marieclaire.co.

za JUNE 2018

THE DENIM & DESIGN STARRING

ISSUE
T E RRY P HET O
With illustrations by Karab o Poppy
PLUS HOW TO
• Say sorry and mean it • Stop chasing ‘skinny’
• Get over your love addiction • Promote happy hormones

REPORTAGE
MEET THE MAL AWIAN CHIEF WHO HAS RESCUED 2 600 CHILD BRIDES
ON THE COVER 22 SKIN SOLUTIONS BEAUTY
Probiotic skincare
26 REPORTAGE 91 DOUBLE TAKE
How Chief Theresa 23 FIVE OF THE BEST Chase away winter
Kachindamoto is Our favourite blues with these
saving Malawi’s serums rainbow palettes
child brides 24 THE EDIT 98 BATHROOM
32 TERRY PHETO What’s new in the CONFIDENTIAL
A passion for the beauty closet? A look at the beauty
rights of South collections of two
African women industry insiders
inspires this award- FEATURES
winning actress
42 RELATIONSHIPS
9 FILTER @PLAY
News and views
Identifying – and from around 105 AGENDA
beating – a love the world Who, what,
addiction where, when
38 SOCIETY
50 FIRST PERSON Meet the 114 TRAVEL
One woman lets go Kardashians of A whistle-stop tour
of her life-long the Middle East of Paris
obsession with
being skinny 46 INTERNATIONAL 122 LIFE STORY
REPORT The fascinating
53 PSYCHOLOGY The Italian women mind of Yayoi
How to apologise restoring their Kusama
– properly country’s ancient
102 WELLNESS treasures 127 ON THE ROAD
Amp up your happy Eco-friendly
56 @WORK rides, plus tips

PHOTOGRAPH KATINKA BESTER/HERO CREATIVE MANAGEMENT

hormone levels
How much can to save petrol
psychometric 128 ABSOLUTE
testing teach you
TRENDS about your career?
ESSENTIALS
Sechaba Gqeba
14 SHOES FIRST
These boots are
made for getting FASHION
you through winter IN
15 DENIM, DENIM, DENIM
60 LIKE IT’S ’98
Revisit the looks
EVERY
Dark, light and
out of left field...
that still rock today ISSUE
These are your 4 TEAM’S NOTE
70 IN THE MIX
must-have pieces 126 HOROSCOPES
Pattern and
18 DESIGNER DOSSIER texture combine
Meet sister act
Jota-Kena 80 FASHION 101

20 BEAUTY ED’S PICK

High-quality
products for a
big-impact look
86
Key denim items
with a ’70s twist

FASHION INSIDER
Beauty meets
structure at
80
21 BEAUTY TREND Ashi Studio
The perfect pony
twist-up
 COVER CREDITS
marieclaire.co.za JUNE 2018

photograph RICARDO SIMAL/SNCM

styling TARRYN OPPEL make-up
KELLY PAITAKI USING CHANEL LES
BEIGES 2018 COLLECTION/GLOSS
THE DENIM & DESIGN ISSUE ARTIST MANAGEMENT hair ALET
STARR NG
T E R RY P H ET O
With illustrations by Karab o Poppy
VILJOEN/SNCM illustration KARABO
PLUS HOW TO
• Say sorr y and mean it • Stop cha sing skinny
• Get over your love addiction • Promote happy hormones
R37.90
POPPY Terry wears DENIM JACKET
MUST-READ REP ORTAGE
MEET THE MAL AWIAN CHIEF WHO HAS RESCUED 2 600 CHILD BRIDES
SOUTH AFRICA AND EARRINGS BOTH H&M
 t e a m’s not e

E d wa i n S t e e n k a m p , Fe a t u r e s Wr i t e r
creative

his month, we’re celebrating denim and design. More than ‘I have been a huge fan of Lina Iris
that, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the best creative talent Viktor for years now. The British-Liberian
currently out there, from our cover star, Terry Pheto, who thrives conceptual and fine artist brings
in front of and behind the camera, to our June issue collaborator, together different disciplines to create
breathtaking works of art. In my opinion,
the incredible illustrator Karabo Poppy, and art-world legend
she is one of the most talented young
Yayoi Kusama (read her life story on page 122). In light of this, we asked
artists in the world of contemporary art
the team to tell us about some of the artists who are currently on their radar…
today, and someone to keep watching.’
(You’ll also notice a few QR codes placed throughout this issue; see below
how to make use of them.) linairisviktor
Afika Ja dezweni, Content Producer

Juana Parathyra s, Beauty Director

Fa t i e m a Jo h n s o n , A r t D i r e c t o r

‘Artist and designer Nabeeha Mohamed ‘Amonge Sinxoto, 18, is the co-founder of ‘I have a bit of a thing for illustrated
is currently my Instagram girl crush. Not Blackboard Africa, “a forum from which fragrance bottles. Sally Spratt is my
only is she a talented painter and brand all African youth engage with one another absolute favourite – I want her beautiful
ambassador for Pichulik, she also runs for the common cause of redefining the illustrations in my bathroom.
a clothing label called Maison Meso. leadership of the continent”. She’s created Her Lust List is a daily post of
Her clothes, like her paintings, are equal her own lane and I’m enjoying watching hand-illustrated fashion pieces;
parts colour, texture and playfulness.’ her cruise in it.’ utterly covetable.’

nabeeha_m a_monge _thelustlist_

HOW TO USE THE QR CODES

F I N D T H E Q R C O D E R E A D E R O N Y O U R FA C E B O O K A P P B Y C L I C K I N G T H E H A M B U R G E R
MENU BUTTON UNDER ‘EXPLORE’, SELECT ‘QR CODE’ AND SCAN THE CODE.

4 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 Danish design - directly to you

Harper ZAR 15,899,-

Showrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg

mai lbox
MARIE CLAIRE
marieclaire.c
o.za Deputy editor Lynette Botha lynette@assocmedia.co.za
Lead managing editor Margot Van Zyl margot@assocmedia.co.za
APRIL 2018
Creative director Juan Geel juan@assocmedia.co.za
PRIX E Fash ion Art director Fatiema Johnson
D’EXCELLENC WO RKW EAR Copy editor Jocelyn Stiebel
LETTER OF THE MONTH de la
uté LIKE YOU’ VE NEVERER
OFFIC
IT BEFO
SEENE-FRI ENDLY
LOAF ERS, BAGS
Freelance copy editors Deborah Rudman, Jade Taylor Cooke
Features writer Edwain Steenkamp
AND WATC HES Fashion director Tarryn Oppel tarryno@assocmedia.co.za
THE BEST IN Fashion assistant Danielle Viljoen
Your April ‘Badass’ issue was really inspirational. PRODUCTS

These women will become motivation for me to

THE WORLD
PLUS! TARAJI P. Fashion intern Ahlume Monese
Beauty director Juana Parathyras juana@assocmedia.co.za
THE NEW AGE
OF BEA UTY: HENSON AROU ND
‘ YOU HAN G S IF YOU
Beauty editor Ncumisa Makhonjwa ncumisa@assocmedia.co.za
pursue my own dreams. I’ve battled with many CRYSTALS, LUNAR
CYCLE S, AND
GREA TNES GREA T’
WAN T TO BE
Online editor Abigail McDougall abigail@assocmedia.co.za
Online content producer Afika Jadezweni
SUPE RFOO DS
insecurities, especially because I haven’t always IN OVERD RIVE Group beauty writer Helen Wallace

B AHONDOURAINGS STHE WFEMALEO MFOREN

ISS UE Group beauty intern Kim Mockey
had the resources to do what I want. But now THE COMMERCIAL
CE
I know there are no excuses NOT to fight for your NGE MAKHOSI
EXCLUSIVE Key accounts manager JHB
BRIN GING ABO UT CHA KHOZA
Thalia Pallotta thalia@assocmedia.co.za
dreams. I loved the fashion pages and I want to ON LIFE, FEMIN ISM
& THE CHANG ING
Alyson Brown alyson@assocmedia.co.za
FACE OF POLITI CS Key accounts manager CT
plan a trip to Seychelles, thanks to the travel feature.  2018/03/08
12:22 PM
Jacelize Rust jacelize@assocmedia.co.za
Advertising controller Quanita Rinquest quanita@assocmedia.co.za
– Lusanda Moloi, Eastern Cape Print support Jorika Moore jorika@assocmedia.co.za
ASSOCIATED MEDIA PUBLISHING
The author of each month’s winning letter receives a year’s subscription to Marie Chairman Jane Raphaely
Chief executive officer Julia Raphaely
Claire. Send your letters to abigail@assocmedia.co.za or tweet us @MarieClaireSA Head of advertising & creative solutions Leigh Kinross
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Marketing assistant Potego Mminele
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Integrated project manager Dee Berry
Head of creative studio Kat de Sarigny
Creative Director Kassie Naidoo

C O V E R STA R
Creative studio producer/art buyer Cindy Comer
Creative studio group art directors
Victoria Meder, Janine Nel
Campaign manager Kareesha Naidoo
Go behind the scenes Creative studio designer Stacey Knipe, Nadine Williams
Creative studio senior designer Jessica Cohen
of our cover shoot with Creative studio head of copy Jaime Waddington
Creative studio copywriter Celeste Jacobs
Terry Pheto and get to Group digital communications manager Blue Masoka
Digital support Taryn Ballentine taryn@assocmedia.co.za
know her better in our Digital assistant Simone Smit
Digital traffic manager Nasheeta Khan
raw, real interview. Digital media & data strategist Marilize Nel
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Accountants Lee-ancher Strauss, Angelene Facolyn
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PA to CEO and chairman Janine Duncan

MARIE CLAIRE INTERNATIONAL

Executive director Laurence Hembert Deputy director (finance
and development) Félix Droissart International editorial
director Florence du Luart International chief editor Séverine
Harzo International creative director Sylvie Halic International
commercial director Véronique Depery International deputy
commercial director Elisabeth Barbier Syndication director
Thierry Lamarre Branded products director Fabrice Taupin
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THE
Marie Claire magazine is published monthly by Associated Media

to Publishing (Pty) Ltd, 80 Strand Street, Cape Town 8001. If you

cannot find a copy in store, email marieclaire@assocmedia.co.za
Trademark ‘marie claire’ owned and registered in South Africa by
Marie Claire Album, a French Société that has its registered office
in Paris, France. Published under agreement by Associated Media
Publishing (Pty) Ltd, 80 Strand Street, Cape Town 8001. All rights
SEE OUR FASHION PAGES reserved. Reproduction of any material, including digital, in whole or
part without written permission is strictly prohibited. No responsibility
OF DENIM AND DESIGN COME TO LIFE IN OUR will be taken for unsolicited material. Use of trademark is strictly
prohibited. Editorial contributions are welcome and should be sent
IN SOUTH AFRICA BEAUTIFUL FASHION FILM. to the features editor, Marie Claire, PO Box 3647, Cape Town 8000.
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6 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 When is a bed more than a bed?
When it’s la différence!

Neither words nor pictures can adequately

describe what it’s like to lie on a la différence
bed, because you have to feel the difference
to believe la différence!

An incomparable la différence experience

awaits at a quality Sealy stockist near you.

ESSENSUAL LUXURY
M A D E B Y S E A LY
19249

www.sealy.co.za
 NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

ARGENTINA AND POLAND

CLANDESTINE ABORTIONS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF MATERNAL DEATH IN ARGENTINA. Despite the fact that estimates for these abortions are
as high as 520 000 per year, the government has yet to sign progressive legislation allowing women to choose to legally and safely
terminate a pregnancy. In Poland, the government and Catholic Church are trying to push through a ‘Stop Abortion’ bill, which will
crack down even harder on the already strict abortion laws in the country. Thousands of pro-choice activists in both countries are
renewing their efforts to push their governments to make reproductive rights a priority.

JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 9

 SOMALIA

The sight of a woman playing sport in Somalia is still highly unusual and, in many parts of society, frowned upon. But
this hasn’t stopped 60 young women joining the country’s first and only women’s soccer club, Golden Girls Centre, in the
country’s capital, Mogadishu. It remains taboo for women to wear shorts, T-shirts or sports clothing in Somalian society,
so these young footballers wear tights under their kit, and cover their hair. Their commitment to the sport is admirable,
especially when you consider that the citizens of Mogadishu live under constant threat of attack by Al-Shabaab, an Al-
Qaeda-linked Islamist group that considers entertainment – especially where women are involved – to be evil. Despite
this, the Golden Girls remain positive and determined. 

TA K I N G A R T T O T H E P E O P L E
INDIA

Dharavi, in Mumbai, may be one of the

world’s largest slums, but it is now also home
to an innovative design museum unlike any
other in the world. Design Museum Dharavi
is built on wheels, and is able to move around
the informal settlement to showcase the
work of local artists to those who live there.
For many people living in Mumbai, this
neighbourhood is still seen as a great eyesore,
but this initiative is aiming to change that
perception, and build stronger links between
Dharavi and the rest of the city.

designmuseumdharavi

10 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 f i lt er

T R U T H F I N D S A WAY T H R O U G H M U S I C

GLOBAL
Living as we do in the Information Age, it’s easy to forget
that online censorship is on the rise across the globe.
Many governments censor and monitor online platforms,
limiting the news reaching their citizens. But Reporters
Without Borders Germany has found a loophole: while
many websites are censored in these countries, music-
streaming sites are not. And so, Uncensored Playlist
was born. Five journalists from China, Egypt, Thailand,
Uzbekistan and Vietnam teamed up with music director
Lucas Mayer to turn 10 banned news articles into songs,
and uploaded them to streaming sites such as Apple
Music, Spotify and Deezer. You can read more about the
project at Uncensoredplaylist.com.

MOROCCO

The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc

is a gruelling motor rally that takes place
annually in the Sahara Desert. The race
is notable not just for its challenging
terrain and harsh conditions, but also
because participation is restricted to
women only. This year’s race will see
165 teams comprised of women from
16 different nations competing. The
rally is also one of the most eco-friendly
in the world, having obtained an ISO
14001 standard, with painstaking effort
having gone into reducing the event’s
COMPILED BY EDWAIN STEENKAMP PHOTOGRAPHS GALLO/GETTY, HILARY DUFF, SUPPLIED

carbon emissions. 

MWANZA AND THE ART OF

MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE
When Claire Elsdon started a motorcycle
maintenance education and riding school in
Mwanza, Tanzania, she had no way of knowing what
a huge impact it would have on the lives of ordinary
Tanzanians. But in a country where road safety is
severely lacking, with as many as 63 injuries per
100 drivers in a year, Claire’s was a much-needed
social enterprise. Called Pikilily, the workshop
now trains women in mechanical skills, while also
TA N Z A N I A

offering maintenance services and safety training

to motorcycle taxis in the city. Her latest project
involves refurbishing motorcycle ambulances, to
further service the community.

JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 11

R A M A D A N 2 018
 A true
cla ssi c, D E NIM
is continually
T RA N S F O RM ED
i nt o m ode rnis ed,
re a d y - t o - m i x
update s

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t rend s

DESIGNER DOSSIER

jotakena

Jota-Kena’s bespoke denim

range is perfect for the
sustainable-fashion lover
ota-Kena is a local, ethical
fashion brand run by sisters
Tanith and Keziah Swinford.
The Cape Town design
house was established out of
the sisters’ shared desire to build
a modern-day family brand that is
sustainable in its manufacturing and
intentional in its design.
Why choose denim for their first
bespoke range? ‘Denim is such a
versatile and durable fabric, it aligns
perfectly with our desire to create
pieces that transcend a single fashion
season. Another consideration of our
design expression was to explore
embroidery, which works really well
with denim,’ say Tanith and Keziah.
Jota-Kena also draws inspiration
from the ’70s – not only in terms
of silhouettes, colours and design
elements, but because they see that
decade as the birth of individualism
as a social outlook.
The sisters describe the bespoke
collection as ideal for ‘the woman
who is no one but herself. She sees
fashion as an extension of who she is
and who she is becoming. She’s aware
that there is more to a garment than
meets the eye. She appreciates quality.
designs. ’We definitely have a long
way to go in comparison to some
other nations, where there is a strong
support of local design, and education
and awareness around ethical fashion.’
The sisters say that they face the same
challenges women in all fields do:
comparison and competition. However,
they credit their mother and their
upbringing for helping them handle
this; she encouraged them to be true to
who they are, fostering a healthy sense
of confidence without comparison.
When asked what advice they
would give to someone looking to
make it in fashion design, they say,
‘As a young designer in the making,
you shouldn’t be afraid to ask
questions. Asking a million questions
will be helpful in getting to know
how the industry operates, what the
industry will expect from you and
understanding the business side to
things. At the core of every true artist
lies authenticity – and if you’re
authentic in your expression, your
brand will find its unique market.’ mc
WORDS AHLUME MONESE IMAGES SUPPLIED

She is proactive and she knows that

her contribution (no matter how small)
to bettering society matters, and speaks
not only of who she is as a woman,
but also on behalf of other women.’
The designers believe that there
is a definite need – and desire – in
South Africa to create and express
multicoloured, multifaceted identities,
as opposed to conforming to what is
expected in terms of mass-produced

18 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

The Taste Makers

The Singleton of
Dufftown possesses an
exceptional smoothness,
and runs spicy in
character, much like
those who indulge in it.
This one’s for you.
t rend s

BEAUTY ED’S PICK

he k
K E Y P L AY E R S
2 Whether it’s for a day or a night look
(or transitioning from one to the other), having
the right products in your arsenal is the
way to really complete your vision. All you

ATE
need is a lawless longwear foundation, the
ingredients for striking eyes and brows, a bold
lip colour and a fragrance – we’re loving a rich,
masculine scent in this cooler weather.

Sometimes the essentials

are all you need to stand out

COMPILED BY NCUMISA MAKHONJWA PHOTOGRAPH ANDRÉ WEPENER / PIXEL LOUNGE

6
4

1. DOLCE&GABBANA EMOTION
EYES BROW POWDER DUO
NATURAL BLONDE 1 R775
2. SENSAI FLAWLESS SATIN
FOUNDATION SPF 20 R935
3. ZADIG & VOLTAIRE THIS
IS HIM! EDT 100ML R1 085
4. CHANEL OMBRE PREMIÈRE
LONGWEAR CREAM EYESHADOW
IN UNDERTONE R580
5. MII COSMETICS PRECISE
MINERAL KABUKI BRUSH R589 5
6. URBAN DECAY TROUBLEMAKER
MASCARA R423
7. BOBBI BROWN CRUSHED LIP
COLOUR IN PUNCH R420

20 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 t rend s
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This fuss-free ponytail twist

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The ‘pony twist’ is an easy-to-achieve, sports-luxe-esque updo. If you have ine hair
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t rend s

1 2 3
OUR TOP PICKS:
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JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 25

 In M a l a w i ,
one in two girls
is subject to
arranged marriage
before the age
of 18. As a high-
ranking woman
i n a m a n’s w o r l d ,
Chief Theresa
Kachindamoto
is on a mission
to empower girls
in her rural
chiefdom. She has
rescued 2 600
child brides, fired
male subchiefs
who oppose
h e r, a n d s e n t
thousands of girls
back to school
to give them a
chance at a future

CHIEF
 W O R D S A B I G A I L H AW O R T H
PHOTOGRAPHS CHARLIE SHOEMAKER

S
enior Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, tribal ruler of
the Dedza District in central Malawi, emerges from
the car wearing electric-blue ceremonial robes. The
inhabitants of the village of Tseka, huddled on reed
mats, fall into tense silence. Chickens, dogs and
small children scatter as the chief walks solemnly
towards a seating area outside the headman’s hut.
This is not a social visit, and everyone knows it.
Theresa, a woman of towering repute, has come to perform what she
considers her most crucial official duty: to end the illegal marriage
of an underage girl and send her back to school.
Beatrice Kapito, a tiny 16-year-old in a pink T-shirt, sits at Theresa’s
feet. Beatrice was married at 13 and has a toddler son named Moses,
who squirms on her lap. Her husband sits beside them with his head
bowed. As a powerful female member of tribal royalty in Malawi, the
59-year-old chief is fighting a zero-tolerance war against the practice
of child marriage. And despite obstacles, including death threats from
hard-line traditionalists, she is winning.
In 2017 alone, the chief annulled some 200 child marriages in her
district. During her 14-year reign, she has terminated the marriages of
roughly 2 600 child brides and helped the girls finish their education,
often by subsidising their schooling. She also ensures that any offspring,
like Moses, are taken care of by grandparents or other family members
while their young mothers attend
class. Today it is Beatrice’s turn.
‘I am nervous but excited,’ the
teenager says in a hushed voice
before the proceedings begin.
‘I can start my life all over again.’
Each year, 15 million girls
worldwide, or 28 every minute,
become underage brides. It is
against the law in Malawi for
anyone under the age of 18 to
marry, yet, due to the persistence
of outdated customs, the country
has one of the world’s highest
rates of child marriage. Almost
one in two girls is a bride before
her 18th birthday – some before
the age of 15 – according to the
United Nations Children’s Fund
(Unicef). Extreme poverty,
gender inequality, and lack of
education make the problem
particularly acute in Malawi.
Theresa accepts no excuses.
Ruling over almost a million
people in the Dedza District,
she has fired male subchiefs
who refused to ban child
marriage, and built up a large
network of female informers, Keeping girls in school, the chief believes, is the single most
known as ‘secret mothers’, across the district’s 545 villages to important factor in breaking the cycle of rural poverty and
ensure her rules are obeyed. ‘The chief has created a genius preventing lifelong problems for women – a view supported
system for tackling child marriage from the ground up,’ says by the UN and other global bodies. In Malawi, an estimated
Habiba Osman, a programme specialist at the UN Women’s 46% of girls abandon their education before beginning high
Malawi office in the capital, Lilongwe. ‘It works because she school, mostly due to early marriage and teen pregnancy.
has involved the entire community.’ According to a World Bank report in June 2017, every year of
Beatrice grew up with five brothers and sisters in Tseka secondary schooling completed increases an individual girl’s
village. Her parents made bricks for as little as R13 a day, future earning power by 18%; ending child marriage worldwide
roughly the average wage in Malawi’s rural agricultural areas. could add $500 billion per year to the global economy.
‘When I was 12, my mother said she couldn’t afford to feed Theresa tells Beatrice she is now officially divorced. ‘From
me and told me to find a husband,’ she says. While many girls this moment, you are married to the classroom,’ she says. ‘If
are married off to much older men – it is common for parents you study hard, you could become a doctor, a teacher, or a
to offer their daughters as brides to pay off debts – Beatrice policewoman. You must have a vision for your future.’ If the
married an 18-year-old neighbour, Mikiyasi Mkuthe, who is girls can’t afford the full costs of tuition, books and uniforms,
now 22. ‘He had just moved out of his family home, and he which amount to about R700 per year, the chief often makes
wanted a wife to help him in the house. He promised to give up the shortfall from her own pocket. In a calm but stern voice,
me food.’ After the wedding, Beatrice dropped out of grade 8 she orders Beatrice’s mother to babysit Moses on weekdays
and became pregnant with Moses, now three. She soon realised (and asks how she can afford to wear nice clothes but not
that her husband, also a school dropout, couldn’t support them. feed her own daughter), and says now ex-husband Mikiyasi
‘He did piecemeal work for cash, but it was never enough. must ‘rise to the challenge of finding regular work’ so he can
I had to sell barbecued mice on the roadside to survive.’ help support the child. Beatrice, tearful and overwhelmed,
Theresa heard about Beatrice through a ‘secret mother’; she thanks the chief and promises to do her best. ‘I can’t wait to
has at least one in every village, in most cases a female elder go back to school and be with all my friends again,’ she says.
who quietly observes local activities and reports back to her. Back at her own village of Mtakataka, an hour’s drive from
It took time for Beatrice’s marriage to come to light however, Tseka over dirt tracks, Theresa changes into her ordinary
because her parents and other locals in Tseka tried to hide it. clothes – a multicoloured African tunic and a Malawian sarong
When Theresa addresses the assembled villagers, her fury is called a chitenje. She is more relaxed without her regal finery.
palpable. ‘You are fools. What were you thinking?’ she rails, Her eyes are kind and she has a gap-toothed smile. Half of
raising her arms so that her robes fan out like the wings of a her office, a small brick room with a concrete floor, is occupied
giant bird. ‘This girl is far too young to be a mother. You will by a stack of mattresses for a new schoolgirls’ dormitory that
never improve your lives unless you educate your daughters.’ she has helped fund. Her desk is squashed in one corner,

28 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018


LEFT
Men and women perform traditional
dances outside of Chief Theresa
Kachindamoto’s home.
BELOW
Theresa presiding over Beatrice
Kapito’s annulment ceremony.
BOTTOM
Theresa walks with elder women.
repor t age
piled high with papers and photos. Only her wooden chief’s
chair, carved in the shape of a huge sea eagle clutching a fish
in its talons, alludes to her formidable status.
‘My opponents here say I am defying traditional culture,’
she says. ‘But in my view we are redefining it.’ Her ultimate
goal is not just to terminate existing child marriages; it is to
prevent them in the first place. After five years of political
lobbying, Theresa and others succeeded in getting Malawi’s
parliament to pass a bill in 2015 setting the minimum marriage
age for both sexes at 18. Such efforts earned the chief a
Global Leadership Award from the international women’s
advocacy organisation Vital Voices, presented in Washington,
D.C. at a ceremony attended by Hillary Clinton.
‘It is good that the law is on our side now, but enforcing it
remains a challenge,’ Theresa says. ‘In many areas people still
believe a girl is ready to have sex and babies when she reaches
puberty. We have to eradicate this old way of thinking.’ Many
male elders argue that the chief is destroying their way of life.
‘Some have threatened me, saying, “You are still quite young.
Are you ready to die?” But I just tell them to go ahead and kill
me, because it is the only way they will stop me protecting our
girls.’ Such fearlessness is in her DNA: in the Malawian language
Chichewa, ‘Kachindamoto’ means ‘Don’t mess with fire.’
The chief is married, with five sons between 19 and 30.
Many local people, she says, speculate that she champions
young women because she has no daughters
of her own. But she believes the reason lies in
her own upbringing. Her father was the area’s
senior chief, and she was the youngest of his
12 children. ‘When I was small, I thought he
was a cruel man because he sent me away to
boarding school,’ she says. ‘Later I understood
that he wanted me to get ahead. He was strict
because he loved me.’ In her early 20s, Theresa
landed an office job at a college in the southern
city of Zomba, Malawi’s preindependence capital,
320km from her home village. She worked there
for 27 years and loved seeing young women
whose studies empowered them to pursue
careers and achieve financial independence.
Theresa thought she had left village life
behind when, in mid-2003, she received a
surprise visit from 15 members of her tribal
royal family. Her elder brother, who had taken
over from their father as Dedza’s senior chief,
had died. The family delegation had come to
tell her that they had chosen her to replace
him. Senior female chiefs are extremely rare in
Malawi, so Theresa was stunned. ‘Even though
I had older siblings, they said they picked me
because I was the most educated and successful,’
she says. ‘It was my duty to agree.’
Once she was installed as chief back in Mtakataka later that
year, she was distressed to see so many teen girls walking around
with babies strapped to their backs instead of wearing school
uniforms. ‘Growing up as a chief ’s daughter, I realised, I had
been shielded from how people in our villages really lived. I
had to act. I could not allow this mistreatment under my rule.’
The chief gathered her 51 subchiefs (40 men and 11 women
who oversee around 10 villages each) and made them sign
an agreement banning child marriage under traditional law.
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 29
repor t age

She then began visiting villages to personally annul existing

unions. When she discovered that four male subchiefs had
ignored the agreement – aside from their attachment to
tradition, local chiefs usually receive gifts of money or cows
from parents for authorising weddings – she fired them. ‘I
was furious. Women in our culture are not supposed to swear.
But I am senior chief, so I swore at them very loudly,’ she
says with a throaty laugh. Parents who flout the ban are fined
up to 10 chickens or one goat, a hefty sum in rural Malawi.
Theresa also cracked down on other abusive traditions such
as kusasa fumbi – sexual cleansing – an initiation rite common
in Malawi and other pockets of Africa. Pubescent girls, along
with widows and women who have had an abortion, are sent
to three-day-long camps and forced to have unprotected sex
with hired older men, known as ‘hyenas’ to ‘cleanse them of
‘WE ARE LIKE
evil spirits’ and prepare them for marriage. Believed to help
prevent disease, the rite does the opposite: It increases the
DOGS THAT GO
risk of girls contracting HIV, which affects 10% of Malawi’s
population, as well as other sexual infections, and exposes
them to unwanted pregnancy. ‘We have eradicated these HUNTING.
camps entirely in the Dedza District,’ says the chief.
Child marriage is taking longer to wipe out because it can THE SOONER
be harder to detect. Dedza comprises many remote hamlets
spread over vast scrubland, and in some families, it’s difficult WE FIND CHILD
BRIDES,
to tell whether a young girl is a daughter, sibling or spouse.
In the case of Dolophina Makunje, 14, it took until she was
almost eight months pregnant before one of the chief’s secret
mothers identified her as a child bride. ‘We lived far from
the main village, so I didn’t see or talk to many people,’ says THE MORE
Dolophina, who is small for her age and looks even younger
when she’s wearing her school uniform. ‘My husband used to CHANCE WE
beat me if I stayed away from the house,’ she says. ‘I was very
relieved when women sent by the chief came to rescue me.’ HAVE OF
Dolophina was orphaned at the age of nine – her parents
died within months of each other from unknown illnesses
– and she went to live with her married older brother. When
SAVING THEIR
she was 12, a 32-year-old man offered to marry her and gave
her brother some chickens in exchange for her. Her husband
used her as a labourer in his fields while he went drinking,
she says, and then he used her for sex when he returned.
FUTURES’
‘When I became pregnant last year, I didn’t know exactly
what was happening to me or how to take care of myself,’
Dolophina says. She had no idea how to get to a prenatal
clinic and did not see a doctor at all during her pregnancy
until she was rescued. Tragically, when she was taken to
a hospital to give birth, her baby girl was stillborn.
Luckily, Dolophina was spotted by a secret mother in time
to save her own life. Malawi has one of the world’s highest
rates of maternal mortality, according to Unicef, with pregnant
teens making up 20 to 30% of deaths. The risk increases
significantly if the girl is under 15. The Dedza District has
only two women’s clinics dedicated to reproductive health,
funded until recently by the United Nations Population Fund
(UNPFA). That funding has been cut in the wake of the Trump
administration’s reinstatement in January 2017 of the so-called
global gag rule, an executive order blocking $8.8 billion in US
financial aid to UNPFA and other health organisations. Habiba
Osman of UN Women says the cuts are having ‘a catastrophic
effect’ on the ability of local clinics in Malawi to assist family
planning and prevent teen pregnancies. ‘Vulnerable child
brides are the hardest hit,’ says Habiba.

