularly love about this home is that it's not very formal.
02:27It's very light and breezy and all open plans so the family can just be wherever in the open space
02:34and connect.
02:35How is this foyer? It's so beautiful.
02:38To be honest, one of the most beautiful entrances I've had the privilege of working in.
02:42I absolutely love this space.
02:44And one of my favourite things about this home is that it's a shoes off home.
02:49As you enter, you kick your shoes off, you put on your house shoes.
02:53It's almost like a reset to your day. It's like, I'm home now.
02:58If a house makes you kick off your shoes, it's doing something right.
03:02So from the entrance foyer, we now are in the main living space of the home, which is open plan.
03:09The double volume of the space is just exquisite, isn't it?
03:13I love a good double volume ceiling. It just continues to add to the grandeur of the space.
03:18It absolutely does. You're so right.
03:20The layout of the space was centered around this beautiful built in unit, which was designed by the client.
03:27It is so lovely to be able to sit here and just enjoy the fire.
03:32And another really special feature about the room is that those doors, which are now open, can be completely closed
03:39and therefore containing this space and keeping the warmth in.
03:43You also love layering with textures and patterns.
03:47I'm definitely not afraid to mix textures and prints and add lots of.
03:52I not only love rugs, but I also love scatter cushions, which I get teased about all the time.
03:59Rather than filling the home with random decor, the space is layered with pieces that actually mean something.
04:06Family heirlooms, travel finds and objects with stories.
04:11So Pali here, we have the main dining area of the space.
04:15Again, it speaks a similar language, very modern, clean, lined dining room table and chairs.
04:23And then we've used a rustic server there and a lovely, beautifully powerful mirror with lots of visual texture.
04:31And behind me, you see we have a lovely modern kitchen.
04:35The client wanted a very understated, modern, clean looking kitchen.
04:40She also loves to have warmth in her space.
04:44So we added a little Lisa vignette there, which is a collection of special decor items, which just make you
04:51smile.
04:53And there's something to make you smile in almost every direction.
04:56Art, playful details and little surprises everywhere.
05:02What a beautiful, sunny room that invites the outside in.
05:06Absolutely.
05:07For me, I feel like this is the heart of the home.
05:09It is such a lovely, light, cosy, sunny space.
05:13And I could just imagine them tucked up on the sofa having a morning coffee.
05:21Between the landscaped garden and borrowed golf course views.
05:25This home is all about easy all year family living.
05:29And when you get to the bedrooms, the vibe shifts from social to seriously snug.
05:38Yeah, this is my vibe. This is my vibe.
05:43This is the kind of bedroom that doesn't whisper comfort.
05:46It declares it big, beautiful and full of romance.
05:52Stepping into this main bedroom, it is open.
05:54It is light and airy, but still romantic.
05:57If I think back, my initial reaction to this room was just wow.
06:01And it was empty.
06:02So that really explains how grand the space feels.
06:06It was an absolute pleasure adding anything more to that.
06:09I mean, I had an opportunity to really use a large scale bed here, which just screams your name.
06:17Yeah.
06:18It screams your name.
06:19It's so me.
06:19It's so layered.
06:21Decorating and designing a main bedroom can't be easy.
06:24What are some of those non-negotiables that you can't go without?
06:28I think it's really important to marry functionality and comfort.
06:34We don't want a room that feels uncomfortable and feels like you can't relax in.
06:40Make sure that the bed feels like you just want to dive on it.
06:43So I think I nailed that one.
06:45Yes.
06:46The scale of the room allowed me to adorn the walls with lovely big proportion pieces, like you can see
06:52behind me.
06:53I found this most stunning sarong, which we decided to frame in a natural oak frame to link all the
07:00other materiality in the room.
07:01And for me, that turned out so successfully.
07:04So this is a sarong.
07:06Lisa, you know, you are inspiring me and you're giving me so many ideas for my own space.
07:13Eclectic, expressive and designed to be lived in.
07:16This home doesn't follow trends.
07:18It follows feeling.
07:25The highlight of Fashion the Image is a powerful retrospective of the work of world-renowned fashion photographer Koto Bolofo,
07:32whose striking images have shaped the language of global fashion.
07:36From the magazine pages of Vogue to the gallery walls, I'm here with Koto.
07:40Thank you very much for taking the time to chat to us.
07:43Being African, how does that influence your work when you're now making it for the global stage?
07:48What I try and do as an African photographer, I call myself an African photographer somewhere, right?
07:53I try and bring a certain modernity, a certain timelessness in it.
07:59And what I've seen, what I've seen as a great example is the room next door, the sense of modernity,
08:06you know?
08:07But it has an African signature, you know?
