Styled by The Kokonut Stylist - Weekend Observer Article 1

Hi, My Name Is Koko & I Am Obsessed With Fashion

I remember it as though it was yesterday. It was two years ago, I had just started my own blog, when I first emailed a proposal to the then Editor. I wanted to have a fashion column which would be an extension of my blog and I wanted a platform that would allow for this column to shine through and not be swallowed by other things within the publication. It fizzled into thin air, I stopped following up and eventually gave up.

Little did I know that there is this creative person within me who would never allow me to ever give up on my fashion dreams. It was that creative person that nagged me until I approached the current Editor and pitched my idea to him. He not only did he loved it, he made me believe I could do an amazing job too.

I have come to the realization that I have two girls living inside me and this is not bipolar, hear me out. There is the smart girl; she is the one who has been getting distinctions at university, graduating cum laude, she got the Master’s Degree and she is the one who loves working in IT. Then there is the creative girl: she absolutely is a fashion addict and has been ever since I could remember, she is creative, she is the blogger, she is the one who gets invites to fashion weeks, high profile fashion events and she is the one who decides what Koko wears. I think this is the best explanation for why I am sometimes an IT geek and always a creative fashionista.

Who is this creative, fashionable Koko? You may be asking yourself. I am a 26 year old Swazi lady who is style/fashion obsessed (and that’s putting it mildly). My love for clothes was apparent at a very young stage. I am told I would put together my own ensembles at age there and always colour co-ordinated my outfits (monochromatic looks were the in-thing back then as they are making a huge comeback now). That love has sort of progressed and intensified through-out my years of growing up. I now have a business that focuses on styling people and yes, you can make a decent living by doing this in South Africa. I am very passionate about clothes and looking good!

You see, I believe I am Coco Chanel’s re-incarnation and there is absolutely nothing you can ever tell me that can convince me otherwise. I eat, live and breathe fashion! Coco Chanel was (she passed on in 1971 but her legacy lives on) a fashion great, a designer and founder of the Chanel brand. She is the symbol of fashion, the name that the fashion-cautious want to be associated with. Coco was the only fashion designer to appear on Time Magazine’s List of The 100 Most Influential People Of The 20^th Century.  

Here is why I believe I am Coco Chanel’s re-incarnation:  She was born on the 19^th of August 1883; I was born on the 18^th of August. She had five siblings; I also have 5 siblings (Do you see where I'm going with this?). Even though her birth name was Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, everyone called her "Coco" and I bet most people do not know me by any other name except “Koko”. I've been called Koko all my life. She went to a Catholic school; I went to an Anglican school, St Michael’s High School. She had a passion for fashion and comfort; need I say more?

This column is our weekend meeting place, I hope to feed you all things fashionable and stylish. Since there obviously is more to life than just fashion, Styled By The Kokonut Stylist is also about the people who actually wear the stylish clothes, their lifestyles, where they were seen and what they were seen wearing as well as a “fashion police” bit. In this column, there are titbits of people’s day-to-day ensembles, hairstyles, dress designs, designers, fabrics and a bit of this and that. I envision this being a very engaging column that all you fashion lovers look forward to reading every weekend.

Some of the greatest lessons from Miss Coco Chanel were: Be bold. Be one of a kind. Be inspired and Leave a strong impression. As we (myself and all you fashion lovers reading this column) embark on this new journey, may I be as inspiring to you as I believe you will be to me. May we find boldness in all our aspirations to follow our dreams and lastly, may this column leave a strong impression to all its readers.

Do you think in Swaziland we have a fashion person whose name in fashion will outlive them? Do we even have fashionable, stylish people besides the handful that we won’t mention? Are we a people that tap into their creativity or do we often just do what society (parents, immediate family, etc) expects of us? Personally I would never have left Swaziland for South Africa to study for a Fashion Degree, it was (is) so taboo, why is that?

I would love to hear from you. Your opinions, views and criticism are most welcome.

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For feedback, email: kokonutstylist@observer.org.sz

Written By: Koko Shabangu