30 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018


Secret mother Stella Inoki, 65, says it is crucial to act fast to
minimise the trauma and damage caused by child marriage.
‘We are like dogs that go hunting,’ she says. ‘The sooner we
find child brides, the more chance we have of saving their
futures.’ Stella has been a secret mother since 2010, when
Theresa began recruiting her network. The chief enlisted some
men, or ‘secret fathers’, too, but Stella thinks women are better
suited to the role. ‘Our job is to keep our eyes open, listen
to rumours, and ask casual questions all the time,’ she says.
‘People think it’s normal for older women like me to stick our
noses into everyone’s business, so we arouse less suspicion.’
In addition to the secret mothers, the chief has a group of
female volunteers in each of her villages to take care of child
brides. ‘The first thing we do is take the girls for tests for HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases,’ says Brenda Dengu,
50, a volunteer in the village of Solomoti, near the chief’s
village. ‘If a girl is pregnant, we look after her until she has
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT
A ‘secret mother’; a group of girls whose
marriages have been annulled dance
outside Theresa’s home; Beatrice Kapito
(centre right) and now ex-husband
Mikiyasi Mkuthe with their son, Moses
had the baby. She must breastfeed the child for six months,
according to the chief’s rules, and then return to school.
The infant is put in the care of the girl’s parents or other
community members until she has finished her studies.’
Brenda, a tall woman in a floral dress, joined the women’s
group because she knows firsthand the chief is right. ‘Our
family was poor and my husband wanted our daughter to
marry early, but I insisted she complete her education,’ she
says. Brenda’s daughter, now 25, is a primary-school teacher.
With her first few paychecks, she bought Brenda a fridge,
something she had always coveted. ‘It has changed my life,’
she says. ‘Not only can I keep our food fresh, I use it to
make chilled sorghum soda drinks to sell in our village.’
Once she’d recovered her strength in early 2017, Dolophina
returned to classes at Solomoti Community Secondary School.
She receives some financial help from the chief, who has her
own farm and receives occasional donations for her activism
from local and international sympathisers. After finishing her
homework, she also does odd jobs like fetching water and
repor t age
farm work to support herself. ‘The days are long, but I am
so happy,’ she says. ‘When I was married, I cried because
I thought there was nothing in my life to look forward to
ever again. Now, I have freedom.’ Most former child brides
in Dedza say they want to become teachers, nurses, office
workers or police officers. But Dolophina, whose favourite
subjects are maths and science, wants to be an engineer.
Still, it’s far from smooth sailing. Former child brides suffer
social stigma, especially when they return to school, and are
often preyed upon sexually by older teenage boys who think
they’re easy targets. Lenford Kayira, the deputy head teacher
at the Solomoti school, says the staff works closely with
Theresa to educate male and female students about violence
against women and other abuse.
‘We don’t tolerate bullying or harassment, and we teach
the students that girls are equal and must be valued,’ Lenford
says. Although the number of boys going on to college is
higher than girls, the ratio is slowly improving.
‘Girls are serious about their studies,’ he adds.
Only 35% of college students in Malawi are
female, according to Unesco, but that has
jumped from under 10% a few decades ago.
Theresa is aware of the further challenges
ahead, too. Her lifestyle is frugal for a chief,
and she struggles to keep up with the costs
of paying for girls in her district to attend
school. Although fees and other expenses for
secondary school are relatively low, her success
in ending so many child marriages means it all
adds up. Former child brides also often create
extra financial strain on their families when
they return home, but the chief insists that
everyone must make sacrifices to ensure girls
get an education. The future payoff will be
worth it, she believes. ‘Eventually, it is my
dream to have college scholarships and
job-training centres to empower girls to fulfil
their potential,’ Theresa says, ‘so we will keep
working toward that goal.’
Aside from annulling thousands of
child marriages, one of Theresa’s proudest
achievements is how she is changing the
ancient mind-set of the men under her rule. ‘More and more
male subchiefs and village headmen are coming to me to say
they realise the old ways are bad. They want to know how
to improve the lives of girls.’ One of the male subchiefs she
fired for breaking her ban six years ago, Pearson Chibanga,
returned to her in 2016 to inform her that he had worked
hard in an unofficial capacity to help his area eradicate all
child marriages. After checking his claim, Theresa graciously
reinstated him to his position.
‘I was blinkered,’ says Pearson, 59, a skinny man in an
oversize brown suit. ‘We didn’t question child marriage
because it was our tradition, but the chief made me see
how damaging it was.’
Still, it’s too much to hope that men like Pearson have
changed completely. While sitting next to the chief, he lets
slip that he was thrilled when he got his job back because
‘men are born to lead.’ Chief Theresa Kachindamoto gives
him a look worthy of her don’t-mess-with-fire pedigree.
‘Not for much longer,’ she shoots back. mc
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 31
cover stor y

Photographs Ricardo Simal Styling Tarryn Oppel


TE
Her rise to fame was an unprecedented success story. After
all, how often does a young woman, with little to no
experience, nab a prominent role in an Oscar-winning film?
As I spot Terry across the arrivals hall at Cape Town
International Airport, she is every bit as you see her in the
media: poised, radiant and confident. But in the car, on our
way to the shoot in the CBD, it’s clear that she’s also a warm,
thoughtful and passionate person, as she tells me what she’s
currently up to. In September she will start production on a
new feature film set in Johannesburg, due for release in 2019.  able to send my siblings to better schools than I attended.
‘The very first time I stood in front of a camera was for
Tsotsi,’ Terry says once we’ve arrived at the studio. She’s
sitting in front of a large mirror, bathed in white light, being
prepped for make-up. She tells me that she always knew the
film would be special, but that never in her wildest dreams
did she think it would be as big as it was. ‘I was just focusing
on doing a good job because every bit of it was new and
strange to me. I guess there is always beauty in the unknown.’
Before Tsotsi, Terry was cast in another film, one she
thought would be her big break and the start of everything
good to come. But before production started, she was pulled
from the cast and replaced with a better-known actress. It was
a massive knock, and a disappointing and scary start to her
acting career, but one that would ultimately change her life.
In 2006, Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language
Film, beating strong contenders including Hany Abu-Assad’s
Paradise Now and Cristina Comencini’s La Bestia Nel Cuore.
What followed has been a career filled with major victories,
but – as she quickly reminds me – one that has had its fair
share of complexities.  alongside Laurence Fishburne as Nelson Mandela.
‘Now that I’m in my thirties,’ Terry says, ‘I can really look
back at my career with brutal honesty. Did I make sacrifices?
cover stor y
Of course I did. Do I have
regrets? Definitely.’
I ask her to elaborate, and
after a minute of thought,
she tells me about the difficult
decisions she had to make
after 2006. ‘If I had followed
my heart completely,’ she
admits, ‘I would probably have
left South Africa after Tsotsi to
live and work in Hollywood
permanently. That’s what every
young actor wants.’
I ask her why she didn’t
leave. ‘I’m a survivor of poverty,
so it just wasn’t that easy for
me,’ she says simply. 
Terry grew up in the Vaal
and moved to Soweto, where
she was soon cast as Miriam
– a young widowed mother
– in Tsotsi. After the film’s
success, the spotlight was
directly on her, and suddenly
there were job offers and
audition requests coming in from everywhere. Here was
her moment and there was seemingly no end to the
possibilities, but she had to approach every decision with
careful deliberation.
‘There was always a sense of guilt to stay behind for black
tax [the responsibility many black people feel to help support
their families],’ she tells me. ‘I couldn’t leave anyone behind
and just go off to Hollywood. I felt like I needed to bring
everyone with me on this journey. Through my work, I was
I was able to give things to my family they would never have
got on their own. My success is my family’s success.’ 
At this point, however, she is able to balance her career
between Hollywood and South Africa, for which she credits
her ‘wonderful team’ in Los Angeles. It’s through them that
she’s been able to create a life in two places.
Although she didn’t initially move to Hollywood, her
career has been filled with major accomplishments. In
2012, she starred in How To Steal 2 Million, landing her
the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award at the African
Movie Academy Awards. She starred as Naledi Khama in
the 2016 UK biographical drama A United Kingdom with
Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo. She once again
garnered critical acclaim, bagging additional international
award nominations. In 2017, she was announced as an
ambassador for Swiss luxury watch brand Longines and
took on another defining role, in the miniseries Madiba
directed by Kevin Hooks. This time she portrayed late
apartheid struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,
Terry speaks about each of these roles with a transparency
that can really only be described as refreshing. Reflecting on
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 35
cover stor y
the miniseries, she describes how the
Soweto uprising scene was put together.
She tells me about the young teenagers
who acted with such sincerity, it was
almost too painful for her to watch. ‘I was
left with a deep sense of sadness, because
I thought we as a country had moved
beyond seeing a young black child
understanding that kind of pain. A lot
of things have changed in this country,
but we cannot forget that many people
today are still fighting the things Winnie
fought four decades ago.
‘When I heard that she had passed
away…’ Terry pauses. She breathes in
deeply and closes her eyes. It’s still difficult
for her to talk about it; she’s still processing
Winnie’s death. ‘It felt like I was being
stabbed in the heart. In many ways I think
I looked at her as if she were immortal,
like she would live forever. So when she
passed away, I was overwhelmed. I felt
like someone had been stolen from me.
I think many people felt that way.’  contemporary mediums.
She sits with a cup of black coffee in
her hands as our make-up artist applies
blush to her cheeks. She thinks for a while,
before the conversation changes direction
somewhat. ‘I’ve always been very honest
about my experiences as an actor and as
a working woman,’ she explains. ‘I need
young girls living in townships to know
that they can also walk the red carpet at
the Oscars if they put their hearts to it.
I want them to know that one day they
can also be on the cover of Marie Claire.
‘But it’s tough being an actor in this
country,’ she stresses. Inevitably, it gets us
talking about the #MeToo movement in the
United States and we reflect on the lack of
an equally impactful and lasting movement
here in South Africa. ‘Women can’t speak up
in South Africa because we can’t afford to
lose our jobs. Yet.’ At that moment, the room
falls silent, as the power of her statement
sinks in. We’re all aware of the truth and its
implications, but we have no words. There
is sadness behind her eyes because she
understands the weight of what she’s said.  when she first receives a script.
‘Sexual harassment happens everywhere
in the South African entertainment industry,’
she eventually adds. The sorrow in her eyes
from just a few moments ago is replaced by
a fiery determination. ‘It’s not only producers
and directors, like so many people believe.
It’s also your co-actors. It’s the crew on the
set. It happens everywhere and it happens
more often than you think. It’s easy for
boundaries to be overstepped. We work in
an industry where undressing and kissing
while in character can be a part of the job.
36 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
But it’s important to know when what
you’re doing isn’t a part of your job.’
It’s difficult not to ask Terry what her FIVE MINUTES
own experiences have been like, but she WITH KARABO
says she’s grateful that she’s never had to
POPPY
do what she calls a ‘couch audition’. ‘I was
very fortunate that my first job was with the Meet the talented
team that it was,’ she says. ‘The director, illustrator and street
Gavin Hood, and the rest of the cast and artist who created
crew created a safe space for me. I’m the incredible artwork
fortunate because I’ve been able to measure adorning our cover
everything in my career against that and these portraits
experience. I could tell when I was in of Terry Pheto.
danger. But I know most other women
STYLING ASSISTANTS DANIELLE VILJOEN, AHLUME MONESE MAKE-UP KELLY PAITAKI/GLOSS ARTIST MANAGEMENT HAIR ALET VILJOEN PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANTS JESSE VOS AND LUKE HOUBA
can’t say the same.’ What inspired these
DARK DENIM JACKET H&M SHEER DRESS KLûK CGDT BRA WOOLWORTHS DENIM JACKET ZARA SKIRT H&M EARRINGS H&M RINGS COLETTE BY COLETTE HAYMAN BOOTS CHARLES & KEITH
Terry then reveals a deeply troubling illustrations?
fact. ‘If South African female actors had The inspiration behind
to name perpetrators,’ she says, ‘most my illustrations is always
production companies in the country the pursuit to preserve,
would have to close their doors.’ explore and celebrate the
When will that happen, I ask her – when African aesthetic, and
will the revolution begin? ‘It will take time, ind ways to authentically
but that time is coming very soon,’ she tells document it using
me. ‘One of these days we’re going to start
putting names to these crimes.’
What does the
As rails of clothing are carted past us, we
snake symbolise?
catch glimpses of denim, silk and cotton; in It symbolises the
a few moments, she’ll head off to change for uniquely ierce nature
the shoot. Terry laughs when I apologise for of a generation of
the serious turn our conversation has taken. African women who
She says serious and uncomfortable are unapologetically
conversations are sometimes necessary, pursuing their dreams
although it is difficult for South Africans.  with excellence
‘Let’s take money, for example,’ she says. and pride.
‘Most actors are uncomfortable to talk about
what they’re getting paid. It’s uncomfortable What challenges do
to say what you’ve earned for a movie or you face as a woman
for a television show. We’re scared that the in the arts?
people responsible won’t hire us again. Speciically being a black
Only when we’re in a stronger place of female freelance illustrator
power are we going to be able to talk about and graphic designer,
these things openly. Only then are we going I struggled to ind anyone
to be able to address things like sexual who shared my narrative
within the industry. When
harassment in the workplace and unfair
I was studying, there
wages without fearing for our jobs.’
weren’t many people
Terry says that it’s in times like these that
itting this description
strong women inspire her the most; in fact, who I could look up to
it’s strong female characters who stand out and learn from, so I aim
to be that for the next
As the final touches are made to her hair generation of women
and make-up, she gives herself one last in this industry. Similar
glance in the mirror. She is quiet for a challenges exist in the
moment and then continues. world of street art in
‘Winnie was always the voice for the South Africa, where
voiceless,’ she finally says. ‘She was brave. even fewer females are
She wasn’t afraid to tell the truth – even if prominent in this male-
it was uncomfortable, even if it landed her dominated industry. A
in jail. Even if it got her killed. I will take woman trying to break
that from her and carry it with me until boundaries is not always
the day I die. That is the kind of woman well received by veteran
I want to be.’ mc male street artists.
 ,
CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE
OUR JOBS. YET’