08:10The African signature, the colours, the stance, the sense of casting, you know?
08:16So those things to like assemble all together to make these pictures.
08:22Koto, so you've been doing this for a while.
08:24And I just wanted to know what's been the biggest move and the quickest move you've seen in fashion?
08:28It's technology because what it's done is, let's go back to our basic, what's it, iPhone or whatever you want
08:36to call them, right?
08:37Yes.
08:37Everybody is a photographer, right?
08:40Everybody is a photographer with this tool.
08:44And not everybody is a photographer.
08:46There are good photographers and there are great photographers.
08:51And the biggest shift is that I can take a picture, I can take a picture and I can do
08:56it.
08:57That's what the biggest shift that's made photography or in fashion just go forward so fast.
09:05But if you think about it, the shift has been so gigantic that we talk only in images.
09:13What are your thoughts on AI and how it's affecting the current photography industry as you know?
09:18Right, you upset me, cut.
09:20I don't want to talk about AI.
09:21I hate AI.
09:23I hate AI.
09:24I hate AI.
09:24You know, artificial.
09:27I hate that.
09:28Yeah.
09:29Right, right.
09:29Do you want to fight me?
09:31No.
09:32No.
09:34No.
09:34All right.
09:34Okay.
09:35The beauty about real photography, right, is imperfections.
09:40What we are attracted to about good photography is the sense of imperfectionist.
09:46If you go and look behind there of the Soweto pictures, people love the spirit and the truth of joy.
09:55You know?
09:55She's got a gap in the teeth.
09:57She's got some blemishes on her skin, right?
10:01But we're not looking at that.
10:04We're looking at the joy of the picture.
10:06We're looking at the strength of the picture.
10:09Now, AI will turn around and say, oh, we don't need these shadows.
10:15You know?
10:15Let's take these shadows out.
10:17They're distracting.
10:18So what it does, it has, AI is a distortion, right?
10:23It's a distortion of not telling the truth.
10:26And when you see pictures that are really beautifully done, look at the comments.
10:33Oh, it's AI.
10:35Oh, it's AI.
10:36Yeah.
10:36It must be AI.
10:38So people are looking at it in a ridiculous way.
10:41They don't look at it.
10:42Before it was like, wow.
10:44But now it's like, oh, must be AI.
10:47Must be AI.
10:47So it's like, it had this moment, but really, it's just plunging down.
10:54Because people are just saying, oh, it's just a gimmick.
10:56Oh, it's just a gimmick.
10:57Oh, it's not real.
10:58But when you see a picture like that, you say, wow.
11:02You don't even mention the word AI.
11:04Koto, thank you very much for spending time with us.
11:06Oh, no.
11:07Pleasure.
11:07Great pleasure.
11:08Thank you very much.
11:11How did hiking become Nairobi's newest social scene?
11:15We join a group of urban adventurers who are getting Kenyans hooked on the great outdoors.
11:20It's a weekend, 7 a.m. in Nairobi's city centre.
11:24And while party-goers might just be going home, these outdoor lovers are gearing up for a city escape.
11:30Alex Kamau, founder of the hiking startup, Less Drift, is used to the early mornings.
11:35Because after all, weekends are for hiking.
11:38I think I was talking to someone and they were saying it's a healthy addiction.
11:41When you're addicted to hiking, you don't mind.
11:44I mean, it's one of the things, it's one of the mornings where you're excited.
11:48I mean, you're not going for work, you're going for a hike.
11:51While Alex and his crew organise hikes from beginner level to reaching the summits of Mount Kenya.
12:01Today, they are just taking us on a 12-kilometre walk through a forest near Nairobi.
12:07Today's hikers are therefore a mixture of first-timers to more experienced hikers who just want to stretch their legs.
12:16Honestly, I got roped into it by my friend, but I'm trying to get into, like, my fitness journey.
12:21So, yeah, that's why I did this.
12:23And this is my nth hike. I've been hiking with them since 2020, actually, when the pandemic began.
12:28So, you know, I'm not an OG, but I'm as close to an OG as you can get.
12:33Stretches, instructions, a deep breath in and out.
12:38And off we go into the forest through the different vegetation zones.
12:42Some like this bamboo forest, the perfect location for photo ops.
12:46For Alex, who started his outdoor company in 2019, being in the forest somehow never gets old.
12:53One of the reasons why I hike is I love taking photos.
12:57I take photos for personal reasons, but also because I use them, we use them on our website and our
13:03Instagram.
13:04As the hikers or drifters, as they call themselves, find their stride, Njama is one of today's guides.
13:10He's advised for this beginner-friendly trail.
13:14Be more aware, enjoy the trees, hug more trees.
