Superbalist.com has created a list of young creatives who are redefining the future of style and creative culture in South Africa… and they promise and won’t find a local wannabe ‘sheleb’ on it.
Called The Superbalist 100, the list features everything from a social and environmental activist, a not-so-traditional milliner, and a theatre director, through to a casting director/model. People who are getting on with what they love and making a massive impact in their respective industries.
The brainchild of Luke Jedeikin, one of the founders of Superbalist, the campaign celebrates young South Africans doing impressive things. And in the process, it’s creating a pool of talent the company will work with going forward. It’s a meeting of minds, although for the Superbalist team, it sometimes it even feels like a high-speed multi-mind pileup.
“We identified a handful of people we thought should be on the list. Then we asked them who they thought should be on the list, and then we opened submissions to the public so that they could suggest who they think should be on the list too,” says Jedeikin.
“We’re aiming to run this campaign every year with the aim of finding new creatives to collaborate with,” says Jedeikin. “If you look at some of the people who have been nominated, you’ll see there is no mould for creativity. Youth culture is evolving in front of our eyes, and through their platforms, we get to see the calibre of makers and doers out there, and the evolution of their processes.”
Superbalist is quickly snowballing from an online store with awesome clothing brands into a platform in its own right, where next-gen creatives can experiment, interact, and be inspired.
MJ Turpin/ Kalashnikovv Gallery – a platform for marginalised artists who question the status quo, which has been a pivotal player in helping to rejuvenate Braamfontein into the hipster hub it is today;
Jody Paulsen, an artist and fashion designer, who has also shown her stuff at exhibitions that include The Night Show at the Goodman Gallery Cape Town, the MiArt Fair in Milan, the Start Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery in London and was commissioned by the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art;
And Andile Mbete, who earns his crust by working as a youth engagement specialist at AndPeople where he and the rest of his team create valuable exchange between brands and consumers through authentic and sustained youth culture engagement.
But take some time out, and meet a few more here.