SCAN VIA

WATCH
TERRY
PHETO’S
BEHIND
THE
SCENES
VIDEO
FROM THE
MAKING
OF OUR
COVER
SHOOT.
E

EAST
WORDS SABA IMTIAZ
LEFT TO RIGHT FROM TOP
THE ABDEL AZIZ SISTERS @styleinbeirut
SAZDEL EL KAK @sazdell
FOUZ AL FAHAD @therealfouz
ZAIN KARAZON @zoozkarazon
HUDA KATTAN @hudabeauty
HAYA AWAD @haya_awad_fashionattack
NADINE ABDEL AZIZ @nadineabdelaziz
FARAH ABDEL AZIZ @fafiabdelaziz
ALICE ABDEL AZIZ @aliceabdelaziz
OVERLEAF, LEFT TO RIGHT
25 million people follow Dubai beauty
blogger Huda Kattan; the Kuwait-based
Fouz Al Fahad has collaborated with MAC
on a lipstick; designer Haya Awad uses
Instagram to promote her clothing line
societ y
onjourrrrr! How are you, Snabies?’ Zain
Karazon trills to her Snapchat followers on
a grey morning in Amman, Jordan. She’s just
completed her lengthy beauty routine: her long,
caramel hair expertly twisted into waves and
fake eyelashes applied, giving her face a doll-like appearance.
Her outfit is a Yeezy-esque ensemble of black tights, boots
and an oversized, hooded denim tunic with distressed sleeves
emblazoned with the phrase ‘Where is my mind?’. After posting
a shot of her coffee, she grabs her two bedazzled iPhones and
heads to a meet-and-greet at a café, where she’s welcomed by
a small army of teenage girls who chant their nickname for
her, Zoozoo, and by baristas, transfixed behind the counter.
‘When I was young, I wanted people to know who I was,’
says Zain, 28. ‘Now, thanks to social media, I reach a million
followers.’ Her Snapchat, she says, is Zain TV, 24 hours a day.
‘Everyone knows me – even leaders and kings.’
Everyone may know of Zain, but they may not know what
she does. She isn’t a conventional celebrity; rather, she is one
of a homegrown coterie of social-media mavens in the Middle
East bucking tradition and repressive laws to seek fame and
fortune online. The women are not unlike their hashtagging
counterparts in the West, but the influencers here are forging
their public profiles in a region much less comfortable with
women showcasing their bodies and speaking their minds.
In addition to Zain, there are the Abdel Aziz sisters from
Beirut – Alice, 30, Nadine, 26, and Farah, 25, who work with
Adidas and Tod’s, and who spun a reality show out of their
outfit-of-the-day posts on Instagram, where they collectively
have more than 1.4 million followers. There is Fouz Al Fahad,
28, a make-up artist in Kuwait with 2.4 million Instagram
followers, who has collaborated with MAC Cosmetics on a
lipstick. And there is Sazdel El Kak, 29, a Lebanese TV and
radio host, who works in Kuwait and parlayed her social-
media success (340k followers on Instagram) into a skincare
clinic that launched in November.
Their lives are a seemingly endless stream of promoted
products and party appearances, but they’re not just helping
to shape the hottest looks of the season. They’re pushing the
boundaries of acceptability by talking about everything from
their love lives and body shaming to child marriage, inspiring
the same bravery in other women in the region..
‘There are many people who are doing this for free things,’
Alice Abdel Aziz says. ‘That’s not our goal. Our goal is to
inspire and motivate people, and leave a mark.’
The rise of social-media influencers in the Middle East began
in a far-off yet familiar place: Calabasas, California. In 2012,
after the Middle East Broadcasting Centre started airing
Keeping Up With the Kardashians, salons in the region started
noticing a demand for a Kardashian-fuelled trend: contouring.
‘It freaked me out,’ says Pierre Lahoud, a Lebanese make-up
artist. ‘Women like to copy Kim Kardashian. They think she
has that sexy look and Arabian curves’ – referring to the
family’s Armenian heritage – ‘and they have half of what she
has.’ And it wasn’t just their looks: as the Kardashians became
full-fledged moguls, women in the Middle East began pursuing
similar branding opportunities. Sazdel El Kak, who bears
a striking resemblance to Kim, down to her long hair and
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 39
societ y
penchant for bodycon dresses, was touted as a look-alike on
local websites.
‘I thought, that’s okay – they’re comparing me to a pretty
girl,’ says Sazdel, whose goal is to franchise her name to beauty
ventures. Motivation also comes from a source closer to home:
Huda Kattan, 34, cofounder of the Dubai-based Huda Beauty,
who amassed 25 million Instagram followers from the success
of her beauty tutorials. With a relatable tone and an approach
tailored to the region (she often reviews false eyelashes, an
especially popular local trend), she developed a fan base that
feverishly follows the trends she popularises.
Huda’s fame – and her classic Middle-Eastern features – led
to her own line of fake eyelashes at Sephora, and, today,
make-up artists aspire to be featured on her feed. Fouz Al
Fahad, the Kuwaiti make-up artist, got a boost in 2014 when
one of her photos appeared on @hudabeauty. She profusely
thanked Huda, calling her a ‘true inspiration’.
Growing up in Kuwait, Fouz was a fan of Cindy Crawford.
She studied finance but was into make-up, and began posting
about it online. Once she hit 7 000 Instagram followers,
she realised the potential of social media. She developed
a signature look (her naturally straight hair blown out into
a voluminous, honey-toned mass of waves), caught the
attention of brands, and soon she began travelling to events.
Soon, social media was taking over her life, but she had a
day job. She wanted to quit, but her parents, whom she lived
with, objected. ‘You don’t know what’s going to happen with
social media,’ they told her. But the double life was exhausting:
she would finish work in Kuwait City around 3pm, then fly to
Dubai or Bahrain for events, return home after midnight, and
start her day job at 7am. After a few months, she quit. ‘I didn’t
even tell my parents until a month later,’ she says with a laugh.
‘I had to pretend I was going to work!’ she says.
Fouz is now sought after by major cosmetics brands trying
to tap into the Middle East’s market of young, make-up-
obsessed women. Her manager declined to share how much
she earns, but influencers in the region charge anywhere from
$500 to $10 000 (about R6 000 to R120 000) for appearances,
says Zayna Al-Hamarneh, CEO and founder of MODE
Marketing & PR in Jordan. Fouz now splits her time between
Kuwait and Dubai and elsewhere; last year, she appeared at
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty launch in New York and promoted
Messika jewellery at the Cannes Film Festival. At an event
celebrating her MAC lipstick in Saudi Arabia, abaya-clad
women crowded around her to take selfies. ‘It’s a weird thing,
because I never thought social media could be this powerful,’
she says. ‘Now, when I meet people, they get me flowers, iced
coffee from Starbucks – it’s great.’
Perhaps none of the Middle Eastern influencers knows more
about just how great social-media stardom can be than the
Abdel Aziz sisters. They developed a taste for European
fashion on summer trips to visit extended family in Romania
(their mother is a Romanian homemaker; their father is a
Lebanese doctor). In 2012, Alice, the second-oldest (the eldest
Abdel Aziz sister, Diana, lives in Nigeria with her husband and
children), started an Instagram account, @styleinbeirut, and
began posting photos of her and her younger sisters’ outfits
each day.
Soon, other fashion accounts began reposting the images,
and the feed grew to more than half a million followers. The
40 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
sisters started wearing local
designers, working their way up
until they attracted the attention
of global brands. Their big break
came in 2015, with the premiere
of The Sisters, a reality show
exhibiting their high-flying lives.
The show drew comparisons to
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
and generated a slew of
international press articles, but it
was panned as boring (an animated spoof called The Cousins
poked fun at the sisters’ banal conversations) and went off-air
after one season.
The short run had little negative impact on the sisters’
success, though. Alice has since launched a line of sunscreen
and tanning oil; Nadine has modelled for Guess and appeared
on the Lebanese edition of Dancing With the Stars; and Farah
has collaborated with Adidas. Social media is now the sisters’
full-time job, netting them a collective $6 million last year.
‘We make good money,’ Nadine says with a touch of pride.
One humid evening, Nadine arrives at Métropole brasserie in
Beirut’s upscale Minet El Hosn neighbourhood wearing Céline
sunglasses and an off-the-shoulder dress, then seats herself at a
sidewalk table. Soon, Farah walks up in sweats, a tube top and
Hermès logo flats; she looks around and notes how ‘everyone
is in Mykonos these days’. Alice arrives late, takes in the heat,
and sweeps everyone inside to a table with air-conditioning
and a view. It’s clear she’s the leader of the group. The sisters
insist on ordering a round of desserts. ‘Pain perdu!’ they
exclaim, promising it’s the finest in Beirut. When it arrives, they
halt their conversation to film the server drizzling caramel over
the dish, while Alice narrates into her phone, saying, ‘This is
the best part!’ as she posts to Instagram. As they dig in, they
bicker like, well, sisters.
‘I think people don’t know my romantic side,’ Alice muses.
‘Yes, they do, because you post about it!’ Nadine interjects.
They talk about boys: ‘It’s very important for a guy to be
supportive of his girlfriend’s job, because it’s not easy,’ says
Alice, whose fiancé manages the sisters. ‘We have to take
pictures all the time and know how to deal with fame.’ In any
case, she says, men can’t really object, since ‘almost all girls
have public Instagrams.’ The ideal man is ‘smart,’ Farah says.
‘We should be able to have a conversation at the table.’
Being outspoken about equality in romantic relationships
is the kind of talk that has got the sisters noticed more so than
their fashion. Their Instagram posts – many snapped by their

personal photographer – reflect people living in a relatively
free city, in a social class where they don’t have to contend
with many of the cultural restrictions governing other women.
As a result, rather than play nice with critics, the sisters are
empowered to talk back. Alice has had fiery words about body
shaming for those who say she and her siblings are too skinny;
in 2015, Farah was quick to correct an interviewer who asked
if the sisters were ‘scared to be taken for another Lebanese
bimbo’. ‘Lebanese women are not bimbos,’ she said. ‘Just
because women of our society like to dress up and take good
care of themselves, people will rush to categorise them.
Who ever said that a beautiful woman must be stupid?’
There are some limitations – for example, they don’t
collaborate with alcohol brands. ‘Most of our followers are
from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and we cannot promote
something that is taboo for them. They’ll find it offensive,’
Alice says. ‘You have to respect their lifestyle.’
But that doesn’t stop them from posting selfies in
bathrobes or hitting clubs in thigh-skimming dresses.
‘We live in a society that will criticise no matter what,’
says Nadine.
‘We’re in the 21st century and the world is changing,’ adds
Alice. ‘Look at our ancestors, it wasn’t like they could go out
wearing skirts. So the world is improving, and with social
media and technology, we have to be different.’
But the spread of flashy, selfie-driven Instagram culture is
in opposition to the moral codes of the Middle East.
Conservatives are not in favour of how the growing popularity
of social media is changing the region. At a 2016 conference
on the impact of technology on families, organised by the
National Council for Family Affairs in Amman, attendees from
Palestine, Lebanon, Algeria and Egypt discussed how social-
media obsession was increasing moral degradation. In 2017, a
Jordanian television host launched into a diatribe on Facebook,
calling on women in Jordan to ‘repent’ for how they dress and
saying they encouraged ‘prostitution, adultery and rape’.
Images of women defying conventions online have caught
the eye of law enforcement, too. Zain, the Jordanian
Snapchat star, spent a week in jail in 2016 over an allegedly
defamatory post in which she accused a doctor of having
PHOTOGRAPHS INSTAGRAM
conducted the wrong surgery, leading to a woman’s death.
In the same year, a woman named Malak al-Shehri was
arrested in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for tweeting a photo
of herself walking without an abaya, which is mandated by
the country’s dress code. More recently, a 27-year-old
aspiring Saudi model was seen walking around a historic
site in a miniskirt in a viral Snapchat video. (She was
societ y
detained by the Saudi police and released
without charges.)
Haya Awad, 35, a fashion designer in
Amman who has more than 79 000
Instagram followers, knows to tread
carefully. ‘People following you online are
really curious about your lifestyle, but, as
a woman, I know my limits,’ she says. She
remembers once receiving a call from a
friend who thought she was revealing too
much. ‘I bought a pair of “hot shorts” and
snapped them – I wasn’t even wearing
them and my close friend in Dubai called
me and said, “Haya, why are you posting this? This is too
intimate!”’ she says.
Despite such critiques – and the risk of arrest – a growing
number of women are boldly sharing their opinions on a
range of topics, including feminism and cyberbullying.
In January 2017, a woman in Saudi Arabia used Twitter to
call attention to the fact that her infant daughter was being
abused by the baby’s father (the baby was removed from the
father’s custody and given to the mother). Also in 2017, Ghina
Ghandour, 38, an image consultant in Lebanon, posted on
Instagram about an anti-sexual-harassment campaign in her
country known as #mesh_ basita (which translates to ‘It’s not
a small thing’ in Arabic), writing, ‘Sexual harassment is not
okay, it should not be normalised, and there is need for
legislative reforms.’ Even in the most conservative countries in
the region, women are increasingly posting photographs of
themselves from the neck down, or focusing cameras on their
shoes or coffee cups. ‘The more you grow, the more you’re
exposed to different mentalities and beliefs,’ says Fouz. ‘I feel
like there’s a long way to go, but in the Middle East, people are
more accepting that there are different kinds of girls and guys.’
The influencers are gratified by their impact. ‘I always have
women tell me, “Because of you, we changed our life and
started caring about ourselves, not only about brands and
looks”,’ says Sazdel.
Zain, who has opposed underage marriage and stood up
to criticism she receives for not wearing hijab, thinks her
outspoken nature has helped other women find their voices.
‘When I started, it wasn’t possible for Jordanian girls to speak
out on Snapchat,’ she says. ‘I was the first woman to start
talking about modern issues, and that made people start
following me.’ Now her fans clamour for her commentary.
‘It’s not possible for me to take a day off. People say, “Zain,
please, you’re like family; we need to get your advice.”’
What women like Zain have achieved is more than just fame
and freebies. Their success is what makes a teenager capture
herself on Snapchat as she tells the world how she styled her
headscarf, confident that she has the right to do so. It’s a
change evident throughout the Middle East and one that isn’t
driven by a government or a campaign to rid women of their
burqas – it’s real and organic, and it’s being narrated 24/7,
through filters and emojis. ‘When many people said to me,
“Without a man in the house, you would not be able to
succeed in life,” Zain taught me that we don’t need anybody to
succeed,’ says Inès, an 18-year-old who ran the now-defunct
@ZainKarazonFans account on Twitter. ‘We have to persevere,
and then we can do anything.’ mc
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 41
‘ Y LIFE
LOVE
IC ’