13:18Yeah, and enjoy the moment.
13:21And what's better to recharge your energy than some gigantic tree hogs?
13:26While the area outside Nairobi is somewhat of an outdoor playground, the hiking groups are a relatively new phenomenon.
13:34Spurred by social media and the pandemic, Alex, who started Less Drifts as a WhatsApp group amongst friends, seems to
13:41have hit a nerve.
13:42A few years ago, hiking was still considered a Mzungu thing.
13:47I mean, like a white person's thing.
13:49I mean, COVID comes, a lot of people's lives are literally disrupted because, I mean, you couldn't access social places
13:56like churches, clubs.
13:57And so people started finding out to do something else.
14:01I mean, hiking was a good alternative because in a world where people were working so much indoors for, like,
14:08remotery, I mean, there was no social access.
14:11It helped people go out and still keep the social distancing.
14:16That his outdoor hobby would turn into a viable business never crossed his mind.
14:22Alex recently discovered e-biking and also added that to his repertoire.
14:26He still remains his only full-time employee, but he employs five consultants, an entire network of guides and offers
14:33several trips per week.
14:35This means, however, that behind all the fun, his weeks looks like that of any normal startup founder, planning meetings,
14:44screen time.
14:45And because outdoor adventures are new to many Kenyans, it is also quite a learning curve.
14:52That the outdoor space is not really regulated in Kenya.
14:55So that means you have to sort of regulate yourself.
14:59You have to train your outdoor guides.
15:02You have to certify them in your own way.
15:05And getting certifications in Kenya for outdoor curriculum is really hard.
15:12As work and play intertwine, Alex's focus hasn't stopped him from achieving a few goals of his own.
15:20In 2022, he climbs to Everest base camp and stood at the foot of the world's highest peak.
15:28Nepal and the base camp track is one of the, it's like the hiking mecca of the world.
15:33So being able to see one of the biggest hiking cultures was such an exciting thing for me.
15:38And so learned a lot of things around safety, evacuation.
15:44While Nairobi's forests are no Everest, these hikers were in it with heart and soul.
15:50A time out, a chance to meet new people and perhaps take on tougher hikes this time.
16:01A time out, a chance to meet new people.
16:01Wow, wow, wow.
16:02Aya, this is beautiful stuff.
16:04This is beautiful stuff.
16:05I'm so obsessed as well.
16:06And you know, I'm just so inspired.
16:08Talk us through what it was like to select a certain amount of work to show today.
16:14Because he's got a plethora of work.
16:15Talk us through that process.
16:16Oh my gosh.
16:17Okay, so Goto has been working all over the world since the 80s, you know.
16:22And so like, kind of trying to select his most iconic or like his best fashion images.
16:29It was such a task.
16:30But I think, I don't know, we tried to get some variety in terms of the stories that he tries
16:36to tell.
16:37We tried to bring in some older stuff, some newer stuff, some very editorial, you know, high fashion magazine stuff.
16:46You have the South African Soweto images.
16:49Yeah, just like trying to encapsulate kind of his visual language as a fashion photographer.
16:56And yeah, and also it's his first time exhibiting here in Southern Africa.
17:02So that's also really exciting to kind of show a Southern African, you know, fashion photographer at this scale.
17:10I think brands are really, or magazines, fashion people, they're really drawn to his, almost his signature.
17:21You know, he uses a lot of movement in his images and like, he doesn't even shoot in color often,
17:27right?
17:27Yeah.
17:28But like, these like specific images, they were drawn to the vibrancy of them, the energy of them.
17:34I want to hear from you, which one's your favorite one, the color or the ones without the color?
17:37Um, I think the color, hey, like there's just something about them.
17:41It's so striking.
17:42All right, thank you so much for breaking it down for us and giving us the insight.
17:50Borders don't block sound anymore.
17:52In 2026, your studio isn't four walls.
17:55It's the cloud.
17:56And this Lusaka-based music producer is collaborating globally in real time.
18:08How do you make a record with someone 10,000 miles away and still keep the soul alive?
18:14Listen, listen, the idea how I'm doing with that is like, just like that.
18:23When I'm working on a track for an artist or with an artist outside Zambia, I envision they're there with
18:30me.
18:30Rooted in Zamrock, Zambia's 70s psychedelic rock, and shaped by Afrofusion's rhythm-heavy pulse,
18:37Jeff bends heritage into something global.
18:50African sounds shaping global charts.
18:53From TikTok challenges to lived dance culture.
18:57We have a certain identity that people are looking for now.
19:00And they're seeing it because almost everything out there has been used.
19:03But apart from the African sound itself.
19:05And I was happy to hear that Travis Scott sampled one of the same artists from Zambia.
