Retrofontein

Kabelo Tsako and Sizwe Zulu came up with the idea of having a brand which is inspired by our heritage in November 2012 however it was in 2013 that Retrofontein came to life. “The essence of why we were inspired to start Retrofontein was because we wanted to do something that represented our African heritage.  The latter which was the cultural ideology of afrocentrism.” Without a doubt Retrofontein is a Proudly South African brand which is inspired by our heritage and I recently had the opportunity to speak to them and find out more about them and their brand.

With their philosophy being “Seek Beyond Yourself”, they definitely sell more than just clothing as they’d like to think that they sell An Afrocentrism lifestyle, “Afrocentrism is a multiplexed cultural ideology and lifestyle- it’s our African heritage”. The essence of Retrofontein is even represented through the name of their brand as “We thought of our South African heritage and the name had to directly represent that we are home grown. So we thought; in Afrikaans a town is called a dorp or dorpie. We had to figure out how we would merge a prefix that we hadn’t thought of yet and the suffix ‘fontein’. So we went back to the idea of what inspired us, and that was contemporary (retrospective) and afrocentrism. Minutes later there we were, a future retro dorpie called Retrofontein. There was no alternative name for us.”

Therefore, most of their designs are based on concepts as they are conceptual people and they would consider themselves to be creatives “and with that comes a specific artistry unique to that.” If given the chance they would collaborate with Stella Jean, INYU, Jewel by Lisa or Boxing Kitten. Although they wouldn’t mind doing collaborations, they do believe in the presence of competition as “the only way to keep oneself on their toes is the belief that everything around your accord is competition, directly or indirectly.” Which is why all their hard work paid off as they soon realised that they were growing in May 2013, in just a few months of being around.

Their personal style is inspired by street wear as they are willing to explore everywhere when shopping and aren’t limited to shopping at a specific place. Yet if they had to choose a favourite brand they would definitely go with Nike as they think the work they do is astounding. And when it comes to invading closets they wouldn’t necessarily invade a celebrities’ closet but they would rather go with a designer as they’d love to invade Maxhosa by Laduma’s Studio.

We are definitely looking towards summer however we’re still in spring and with all the wind and rain that we experience at this time of the year they advise us to incorporate a windbreaker as part of our closets , “Not only is it light and waterproof but the technology used on windbreakers retains heat and keeps you warm.”

As a contributor to our street culture they say that our culture is “vastly growing. It will get to where it needs to be in time.” And if you are considering to be in the same industry that they are in they advise you to be your biggest critic, “I think that’s the most important thing on a personal level because that’s the thing which usually pushes you to be a greater designer or creative.” And there is no doubt that the sky is the limit for Kabelo Tsako and Sizwe Zulu as they plan on taking Retro4Tein to greater heights, “in the next five years we see ourselves retailing internationally. We have to go international, we need to conquer the globe. The word Retrofontein has to be on the people’s mouth.”

 

4 more seconds with Kabelo and Sizwe

1. How has your life changed since the birth of Retro4tein?

Firstly, awareness of things that are and are not. The mechanics of how things work in the real world.

2. Looking back would you change any of the decisions you took while you were starting?

Certainly, there are things we would change, in decisions and indecisions. No one walks in an unflawed accord.

3. Which piece of clothing item do you believe is a necessity and one cannot live without?

The favourite copulation of denim’s and sneakers by far.

4. In your spare time, when you aren’t working, what do you love doing?

I’m always online that’s like my secondary home. I’m either on soundcloud or doing research acquainting myself with what’s happening in the music and fashion universe.

You can follow them on twitter @retro4ntein  but if Tumblr is more of your thing, you can check them out @ acquiredretrology.tumblr.com  .

Happy Shopping Guys
XoXo