y husband calls me
‘puppy’ due to my
excessive energy,
enthusiasm and
tendency to get
distracted. I’m anxious, easily excitable,
and giggle and weep at the drop of a
hat. However, he finds stillness within
me that I never knew existed. I can
rest my head on his chest and be
unconscious in minutes. After years
of dating bad, crazy, exciting men who
kept me on an emotional roller coaster,
this one has shown me the simple joy
of just being. We never run out of
things to say to each other, and we
rarely argue. And I’ve realised that
this isn’t boring – it’s normal. I’m
aware I sound smug, but I still can’t
get over how many years I wasted
being anxious and sad – and how
many women I meet who have
done the same.
Before I met the man who is now
my husband, arguing was my preferred
means of communication. I thought
that fighting showed true passion.
I spent more time analysing my
boyfriends and obsessing over them
with girlfriends than I actually spent
with them. My love life was like a
bad ’80s exercise video – if it wasn’t
hurting, it wasn’t working. I actively
looked for relationships that would
hurt me emotionally, because I was
so addicted to the sheer excitement
of the highs and lows. Sound familiar?
Recent research by The Oxford Centre
For Neuroethics shows that for some
people in romantic relationships, the
brain’s reward centres are stimulated
in the same way as if reacting to
addictive drugs. They regularly
experience euphoria, craving,
dependence, withdrawal and relapse,
and the researchers labelled them ‘love
addicts’. Like drug dependency, love
addiction can impair judgement and
cause those affected to put themselves
in dangerous situations that impact
their physical and emotional health.
I never considered myself a love
addict and yet I spent much of my
life exhibiting that behaviour. Looking
back, the signs were there early. As
the eldest of six girls, I felt a little
lost within my own family at times.
I longed for attention and, although
I loved my sisters, sometimes it
seemed like I was never listened
relat ionships
to, and only looked at when I was
being told off for doing something
wrong. I longed to be the cleverest or
the prettiest or the best at something
– I thought I would never stand out.
I was also badly bullied at school,
and sexually abused by someone who
lived in the area, which made me feel
anxious and ashamed. It was a lonely
time and I longed to meet someone
I could trust, who made me feel safe.
At secondary school, after the
bullying stopped, I still struggled to
make friends and felt excluded by my
classmates. When, aged 15, I met
a boy at a disco, I promptly fell in
love with him. It felt like the first
time anyone had ever paid me any
attention. In hindsight, I would have
fallen for anyone who had taken the
time to talk to me that night. I was
simply grateful he wanted to spend
time with me. I kept being grateful,
even when he shouted at me, sexually
degraded me and pushed me to the
ground. I remember crying because
I wanted to end it, but I was convinced
that no one else would ever want me.
I truly believed having him was
better than having no one at all.
Incredibly, the situation went on for
six years before I got out towards the
end of my degree, when it dawned
on me that I might actually be able
to have a life without him.
The pattern continued in my
twenties. I thought I just had a lot of
bad luck with guys, but I was addicted
to the punishing cycle of negative
relationships. I’d fall for someone who
seemed out of reach and spend all my
energy trying to ‘win’ them. I really
believed relationships had to be hard
to be worthwhile. There was the guy
who told me I needed to lose at least
five kilos if I wanted him to take me
seriously; and the one who would
invite me out with his friends, then
disappear with other women for hours
on end. Meanwhile, my self-esteem
was crumbling. I started to think there
was something fundamentally wrong
with me, and obsessed over fixing my
flaws in order to make myself ‘good
enough’. It was an awful way to live
and yet I found the idea of being
single frightening. I had terrible sex
with men I can barely remember
because I needed proof that someone
wanted me. I was desperate for
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 43
relat ionships
another boyfriend and longed to
feel loved, and then the second I felt
secure in a relationship, I’d cheat as
an act of self-sabotage.
I was 26 when I finally turned
to a therapist. I felt overwhelmed,
unworthy and constantly on edge.
I used to wake up and burst into tears
without really understanding why. My
anxiety was so bad that I had chronic
IBS, and I’d find myself overwhelmed
by stomach cramps, with sweat
pouring down my face. My gut knew
that something was wrong before my
head did. I believed these feelings
came from the anxiety I felt around
my career, and the constant pressure
to achieve. But it was something else.
My boyfriend at the time was highly
unpredictable. I fell for him because
he could be affable, carefree and
charming, but his mood swings were
intense. When we were with our
friends, he seemed relaxed and happy,
but when we were alone, he’d shout
at me and tell me that he couldn’t
bear to be around someone who
was so unhappy.
One day, my therapist suggested
that the cause of my unhappiness
might be him. I’d never considered
this. She suggested I was addicted to
choosing partners who would hurt
me, because my self-esteem was so
low that I needed someone to confirm
my sense of poor self-worth. Initially it
seemed like a crazy idea, but gradually
it all fitted into place. According to my
therapist, many women in their
twenties and thirties have similar
relationship problems.
‘Most love addicts are high achievers
who were under an enormous amount
44 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
of academic pressure at school,’ she
told me. ‘They want to “achieve” in
their relationships in the same way,
but are also filled with a conflicting
urge to act out and rebel.’
From what I see around me in my
friends and read online, this rings true.
Anxiety is endemic in our generation.
When we’re overwhelmed by a sense
of worry and nameless dread, creating
relationship drama is a way of taking
control. If we’re causing our own
problems, we don’t feel as if we’re at
the mercy of the universe. Behavioural
psychologist Jo Hemmings adds,
‘Millennials have grown up in a world
that embraces the ease of finding the
next love fix. They have a longer time
to date and form non-permanent
relationships, and technology has
allowed them to form those
relationships with greater simplicity
and variety. So, the pattern of craving
love, followed by heartbreak and
falling back in love again becomes
the “norm”.’
Just when I was beginning to
gain some insight into why I was
the way I was, my therapy ended,
I found myself single and immediately
spiralled out of control emotionally.
I reverted to what I knew – a man.
This time it was an affair with
someone who was married. It was
the one line I thought I’d never cross.
With the logic of a love addict, I told
myself that someone I could never
have in any event wouldn’t hurt me.
Of course, I was horribly hurt in the
end. And yet some of my therapist’s
words were starting to sink in. The
fifth time I spent money I didn’t have
on new underwear, only to get a text
cancelling our meeting, a little voice
said, ‘You deserve more than this.’
Lying in bed next to him when he had
one eye on his phone and the other
on the TV, that voice got louder. I did
what I’d always done, and looked
to yet another man for validation.
However, the one I met next would
change my life. He was funny, clever,
kind, and far too nice to me.
‘He bought me this book I’d
mentioned, randomly, like some kind
of psycho!’ I wailed to an exasperated
friend. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
She replied, ‘This is the first time
that I’ve known you to date someone
who is nice to you. Perhaps it’s you
who needs to change.’
ADDICTED
TO LOVE?
Author, speaker and
love coach Persia Lawson
explains what to look out
for if you think that you
or a friend might be
experiencing love
addiction.
1 A tendency to ‘fall
in love’ quickly and
easily, and prioritise this
relationship and person
over everything else.
2 Staying in toxic or
abusive relationships,
because you’re afraid of
being alone.
3 Being drawn to
emotionally unavailable
people and pursuing them,
even when it’s clear that
they are unwilling to
commit to you.
4 Behaving in an
impulsive and irrational
way when in a relationship,
either being needy and
smothering, consumed by
jealousy or struggling to
stay faithful.
5 Being in relationships
that are full of drama
and chaos.
At first, it was so hard to change
my habits, but once I realised that my
future didn’t have to be determined
by my past, things fell into place. I’m
ashamed by how obvious this sounds,
but I learned that there’s so much
more to spending time with a partner
than fighting and making up. We
could be friends.
I went back into therapy to talk
through my feelings instead of trying
to destroy my relationship when I got
scared. Dealing with my love addiction
helped me to manage my anxiety and
PHOTOGRAPH THE LICENSING PROJECT
boost my self-esteem. I’m not cured,
but I now understand that I was
addicted to searching for someone to
love me, because I wasn’t capable of
loving myself. Five years later, I’m
finally in a happy, healthy relationship
because I have accepted that I’m
worthy of love – my own love, as
well as my husband’s. mc
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inter nat iona l repor t
THIS PAGE
Two students from the
Restoration Institute
in Rome are immersed
in the restoration of the
painting ‘Madonna with
Child and Four Angels’,
a 15th-century piece
from Botticelli’s studio

I TA L I A N T R E A S U R E S
Women with
a mission
PHOTOGRAPHS ISABELL A DE MADDALENA
W O R D S K AT I E B R E E N & I S A B E L L A D E M A D D A L E N A
 T
heir heads bent down, their faces
Scores of young reminiscent of Renaissance art, some
students from the Restoration Institute*
Italian women are in Rome are immersed in the painting
‘Madonna with Child and Four Angels’,
dedicating themselves a 15th-century piece from Botticelli’s studio.
Their hands protected by blue rubber
gloves, they take away the coating and consolidate the
to the rescue and painting’s wooden support before it goes back to Palazzo Pitti
in Florence. In another workshop, Valeria studies the condition
repair of paintings, of an antique stone head, recently recovered from thieves
thanks to the Italian Art Police Squad.
frescoes, sculptures, Far from Rome, in Treviso, a medieval city near Venice,
Giovanna, Sofia and Cecilia are engrossed in cleaning up
mouldings and church the ‘Illustrious Dominicans’, famous frescoes, which depict
40 Dominican monks from the 14th century.
In Ancona, a seaport on the Adriatic Coast, a former
facades. Step into leprosy hospital has become a thriving cultural centre and
the temporary home to many artefacts, which were smashed
their world and share during the 24 August 2016 earthquake in the centre of Italy.
The students are in the process of classifying the objects
what it feels like to be and repairing the damages. Two of them are putting together
the pieces of a 17th-century golden tabernacle, while others
are cleaning the remnants of a decorative element from
a custodian of beauty a church altar.
inter nat iona l repor t

Whatever they’re involved in, these apprentice restorers

are deeply committed. They share a passion for beauty
and the sense of having a mission. For Cecilia Balsi, 22, a
student in her second year, this passion developed when
she realised how fragile beauty was: ‘We are used to the idea
that artworks always exist because they belong to humanity,’
she says, ‘but works are fated to decay. It is very sad to
understand this, but the ability to preserve this beauty makes
us feel that we have a mission. We take care of works in
the same way as doctors take care of people.’ Disfigured by
scratches and pollutants, sliced off by thieves, buried under
earthquake rubble or simply damaged by wear and tear:
the list of indignities that art treasures must endure is endless.

Mariagiulia Roscigno, 26, strongly believes in the social

value of art: ‘Conservation of artworks is essential for one’s
own identity. Not only do we restore art, we also restore the
possibility for people to recognise themselves in a work of art
or a monument. This contributes to safeguarding our collective
conscience; it’s important for our society.’
A student’s first contact with a masterpiece is often tinged
with awe. At a time when a Da Vinci painting sells for
US$450 million, it is very intimidating for students to touch
precious artwork: ‘At the very beginning,’ says Sofia Oliveti,
23, ‘we were touching the pieces with some trepidation,
hoping that nothing terrible would happen. Then it became an
everyday routine.’ Sofia believes that artworks are ‘like books’.
Indeed, when most of the population were not able to read
or write, art was a means of communication. In a painting,
many details speak of the way people lived. ‘Touching artwork