19:11And how they also reached out to the estates to give them props and make sure they're also taken care
19:16of.
19:22The music that I've made has made it places that I could only dream of.
19:26So every time I'm creating music, I try to put a little bit of home in there.
19:31For years, Jeff has built chemistry through screens.
19:35Beats travelling from Lusaka to Paris.
19:38Kampala, the US.
19:40But today is different.
19:43Today, the distance collapses.
19:45I'm in Zambia.
19:46I'm in Zambia.
19:47Lusaka, to be exact.
19:49And I've been doing music for like the last six months.
19:55J-Fam.
19:56Ah, Maru.
19:57You're good?
19:58I'm good, man.
19:58How's it?
19:59It's good.
20:00It's good.
20:00Should I like plot it so that you have an idea of where it jumps in?
20:04No.
20:06All right.
20:06It is very important to be with a producer in the studio because there's some producers
20:13that have sent me beats and I feel like, wait for me to come there and let's record the
20:19song together with you.
20:20Because that's when I feel, you know, I feel like we are producing a song.
20:25This girl, Annabella, she give her the name of Bella.
20:29Right now, she watch me on Dr. Bella.
20:34Two artists, one room, and that spark you can't fake over Zoom.
20:40Natural mistakes.
20:42You make a mistake and it works out for the song.
20:45The breaths in the take, those small details, I could never do that.
20:51So those are things that make a record feel, have that emotion.
20:58It's important for us to always put ourselves in a record.
21:08You write a song, there's always a blueprint in every pen, every person who is writing.
21:15So when you write prompts and say, hey, can you do for me a song like this, that, that, that,
21:22there's some things that won't be put.
21:26Jeff Studio is a toolbox of digital tools, but even the best tech has limits.
21:33Producing is about what you went through, experiences you had, you're putting that into sound.
21:38So every producer is different in their own way.
21:42Being a producer in 2026, in the years to come, regardless of how AI will become more advanced,
21:50you always need someone, a real person in the studio to create with.
21:58For Jeff, music is identity in motion, a blueprint for plugged-in African creativity.
22:06In a world that never hits mute, peace is the real flex.
22:10Let's join Zaheer in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, for five ways to reset and recharge.
22:18Malawi's ranked in the top five poorest countries in the world, with a falling currency and a recent 42%
22:24spike in fuel prices.
22:25The daily hustle is more than a buzzword, it's a breaking point.
22:32I'm Zaheer, and frankly, I'm exhausted.
22:35Between the slip and the stress, my batteries are at 1%.
22:40So let's go find some zen without breaking the bank, because there is zero zen here.
22:45Step one, soul food.
22:47In a world of rising prices, Coco's is the one place you can depend on.
22:51The portions are generous, and the food, the food is always good.
22:55So no hustle required here.
22:57Oh, mango, basil, so it's mango and basil.
23:00Oh, that looks amazing!
23:10Comfort food calms the heart and mind.
23:12When life feels like a small portion, this is the reset your stomach deserves.
23:18Mmm.
23:20Elias Bespoke always needs new ideas, but my wallet needs a break.
23:25International window shopping.
23:28All the inspiration, zero gotcha spent.
23:33Visual inspiration provides mental escape from the financial stress of the slip.
23:40In Malawi, every garden grows food.
23:44But you have to wait for the harvest to enjoy the bloom.
23:59Soil contains a healthy bacteria that mirrors the effect of antidepressants by stimulating serotonin.
24:06Malawi must be the most active nation on earth because we walk everywhere.
24:10I've said it before, it is our national sport.
24:13But if you take time to slow down the pace, you'll see why.
24:18Jilonga was designed as a garden city with over 22,000 hectares of open green space to help you disappear.
24:26Studies show that just 15 minutes of walking in nature significantly reduces cortisol and boosts your immune system.
24:38I'm nearly already relaxed.
24:41But wait for number five.
24:46Should I move?
24:48Finally, we realign the weary.
24:51I'm hitting the training academy at Spa Adumortzi.
24:54Student therapists who give world-class service at a fraction of the price.
25:00Cheers.
25:03Foot reflexology clears energy blockages and physically realigns a body worn down by the daily grind.
25:13Oh, I feel so refreshed.
25:15That was amazing.
25:18The quatra might fall, but our spirits don't have to.
25:21Recharge, reset, and remember, your peace is your greatest power.
25:27From this powerful exhibition in Johannesburg,
25:29we hope you've enjoyed the show.
25:31Let's keep the conversation going on our socials.
25:33Until next time, it's goodbye from me.
25:35One of the two people.
25:37I'll see.
26:00I think I'll see.
26:05Transcription by CastingWords
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