SABC1’s new four-part documentary on South African streetwear brand Loxion Kulca shows the influence of an iconic label. Phumlani S Langa is loving every bit of it.
20 Years of Loxion Kulca
SABC1 (DStv channel 191)
Monday, 9pm
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SABC1’s 20 Years of Loxion Kulca opens with majestic shots of Joburg. Local golden-era beats by H20 and Pro play in the background. This immaculately compiled presentation takes us back to 1999 and the emergence of a streetwear brand that would give an identity to the creative wave sweeping through the streets.
eo Rathebe is a first-time director and it is remarkable what he’s been able to do. His clever use of archive footage shows how Loxion Kulca has touched so many veins of creativity – from being worn by presenters on one of the best game shows this country has seen, Jam Alley, to forming part of the wardrobe for thugged-out characters in brilliant dramas like Yizo Yizo.
This cinematography is astonishingly polished, resembling a music video or a look book. The story has been told with the respect it deserves and SABC1 should be applauded for screening this.They carefully stitch flashback footage or stills to match the words of the people who are recounting their experiences with this brand.The story is told through the eyes of the founders of the brand of local street wear, Wandi Nzimande and Sechaba Mogale.
It’s a brand that spearheaded an artistic boom locally against a musical backdrop of kwaito, YFM and Skwatta Kamp.
US publication Complex’s “Sneaker Shopping with ...” format sees a journalist in conversation with a famous person as they go out sneaker shopping.This conversational format is applied in the doccie, and we hear rappers JR and Slikour, as well as TV personalities Lerato Kganyago and Luthando “Lootlove” Shosha recounting the joy they have for the brand.
Viewers get interesting titbits about the brand’s creation, such as the fact that they didn’t make it into SA Fashion Week the first time they tried to enter ... imagine. This prompted the guys to get their own ramps and take fashion to the hood, which, in the grand scheme of things, was probably a better move.