is touching history,’ she says. On the Treviso
frescoes, which the students renovated, one of
the monks wears reading glasses. Glasses had
been invented only a couple of years earlier,
and this portrait is the first one ever to depict
someone wearing glasses.
Living in the midst of beauty can transform
you; it can make you a better person. Sofia
Schiattone, a 21-year-old from Rome, talks
about this change. ‘While training as a restorer,
I learned to focus on the details of an artefact,
to deeply understand its particular features,
its beauty, before starting a restoration.
This contact with beauty has influenced my
personal life: now, I try to understand, to
appreciate and to take better care of what
IN TWO SCHOOLS, IN ROME AND MATERA, AND CAN OFFER TRAINING TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
HERITAGE, CULTURE AND TOURISM. BASED ON INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK, IT TRAINS RESTORERS
surrounds me.’ It can also give you another
point of view on life. Mariagiulia says that
whether she’s at work or not, ‘I look at a street
* THE RESTORATION INSTITUTE IS A TECHNICAL INSTITUTE OF THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF
and I don’t consider its beauty any more; I
look at the creative details on a building and
suddenly see a black spot or green algae on
the wall. How can such algae grow here?’ she says.
All the students will agree that restoration is an activity
that drains you: you might stand in the cold on scaffoldings
removing pollutants from a church facade, or spend hours
with sticky bird droppings on a statue. You’ll spend time
with smelly chemical products, or dusting and cleaning, with
brushes. Restoration is a labour of love, total dedication and
patience. Some have compared it to a mother’s work and
given this as a reason for the high percentage of women
in the field. Francesca Capanna, the Restoration Institute’s
director of its School for Higher Education and Study, says
that in both its schools in Rome and Matera no more than
10% of the students are men.
Valeria Merlini, an experienced restorer (no connection
with the Restoration Institute), has her own hypothesis on the
profession as a whole. ‘Restoration is a fascinating profession,
but it has little to do with creativity and with being “the
OPPOSITE, FROM TOP
In Treviso, in the cloister of the Bishop’s
Seminary of San Nicolò, Soia Schiattone
measures the thermo-hygrometric values
of the outdoor environment. Heat and
humidity are important elements to take
into account when restoring art work;
in Treviso, Cecilia Balsi works on the
selective cleaning of the ‘Illustrious
Dominicans’, frescoes located in the
Bishop Seminary of San Nicolo. ‘We take
care of works more or less in the same
way as doctors take care of people,’
she says; next to the famous Pisa
Leaning Tower, Elena Zichichi works
on the restoration of the facade of the
Cathedral of Pisa. She wears protective
glasses for surface laser inishing.
LEFT
Students working on the Treviso
frescoes. Their future as restorers
is uncertain and many of them will
have to ind a job abroad.
protagonist”. You have to be at the service
of the artwork, and the restorer’s intervention
can never overpower the art. In my opinion,
this frame of mind comes more easily to
women than men.’
Italian restorers have a good reputation.
According to Valeria, ‘they have a great
experience compared to the rest of the world,
and restorers from all over come to Italy to
train.’ A great reputation, a training very much
in demand, but still there is a lack of funds for
conservation and restoration of artwork: ‘Our
restoration techniques and our knowledge
progress all the time,’ says Francesca
Capanna, ‘but the present budget available
for the conservation of Italian heritage is
not sufficient. Our heritage is immense and
widespread throughout the territory; every
small village preserves a small treasure, or is,
by itself, a treasure to be saved. Furthermore
we’re subject to natural disasters.’ In spite
of the new law that promotes private
sponsoring, funds are spread too thin. As a result, the pay
for restorers is low, and jobs are scarce; many of them will
have to find work abroad.
While most students would prefer to work independently,
it is a hard road, which can take years. A reputation will be
built with the restoration of work by a famous artist. Valeria
was able to restore three paintings by Caravaggio. Her last
work, on Caravaggio’s ‘The Adoration of the Shepherds’,
took place inside the Italian Chamber of Deputies, in a space
that had windows looking out onto the street. People could
witness every phase of the work. ‘A public restoration like
this one – conceived by me and my associate – is very
effective in drawing people closer to our artistic heritage,’
she says. Her concern, presently shared by the Ministry
of Heritage, Culture and Tourism, is to bring young Italians
out to look at artworks and be interested in their incredible
heritage. Which is, obviously, easier said than done… mc
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 49
f ir st p er son
A 20-YEAR OBSESSION
WITH STAYING SLIM KEPT
ALIX O’NEILL TRAPPED IN A
CYCLE OF DEPRIVATION AND
REWARD. BUT PREGNANCY
SHOOK UP HER PERCEPTION
OF PERFECTION – AND HER
SENSE OF SELF
was expecting tears of elation. This was the moment
I’d spent the best part of a year waiting for, but as
I gaped at the pregnancy test in my hand, the
happiness I felt was diluted by other emotions.
There was panic I’d unwittingly harmed the baby after
a boozy weekend, doubt I was cut out for such an enormous
responsibility, and an element of fear – fear of losing my body
and myself to motherhood.
Thinness has been my thing for much of my adult life.
I wore skinny like a favourite pair of jeans. Tiny breasts and
a well-defined clavicle were comfortable, a second skin.
Growing up, my looks didn’t come into the equation. A
spirited kid with big dreams, I was going to be a playwright,
an author, an FBI agent (lack of American citizenship wasn’t
going to stand in my way).
But as I entered my teenage years, everything seemed less
certain. Humility was the ethos at my convent high school.
Sure, you could have ambition – within reason. When I
demonstrated an aptitude for French, I was rebuked for
showing off, while my English teacher smirked when I told
50 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
her I planned to be a writer. Puberty did little to help my
plummeting confidence. Braces, thick-rimmed government-
health-issued glasses and skin lubricated with an immutable
layer of oil – I was the poster girl for awkward adolescence.
My friends embraced the changes in their bodies, they knew
how to work the extra layer of flesh on their hips. Me? I was
all boobs and bum, self-consciously concealing the latter
behind a denim Hard Rock Cafe jacket welded to my waist.
I had an uncle I adored, a playboy with a Porsche and a
perm. He dated leggy, immaculately groomed women who
looked like Julia Roberts post-makeover in Pretty Woman and
carried expensive leather organisers in their expensive leather
handbags. I imagined those diaries filled with important
meetings in cities far more cosmopolitan than my hometown.
Lighting up a cigarette on his treadmill one evening, my uncle
told me I’d be pretty if I lost the weight. I was a size 12. It
was a throwaway comment, but it struck a chord, because
I honestly believed that if I were thin, all that self-doubt
would dissipate. I’d be sophisticated and successful, just
like the latest glamazon on my uncle’s arm.
f ir st p er son
So I did lose weight – and lots of it. It wasn’t even that
intentional. I left home for university and was too busy
partying to cook. The pounds fell off and, for the first time,
I felt attractive. I dyed my hair blonde and ditched the glasses
for contacts. Boys suddenly paid attention to me. They were
rarely interested in a relationship, but I convinced myself that
being physically desirable was enough.
I was surrounded by talent and self-assuredness – students
who had taken gap years quoted Chomsky and mastered the
art of rolling their own tobacco. I wasn’t worldly or particularly
academic, so I made a decision. I’d be the joker of the group,
the good-time girl. Because that’s how it works when you’re
a woman, right? From birth, you’re tacitly assigned your place
in the world, reduced to a label. I was never going to excel
in my degree, so I’d be the skinny girl with a good sense
of humour.
Throughout my twenties, I hoarded compliments on my
appearance, cherishing every new acquisition. Even after
I met my husband – a man who found me both intelligent
and attractive, never assuming these qualities were mutually
exclusive – I was fixated on thinness. It didn’t feel like an
obsession at the time. I’ve always loved food and never dieted
but, looking back, I see just how much my need to stay slim
consumed my thoughts. At supermarket checkouts, I’d silently
compare the contents of my shopping basket with the person
in front, seeking reassurance in my healthier choices. I was a
stickler for natural foods long before clean eating arrived on
the scene. Porridge replaced breakfast cereals with their evil
hidden sugars, bread was strictly for weekends and I drank
green tea by the gallon. And when I fell off the clean-eating
BASKET WITH OTHERS
wagon, which was often, I’d spend the next week atoning
for my dietary sins with a draconian juicing regime. I rarely
weighed myself, but every time I passed a mirror I’d scrutinise
my size-8 frame.
It was no longer admiration from men I sought, but other
women. Friends reacted in different ways. Some told me I
looked amazing; others scolded me for being too thin before
lamenting the size of their thighs. Full disclosure? I welcomed
their insecurities. I have wonderful friends – smart, talented
women who inspire me every single day – but it can be
difficult celebrating the people you love when you feel you
don’t measure up. In my less charitable moments, I would
savour their envious glances when I showed up to a party
in my tightest pair of jeans.
We know skinny isn’t everything. It doesn’t make you
smarter or more loveable. Skinny doesn’t have the answers.
So why does the perfect body remain the Holy Grail? We
express outrage at body-shaming ads, but still want to look
good in a bikini. We’re scornful of the pressure piled on new
moms to snap back into shape after giving birth, but praise
our pregnant friends for having neat bumps. We tell brides
52 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
how beautiful they look on their wedding day and slap the
groom on the back for his speech-making abilities. We know
dress size says nothing about who you are or what you’re
capable of, but we silently revere those who keep their
weight in check. We’re conditioned to associate slenderness
with success. Almost as much has been written about
Michelle Obama’s toned arms as her achievements as the
former First Lady. One article claimed her sculpted biceps
were a ‘physical reminder of her ability to roll up her sleeves
and get things done’.
The skinny girl is the one kicking ass in the boardroom
in immaculate tailoring; she’s the senior exec who gets up
at 5am for a barre workout before the school run; she’s the
woman my uncle used to date (I later found out only a
handful of his girlfriends were financially independent).
The skinny girl has her shit together. But if this is true, why
did Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross admit that not
eating to stay in shape for work was a ‘living hell’?
I was thin for most of my adult life. My weight was the
only area where I felt I had any control. Even when my career
started going well, I continued to perpetuate the ‘skinny girl’
myth. When I discovered I was pregnant, I was determined
not to let myself go, but severe morning sickness in my first
trimester led me to take comfort in starchy white foods
– pasta, bread and childhood favourites like creamed rice.
Disappointment ran through me as the midwife checked my
weight – I had put on almost 5kg in three months, all those
years of discipline gone in just 12 weeks.
But after my first scan, everything changed. I saw this tiny
form wriggling on the screen and finally I got it. It’s not about
just me any more. With or without my help, my body was
going to give this baby a chance. It’s difficult not to admire
that kind of determination. So I decided to give myself a break.
I haven’t had the energy to exercise as often as I’d like
and my diet is more relaxed these days. I was away over
the weekend and tucked into things I rarely eat – fry-ups,
chocolate bars and fizzy drinks. Instead of fasting next week,
I’m going to try to make healthier choices – and if I slip
up again, so what? I’ll put on a little weight, but it’s hardly
a crisis.
I’m now seven months into my pregnancy and have filled
out all over. I don’t see bones when I look in the mirror
– I see strength. I’m no longer the skinny girl, and that’s okay.
My husband and friends tell me they’ve never seen me so
PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY STOCK
happy. And it’s true. I’ve realised my weight doesn’t define
me. I’m a good listener and an excellent timekeeper. I’m also
infuriatingly bossy and appalling at maths.
I am all things.
If I end up having a daughter, that’s what I hope to pass
on to her. Because real success is making peace with your
imperfections, not the size of the gap between your thighs. mc
 ps ycholog y

SORRY
NOT I
f it looks like
an apology and
sounds like an
apology, then
surely it must be
an apology, right? Well, not

SORRY
quite. Last year, a seemingly
endless stream of people –
from Hollywood producers
to politicians – queued up
to school us in the art of
the ‘fauxpology’, telling us
they were sorry for being
caught if their past
In our behaviour had offended
anyone. With so many
apologies flying around,
how did they manage to
get them so wrong? For the
past five years, journalist
Marjorie Ingall has been
co-running a US blog,
Sorrywatch.com, in which
she examines the calibre
of public apologies, and
she says she’s ‘never known
a period quite like this.’
We are in the midst of
a time when the need to
apologise is faster and
ps ycholog y

more furious than ever before,

as earthquakes ripple through
establishments from Hollywood
to parliament, and old certainties
relating to women, gender, class and
power begin to crumble, says Marjorie.
To unravel why we’ve hit peak
sorry, rewind to last autumn, when
movie mogul Harvey Weinstein –
following a damning New York Times
investigation – issued a statement to
the press. He blamed his behaviour
on having come of age in the ’60s
and ’70s when it was, by Harvey’s
logic, perfectly legitimate to sexually
assault women. Hot on his heels came
Kevin Spacey, who apologised if a
predatory incident with a 14-year-old
actor had taken place – he simply
couldn’t remember. This was closely
followed by comedian Louis CK
issuing a heartfelt 500-word apology
that somehow failed to include the
words ‘I’m sorry’. Add to this UK
cabinet ministers Boris Johnson
and Priti Patel, who were forced
to apologise for damaging political
mistakes within days of one another
(Priti followed her apology with her
resignation), and it’s clear that sorry
does seem to be the hardest word.
That goes for us mere mortals, too.
Karen*, a 39-year-old events
organiser from north London, had
felt increasingly upset by her close
friend Emma*, who would scroll
through her phone during their
meet-ups, barely listening to Karen,
even when the subject turned to
her mother’s poor health. ‘It was like
talking to a teenage boy with no social
skills – just rude,’ she says. Finally, one
night, Karen called her out with a text
to say she was hurt. ‘I felt sick as I hit
send because I’m not a confrontational
person, but I’d had enough,’ she
recalls. ‘I expected my phone to ring
right away. Two days later, I got a
message that said, “Sorry if that upset
you, I guess it’s just a habit”, and that
was it. I don’t know what was more
galling – the lameness of her apology
or the fact that it took her two days
to send it.’
Psychologist Harriet Lerner, author
of Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing
Big Betrayals And Everyday Hurts,
says Emma’s text was typical of
a modern-day ‘fauxpology’ – late,
insubstantial, insincere and fatally
hinging on the word ‘if’. ‘A good

54 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 apology focuses exclusively on the
behaviour you are apologising for
(“I’m sorry I told that joke at the
meeting. It was inappropriate.”) and
not on the other person’s feelings or
reactions (“I’m sorry you felt upset
by the joke. It wasn’t my intention
to offend anyone.”),’ says Harriet. With
the latter, there is no accountability.
You’re implying that the other
person’s reaction is the problem.
But when did we lose the ability to
admit when we’re wrong? Marjorie
believes the current trend for self-
care is enabling some people to let
themselves off the hook too easily.
‘Statements like, “I need to give myself
the benefit of the doubt” can be a
way of shrugging off responsibility.
Self-care is vital in a stressful time,
but that means seeing friends or
having a long bath – it doesn’t mean
not taking ownership of bad
behaviour towards others.’
Both Marjorie and Harriet agree that
humans have always had struggles
with sorry; only now we have the
platforms to watch them play out
‘SOME PEOPLE ARE
JUST NON-APOLOGISERS.
publicly. ‘We don’t want to accept
we’ve done a bad thing,’ says Marjorie.
‘Our minds do backflips to try to shirk
accountability or make it the other
person’s fault.’
Studies repeatedly show that women
say sorry more than men, and often
when they’re not even in the wrong.
PHOTOGRAPHS STEVE TANCHEL/RED HOT OPS
‘It’s men who don’t apologise enough,’
says Marjorie. ‘For women, it’s a tool
because some think that if they talk
like men they are perceived as bitches.’
New York Times bestselling author
Sloane Crosley says sorry is ‘a tactic left
over from centuries of women having
to couch basic demands in palatable
packages in order to get what we
want.’ In other words, we’ve been
saying, ‘Sorry, can I nudge you for that
spreadsheet?’ instead of, ‘I need that
spreadsheet’, as history has taught us # M A J O R FA I L S
that a sweet approach is best. Marjorie
believes the route to nailing sorry is to 1. THE ‘BRIGHT SHINY
apologise only when you’re truly in the OBJECT’ TECHNIQUE
wrong. It may sound obvious, but she’s Kevin Spacey rounded
convinced this simple rule is being off his ‘if this happened
overlooked by many over-apologisers then soz’ statement
in the race to never offend. Indeed, by coming out as gay,
we find ourselves in a call-out culture, which could be roughly
where one ill-advised tweet is met with translated as, ‘Hey
an army of outraged apology hunters. everyone, look at this
Some argue this is stopping true bright shiny object
instead!’ The move may
debate by limiting free speech; others,
have been designed to
Marjorie included, believe it’s no bad
distract and garner
thing that so many of us are choosing
sympathy, but all it did
our words more wisely. One positive was enrage the LGBTQ
side effect of this call-out culture is that community (and
we can now sniff out a dodgy sorry in everyone, frankly) for
seconds. ‘Millennials, in particular, can linking being gay with
see through bad apologies on social sexual abuse.
media,’ says Marjorie. ‘We may not
receive better from our public figures, 2. THE NO-BIG-DEAL
but we expect better from each other. FAUXPOLOGY
And the good news is that a genuine After leaked tapes
apology is simple to execute. You just revealed Donald Trump
have to say what you did, use the talking casually about
words “I’m sorry”, show that you grabbing women ‘by the
pussy’, the US president
issued a rare apology in
which he said, ‘This was
locker-room banter – Bill
Clinton has said far
worse... I apologise if
anyone was offended.’
This fauxpology does
the triple whammy
– it minimises the
offence, changes the
subject and refuses to
accept responsibility.
3. THE ‘IT’S ALL ABOUT
understand what you did was wrong, ME’ MEA CULPA
and offer to make amends.’ Harvey Weinstein’s
This may be easier said than done, public apology was
though. ‘Some people are entrenched inadequate and weird
non-apologisers,’ says Harriet. ‘They on a number of levels
wrap themselves in a blanket of (he quoted Jay-Z and
defensiveness and denial when moved the focus to gun
control) but probably
confronted with another person’s anger
most offensive was the
and pain. A true apology for something
fact that it was all about
important validates the hurt party’s
him. ‘I’ve brought on
reality by saying, “Yes, I was wrong, therapists and I plan
your feelings make sense and this will to take a leave of
never happen again.” A serious hurt or absence,’ he bleated for
betrayal requires many conversations, 200 words. This type of
where we listen without defensiveness apology is a complete
to what the hurt party wants to tell us, misire because it’s all
and [accept] that we carry some of the about the wrongdoer,
pain we’ve caused.’ mc not the victims.
* Name has been changed
 YOUR GUIDE TO CAREER SUCCESS

TRIED & TESTED:

FOR MORE
PERSONALITY
ASSESSMENT
ADVICE, VISIT
MARIECLAIRE.
CO.ZA

’m an empath. This is
something I’m hyper-aware
of. I am very in tune with
– and affected by – the
emotions and moods of
those around me. What
I didn’t know, though, is that
this is my number-one leadership
trait too – and that it’s actually a
positive characteristic to possess.
 How I discovered that this is my
main ‘theme’, as it’s referred to, was
through the CliftonStrengths® test,
a psychometric assessment developed
to help people discover their natural
areas of motivation and talent. The
test, developed in the USA and
locally available via Simon and Dee
Hurry (humanstrategy.co.za),
measures an individual’s unique
ranking of 34 Signature themes.
Each theme represents a core
motivational drive and associated
area of natural talent.
‘Theoretically, no two people
have the same rank order for all
34 themes, which is what generates
our uniqueness, as it is the
interrelationship between each
of the Signature themes and the
importance we naturally attach
to each of them that gives rise
to a person’s areas of talent and
behaviour,’ says Dee.  question cemented the fact that
Consisting of around 180
questions, the assessment asks you
to respond to hypothetical situations
with ‘strongly describes me’,
‘describes me’ and ‘neutral’. For
example, one of the questions runs:
‘I am good at figuring out how
people who are very different can
work together’ versus ‘I have a gift
for treating different people equally’.
You select the answer that best
describes you and the extremity
to which it does so.
 ‘StrengthsFinder is an extremely
accurate and accessible tool to
generate detailed knowledge of
who you are and why you do what
you do. It provides affirming insight
into a person’s core nature,’ explains
Dee. ‘It’s ideal for anyone searching
for insight into what they should
be doing with their lives, how to
become more productive, or for
understanding how to relate to
people better.’
With close to 18.5 million people
globally having taken the assessment
to date, it seems that knowing
yourself better is widely believed
to be the key to handling situations
more effectively, both professionally
and personally. 
 Following the online assessment,
I scheduled a one-on-one session
with Dee to run through my top five
‘core’ strengths, and to discuss what
this means for me and how it can
assist me in my day-to-day life. 
The 34 Signature themes all fall
within four categories: Influencing
(which is about how one moves
others and creates action), Executing
(processes and ‘getting the job
done’), Strategic Thinking (about
the ‘why and how’ one processes
information to make decisions), and
Relationship Building (how we form
connections with people). Four of
my top five Signature themes fall into
‘Relationship Building’, with one in
the ‘Executing’ quadrant.
 When I learnt that ‘Empathy’ was
my number-one trait, the first thing
I blurted out to Dee was ‘Is that
a bad thing?’
‘What would make you think
that?’ she asked.
The irony was that my very
the assessment was spot on. As an
empath and a relationship builder,
I was concerned that perhaps this
was a weak trait to possess. I was
hyper-aware that I was being
‘analysed’ (to a certain degree) and
felt like I had failed the ‘test’.
The truth is actually the contrary.
According to Dee, empaths (and
relationship builders as a whole)
are often overlooked in a team, but
are imperative as they are the ‘glue’
that holds employees together.
 ‘The thing to remember is that
everyone possesses all 34 themes,
it’s just the intensity of each that
varies, which is what defines your
key strengths. The key point here
is that you are who you are, it’s what
you try to do with it, how you apply
and master who you are, that
determines our success.’
So how can individuals use the
results to better themselves in the
workplace (and at home)?
@work
‘The tool itself and associated reports
provide insight. The next step is
where I come in,’ says Dee. ‘What
I do is help people apply their results
to their given context. My clients
range from professionals wanting
a greater understanding of who they
are and how they “work” in order
to grow their achievements and
maximise their potential, to teenagers
looking for insight into what they
should be studying, and couples
wanting to understand each other
better. I take an individual journey
with each client. The agenda or
outcome is largely driven by the
client’s needs. Essentially we get
there when we get there.’
Following my consultation with
Dee, I took a few days to process
the insights I was given and I was
actually left feeling better about
myself, confident in my top themes
and validated. It’s not about pointing
out your weaknesses, but rather
identifying your strengths, and using
them to better the way you work and
interact with others. And that’s really
improved my outlook. My next
session with Dee is pending – and
I can’t wait to find out more about
how I can use these findings to
sharpen my skills, understand my
leadership style, and apply the
findings in a tangible way. mc
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 57
@work

WANT TO TAKE THE TEST YOURSELF?

S T R E N G T H S F I N D E R FA Q
WITH DEE HURRY Want to learn more about what makes test wherever you are in South Africa,
you tick and where your strengths lie? and Dee will provide feedback and
What are the common misconceptions Human Strategy is offering three Marie assessment via Skype, or, if you
about psychometric assessments? Claire readers the chance to take the reside in Cape Town, in person.
‘Most people tend to dislike how they test themselves. Because the questions Visit marieclaire.co.za/win for
can “type” or “box” you. We are complex are accessed online, you can take the more information and to enter.
people, and while being reduced to
a colour or a few letters may be useful
in some contexts, these can also lead to
being judged and limited by others. This
is where SF is different – the assessment
describes who you are in all your
nuances and uses no “types” or other
ways of characterising you, it simply
describes your most natural patterns of
behaviour, and I then interpret these
patterns and help people to apply them
more usefully and productively.’

In your personal experience, what do most

people feel or note after taking the test?
‘It all depends on whether the results
conform to their expectation of who they
are, or feel they need to be. Some people
are initially surprised and may even
disagree but after a feedback session
almost always come to that wonderful
“aha” moment when all is revealed.’

What are the biggest success stories you

have heard from people who have taken
the test and ‘changed’ their course?
‘The biggest success stories and my
moments of greatest delight are when
someone I am chatting to experiences
a profound moment of joy and relief at
knowing that they’re okay, and that they
now have choice as to what they would
like to do with their talent. We are at
our most powerful when we understand
our own worth and I’ve seen how this
realisation has transformed people’s
careers, relationships and perceptions
of themselves.’

Is StrengthsFinder only suitable for

working professionals, or can it relate to
other spheres of life, for example helping
someone better understand and manage
their personal relationships?
PHOTOGRAPHS GALLO/GETTY

‘Keep in mind that SF identifies why

you do what you do. We take our natural
patterns of behaviour with us wherever
we go, so it can be applied in any
circumstance in which knowing why
you do what you do can add value
to your life.’
DENIM JACKET
R5 895
MICHAEL KORS
fa n

IN RETROSPECT
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Saudi Arabian designer
MOHAMMED ASHI talks
to EDWAIN STEENKAMP
about his lifelong love of
fashion, and creating some
of the most spectacular
gowns seen on the red carpet
 fa shion insider

fantasy
 hen Cardi B stepped onto
the red carpet at the 2018
Grammy Awards wearing
a snowy Mohammed
Ashi creation, it was one
of those rare moments
when I fell in love with fashion all over again. Seldom
do you find a designer who will push the limits of form,
while remaining faithful to wearability and beauty; it’s what
makes his creations so breathtaking. Speaking to the man
behind the dress, it was perhaps no surprise that he is every
bit as interesting as his creations. Curious and inspired,
Mohammed Ashi is a true craftsman.
‘Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a fashion
designer,’ Mohammed tells me. In Saudi Arabia, where
he grew up, there was very little opportunity for cultural
exchange, and so television would become one of the
strongest influences in his childhood, offering him a gateway
into the outside world. 
‘I remember I was about 11 when we got satellite
television at home for the first time. I was able to watch
all the popular things of the time, like music videos on MTV
and soap operas like Dynasty. I used to watch that show
just to see what Alexis Carrington would wear,’ he says.
Mohammed admits that there were times he would even
skip school to watch television.
‘I was stuck to that screen,’ he says, ‘and I studied
everything I saw on it. It was as if a blind man could
suddenly see. My childhood was built around the images
PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED BY ASHI STUDIO

that I saw on American TV – not just listening to Madonna

but seeing her in front of me. Being exposed to a different
culture, one that was so foreign and so free, really opened
up my mind.’
His love of fashion eventually led him to study at the
prestigious École supérieure des arts et techniques de la
mode in France. His talent was apparent very early on and
he was soon spotted by Franca Sozzani, the late editor-in-
chief of Vogue Italia, who widely praised his work. He then
joined Elie Saab’s atelier in Lebanon, where, as the chief

8800MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA
MARIECLAIRE CO.ZA APRIL
JUNE 2018
2018
 fa shion insider

accessories designer, he helped create ready-to-wear and

Haute Couture collections. In 2007, he opened Ashi Studio
in Lebanon (where he is still based today), later debuting
his first ready-to-wear women’s collection at the 2009 Beirut
AW Fashion Week. He has since become known for his
sublime colour palette, his incredible architectural garments
and his use of different materials and textures. 
‘These structural shapes give the feminine figure a certain
edge and they also praise it. I feel that a woman’s body
transforms the materials and truly illustrates its different
dimensions.’ It’s a romantic way to look at his creations,
and Mohammed admits that he is a romantic at heart.
‘I believe everyone is, even the people who refuse to admit
it. My love of beauty does not only reflect my romanticism,
it also reflects how I try to bring my fantasies to life.’ 
These days, Ashi Studio creations are worn by some of the
biggest names in the entertainment industry. Janelle Monáe
wore a layered and embroidered black dress at the 48th
NAACP Image Awards; Tessa Thompson was resplendent in

’
a romantic cream dress at the 24th Gotham Awards; and at
the 2017 Oscars, Ava DuVernay wore a dazzling steel-grey,
floor-length gown. One of his creations even made it on to
American Horror Story, worn by Lady Gaga.
When I ask him what it is that inspires these creations,
Mohammed simply answers that it’s the world around him.
‘Contrary to what people may think,’ he says, ‘my inspiration
doesn’t solely come from my Arab background. I find
inspiration in everything that surrounds me, especially the
arts, music, nature and different cultures.’ 
We talk about the Middle East and about the creative
talents that are on the rise in the region. ‘The creative scene
is definitely booming here, especially in Lebanon. The rising
number of Arab designers influencing Hollywood is a good
example of that.’ Beyoncé recently wore a bold, metallic
creation (dubbed the ‘Sphinx abaya’) by Lebanese designer
Jean-Louis Sabaji, and Dubai-based Lilian Afshar’s accessories
have been worn by celebrities including Kendall Jenner.
And, of course, there is the old guard, who have long played
a pivotal role in the fashion world – names like Elie Saab,
Zuhair Murad, Georges Chakra and Reem Acra.
Looking to the future, Mohammed says Africa will be the
next ‘it’ destination for fashion. ‘Africa is a big continent
that has so much potential, raw talent and undiscovered
opportunities. It also has a lot of fashion-forward people,
and I believe it deserves way more coverage than it is
currently receiving.’ mc

JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 89

 INTRODUCING
A NEW GENERATION OF
AGE-SPECIFIC SKINCARE

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY IN
FOSCHINI STORES AND SELECTED SALONS

www.agewellskin.com
 beauty

EYE
CANDY
These make-up trends chase the rainbow.
No winter blues here...
WORDS AND ST YLING SOPHIE QURESHI
PHOTOGRAPHS FELICIT Y INGRAM
D O U B LE
TAKE
Colour is back, and this season,
one shade just isn’t enough
 beaut y

SUNNY SIDE UP

Yellow probably isn’t your current go-to blush colour, but hear us out. When combined with coral,
it brightens the skin and gives a sun-kissed glow that’s much more striking than bronzer. Start under
the outer corner of your eye and use an angled contour brush to sweep yellow powder over your
cheekbones. Then, follow with the coral colour below, blending it towards the apple of your cheeks.
Finish by using a clean brush to merge the two shades seamlessly together. Not convinced? Try coral
with pink instead of yellow – you’ll get the same lifting effect, but fewer quizzical looks.

JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 93

beaut y

TWIN SET

Who says both your lips should be the same colour? The two-tone trick is also a great way of creating
more even-looking lips. Choose two tonal colours and use the lighter shade on the upper or lower lip
– whichever is smaller. The look requires considerable precision, though, so arm yourself with a fine-
tipped lip brush and make sure you clean in between applications, or you’ll just end up with a hot mess.
To set the colours and avoid having to forgo food and drink all day, hold a single-ply sheet of tissue over
your lips and dust loose translucent powder over the top.

94 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

BLEND IN
Trouble making decisions? We say why constrain yourself to a single eyeshadow
when you can hedge your bets and create lids as pretty as these. We opted for
lilac and mint, and took both colours all the way up to the brow bone; but for
a subtler take, fade them out just beyond the eyelid crease. Stipple on the mint
shade with a fluffy brush so that the colour is diffused, then blend it from the
inner corner of your eye to the centre of your eyelid. Next, load on the lilac,
fading it out to nothing at the outer corner. Finish by using a clean brush to
blend the two colours together. Dreamy, no?
TWO BLUE
Consider forgoing your usual black liner this season in favour
of something more standout – a flash of brilliant turquoise offset
with accents of lighter blue, for instance. Eliminate any unwelcome
associations of blue eyeliner by keeping the colour to the lower
lash line only. Trace along the waterline and lower lashes with pale
turquoise pencil, then blend with a small, flat-ended eyeshadow
brush to soften the colour. Next, outline the tear duct with a brighter
azure pencil, continuing beneath the eye to hug the line you’ve
already created. For a brave, modern finish, skip mascara and just
hold your chin up.
 beaut y

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Photographer
N I Q U I TA B E N T O

b athroom
CONFIDENTIAL

NIQUITA BENTO
Photographer
MY GO-TO MORNING
PRODUCTS ARE...
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It contains AHAs and
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2. Filorga Scrub & Mask
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3. Mario Badescu Rose
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has really helped with
my hyperpigmentation.
I’M NEVER WITHOUT...
The Aesop Resurrection
Aromatique Hand Balm
(R390) and The Body Shop
Honey Bronze Shimmering
Dry Oil (R295).
MY 10-MINUTE MAKE-UP
KIT INCLUDES...
MAC Prep and Prime Fix+
(R320), Bobbi Brown BB
Cream SPF 35 (R565) in
summer and Make Up For
Ever Ultra HD Foundation
(R895) in winter. I can’t
leave the house without
using Maybelline Fit Me
Concealer (R110), NYX
Professional Makeup
Micro Brow Pencil
(R153), Maybelline Master
Strobing Stick (R182)
and MAC Extended Play
Lash Mascara (R275).
I always complete my
look with Benefit Dew
The Hoola Bronzer
Swatch Palette (R475).
beaut y
TOP HAIR ESSENTIALS
1. Moroccanoil Dry
shampoo (R415). I have
oily hair so this is an
absolute must for me.
2. L’Oréal Elvive
Extraordinary Hair oil
(R190). I use this every
day on my ends and
I put a few drops in
my hair masks.
3. Moroccanoil Glimmer
Shine Spray (R360). This
finishing product enhances
shine and gloss.
WHEN I WANT TO GLAM
IT UP I USE...
The power of a strong
lip. Bold-red and dark-
berry tones are my
absolute favourites.
MY SIGNATURE
FRAGRANCE IS...
Zadig and Voltaire Just
Rock! 100ml (R1 460)
is my everyday scent.
I switch it up with Byredo
Mojave Ghost 100ml
(R3 900) on date nights.
THE BEST SKINCARE
ADVICE I’VE EVER
RECEIVED IS...
To treat yourself to
facials at least once
a month.
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 99
beaut y
RENEÉ DE WIT
Make-up artist
MY GO-TO MORNING
PRODUCTS ARE...
1. Dermalogica Special
Cleansing Gel (R859)
2. Matriskin Vitamin
C 5% Serum (R1 455)
3. Matriskin TR5
Cream (R1 925)
4. Environ RAD
Sunblock (R230)
I prefer vegan or organic
skincare, and Matriskin
is both. It also has anti-
ageing benefits.
I’M NEVER WITHOUT...
Sensai 38˚C Mascara
(R353). Even when I don’t
have on any make-up, I
will always wear mascara.
MY 10-MINUTE MAKE-UP
KIT INCLUDES...
I use the Smashbox Photo
Finish Iconic Primer Stick
(R500) followed by La Mer
The Soft Fluid Long Wear
Foundation (R1 720).
I then use Sensai Loose
Powder (R845) to set. I use
Bobbi Brown Long-wear
Gel Eyeliner (R380) along
the lash line followed by
Sensai 38˚C Mascara
(R353). I wear Chanel
lipstick on my cheeks
and lips; I usually opt
for a peach tone. I fill
my brows with Benefit
Goof Proof Brow Pencil
(R355) and set them in
place with MAC Brow
Set (R275). My favourite
highlighter is Smashbox’s
Spotlight Palette (R550).
I always contour using
Smashbox Contour Trio
(R670) and I bronze with
Chanel Soleil Tan De
Chanel (R705).
TOP HAIR ESSENTIALS
1. Balmain Paris Hair
Couture Volume Shampoo
(R575) and Conditioner
(R575) – both are
sulphate-free
2. Balmain Paris
Texturising Salt
Spray (R545)
3. Balmain Paris Argan
Moisturizing Elixir (R545)
WHEN I WANT TO GLAM
IT UP I USE...
A pop of colour on the
lips, preferably a red,
paired with corner lashes.
Chanel and MAC have the
best red lipsticks.
MY SIGNATURE
FRAGRANCE IS...
Atelier Cologne Trefle
Pur 200ml (R3 600), but
I also adore Byredo Sunday
Cologne EDP 100ml
(R3 900) & Acqua di Parma
Colonia Eau de Cologne
Intense 180ml (R3 750).
THE BEST SKINCARE
ADVICE I’VE EVER
RECEIVED IS...
Environ creator Dr Des
PHOTOGRAPHS VALENTINA NICOL COMPILED BY NCUMISA MAKHONJWA
Fernandes once advised
me not to smoke, and to
always wear sunscreen on
my neck, chest and hands.
MY TOP HAIR TRICK IS...
To avoid heat damage,
I use the Dyson
Supersonic Hairdryer
(R6 500), as it cuts your
blow-drying time in half.
For amazing beach
waves, separate hair into
four sections, gently twist
and pin up in balls using
a hairpin.
I’M BEST KNOWN FOR MY...
Bold, matte-red lips.
 ‘CHANEL
AND MAC
HAVE THE
BEST RED
LIPSTICKS’
 ur hormones affect us
more than we may realise.
They give us energy, keep
us happy, help us sleep,
control our hunger, regulate periods,
ensure ovulation, control menstrual
symptoms and, of course, contribute
to conception and pregnancy.
Amazingly, there are more than
100 hormones working hard this very
minute to keep you feeling healthy,
and when the balance of just one
hormone is disrupted, it can affect all
the others. This can result in irritability,
depression, anxiety, painful or irregular
periods, weight gain, acne, fatigue,
insomnia, hair thinning, digestion
issues and fertility problems. And while
you should always consult a health
expert if you suspect you might have
a hormone imbalance, there are some
simple lifestyle changes you can make
to help keep your hormones happy
and healthy.
Reduce your stress
Stress can impact nearly every area
of our health, including hormones.
Balance chronic stress and an
overactive sympathetic nervous
system by learning to say no, so
you stop overcommitting yourself.
Other measures to take include short
mindfulness sessions before bed;
making time for regular walking;
minimising your caffeine, sugar and
alcohol intake; and ensuring you’re
eating a nutrient-dense diet. Liquorice
tea is great for supporting adrenal
gland health; aim for two cups a day.
Use a water filter
It’s important to drink water that
is as fresh and pure as possible.
A filter can ensure your H2O contains
no unwanted nasties from ageing
household pipes, or any biological
contaminants, such as parasites.
Filtered water also tastes better.
102 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
HORM
Eat organic food
Look for an organic delivery service
or visit your local farmers’ market.
This will reduce your exposure to the
hormone-disrupting chemicals that are
often sprayed on commercially farmed
fruit and vegetables. Aim to eat only
organically produced meat and poultry,
and dairy from animals that are not
treated with steroids and antibiotics.
Wash your fruit and veg
Wash and peel your produce to remove
external chemical, organic and wax
residues. A simple rinse under cold
water often isn’t enough to remove
fat-soluble residues – try a solution
of three parts water to one part apple
cider vinegar.
Exercise regularly
Sweating eliminates all kinds of
chemicals that would otherwise exit
the body through your bladder and
bowel. Exercise also helps calm the
mind and gives you a good, happy
hormone buzz, which is beneficial
to your overall health.
Support your liver
Eat foods that help your liver to detox,
such as asparagus, spinach, pumpkin,
watermelon, pears, potatoes, broccoli,
cauliflower and other cruciferous veg.
Increase your intake of garlic, shallots,
onions and chives, as they stimulate
glutathione production and help to
protect the liver.
Avoid cans and plastics
Many plastics and the linings of cans
contain BPA, a chemical that has been
identified as an endocrine disruptor.
Consume hot drinks in a ceramic mug
and avoid takeaway coffee cups, which
have a plastic lining. Instead of using
plastic wrap, purchase biodegradable
bags from health stores, and use glass
cookware in microwave cooking.
Get enough sleep
Adequate rest is essential for
happy hormones. Encourage
a good sleep routine by going
to bed and waking up at the
same time each day. Make your
bedroom as dark as possible
and reduce clutter and electronic
devices beside your bed (in fact,
avoid digital distractions for at
least half an hour before bedtime).
Drink a cup of chamomile or
valerian tea in the evening and,
before sleeping, take 10 deep,
slow breaths with your eyes
closed to relax after the day.
Use milder
cleaning products
Look for cleaning products that
are 100% natural and organic.
Alternatively, make your own
products using white vinegar and
bicarb – you’ll be amazed how
well they work and how much
money you’ll save.
Fill your home
with plants
Some common household
plants can actually help to clear
the air. For example, the peace
lily (Spathiphyllum) is a low-
maintenance indoor plant that
helps to reduce mould and
actually removes chemicals
from the air. The bamboo palm
(Chamaedorea Seifrizii) is also
great at improving air quality.
PHOTOGRAPH TRUNK ARCHIVE
An edited extract
from Healthy
Hormones by
Belinda Kirkpatrick
and Ainsley Johnstone
(Murdoch Books)
R324, Takealot.com
wel lne ss
compet it ion
Montusi Mountain Lodge is a tranquil
LZJHWLZP[\H[LKVUHTHNUPÄJLU[
1 000-hectare conservation estate,
alongside the Drakensberg’s majestic
Amphitheatre escarpment. Space,
comfort and peace await. Explore
a mountain path on horseback, go
Å`ÄZOPUNJ\YS\W^P[OHIVVRVU`V\Y
private patio or take a refreshing swim.
Experience life on nature’s doorstep.
For more information, visit
Montusi.co.za or connect
on social media.
Montusi Mountain Lodge
montusi_lodge
t Accommodation for three
nights for two people
t All meals and a bottle of Vrede
en Lust wine per dinner
t An adventure activity (horseback
ride or a cable tour)
t A couple’s massage
1. To enter, and to see full
terms and conditions for all
Marie Claire competitions, visit
Marieclaire.co.za/win and use
the keyword MONTUSI or
2. Scan the QR code to enter.
This competition closes 30 June
2018. The prize is not transferable,
PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED
is non-refundable and cannot be
redeemed for cash. The prize is
not redeemable over peak periods.
Prize excludes all drinks, personal
expenses, flights and airport taxes.
 @play
aloji’s life has been
as interesting and
layered as his
W H O , W H A T, W H E R E , W H E N

sound. Born in the

Democratic Republic
of the Congo to a Belgian father
and Congolese mother, he spent
his formative years with his father
in Europe, where he was often
at odds with his environment.
Through his experiences, he
gained a deep awareness and
understanding of identity and art,
which has filtered into his music.
In the early ’90s, Baloji formed
the Belgian hip-hop group
Starflam with his friends, and they
released their self-titled debut
album in 1998. The band worked
on several albums together before
Baloji decided to quit the industry
altogether in 2004. It was the
discovery of a letter from his
mother, whom he hadn’t seen
for over 20 years, that sparked
not only a return to music, but
a return to his roots. Shortly
afterwards, he released his first
solo album, 2008’s Hotel Impala.
Now, 10 years later, he has
a string of acclaimed albums to
his name. His latest, 137 Avenue
Kaniama, is perhaps his finest
yet – it’s ground-breaking, ambitious
and African in every sense. 
PHOTOGRAPH KRISTIN-LEE MOOLMAN

F I
Baloji is back and better than ever
I baloji
@play
THE WEEKND
My D ear Me la n ch o ly, PODCASTS
The Weeknd is back, and
with his ultra-sensual new
EP, there’s no need to go
outside – we’d rather stay
in bed listening to him sing
about love in all its complexity.
Expect dark but soothing
sounds throughout. ‘Call
Out My Name’ and ‘I Was
Never There’ are highlights,
but every one of the six tracks SUSAN
is worth repeated listening.  CALMAN’S
We only wish there were more. MRS. BRIGHTSIDE:
A CHEERFUL
CHLOE X HALLE TA K E O N
The K i d s A re A l ri g h t DEPRESSION
Depression is still
This album is perhaps all you
a dificult topic to talk
need on your playlist right
about and, because it
now. Chloe and Halle Bailey comes in so many
have woven together one of variations, people often
the inest contemporary R&B misunderstand it.
albums of the last few years, In this BBC podcast,
with standout songs like Scottish comedian
the title track and ‘Down’ Susan Calman invites
becoming instant classics. guests to open
With their debut studio album up about their
already a massive hit, we can’t experiences in an
wait to see these talents grow honest and often
and conquer the industry. humorous discussion. 

DIAMOND THUG
A p ast r on
This album is dificult to conine
to one genre – perhaps that’s
why iTunes named Diamond
Thug one of its favourite music
acts. At times folksy, at other
times dream pop, this 12-track
release is delightfully weird T H E D A I LY
and fresh, with lyrics that TELEGRAPH’S
are nothing short of poetry. EIGHT MINUTES
‘Quietly Become’ and ‘The – WHO KILLED
Descent’ are both excellent DAVID
for those exploring new and BRECKENRIDGE?
alternative sounds. In this podcast,
The Daily Telegraph
investigates a crime
CARDI B
that caught the
Invas i o n o f P ri v a cy
attention of the world,
Since she dropped her
but quickly disappeared
single ‘Bodak Yellow’ in 2017, into obscurity. In 2002,
Cardi B has become our David Breckenridge
obsession. Finally, after an called a friend from
impossibly long wait, she’s a Sydney pay phone
released her irst studio to arrange getting
album, Invasion of Privacy. together to watch a
Where do we even start? rugby match. Eight
How about with ‘Be Careful’ minutes later, he was
– undoubtedly our favourite dead. So many
track, oozing with all the right questions have been left
kinds of attitude we have unanswered, and there
come to associate with Cardi. is still a killer to catch. 

106 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 osipho’s thriller, Nommer 37,

GO TO
MARIECLAIRE.
CO.ZA TO READ
N is one of the most highly
anticipated local films of
2018. On screens 1 June, it tells the
OUR FULL
story of a wheelchair-bound man
INTERVIEW who witnesses a crime, and tries
WITH NOSIPHO to use the incident to his advantage
– but at what cost?
Te ll u s a little b it a b o u t
yo u r lo ve o f film …
I am a storyteller at heart and
someday I will probably explore
all forms of storytelling, from theatre
to writing a novel. Film however
provides an opportunity to be a
magician, to make the impossible
suddenly possible in a very
collaborative way.
No m m e r 3 7 is in Afr ik a a ns.
W h a t m o tiva te d th a t d e cision?
I had originally written the film in
English. But the more I worked on
the script and began to look at casting,
the more I felt that the story was not
working to its fullest potential. The
subculture portrayed in Nommer 37
is predominantly Afrikaans-speaking
– some things just can’t be translated
sufficiently to English. Furthermore,
I believe that the story should
transcend racial and cultural barriers.
I am far more interested in building
bridges than walls that divide.
Is the rest of your family creative?
My father and several of his brothers
were writers and musicians, and my
older sisters and cousins also learned
music. The rest went on to become
academics or entrepreneurs. I believe
that at that time, there were fewer
possibilities in the arts for people of
colour; it’s only been in my generation
that the creative arts have been seen
as a viable career option in my family,
and that’s largely due to the sacrifices
and efforts on our parents’ side.
Ou tsid e o f film a n d w r iting, wha t
o th e r p a ssio n s d o yo u h a ve?
This will sound so clichéd but I am
passionate about both music and
5 MINUTES WITH dance – the only problem is I can

Nosipho do neither.
W h ich o th e r a r tists in sp ire you?
I’ll start with a woman who was a
national icon but perhaps not a role

DUMISA
model in the traditional sense of the
word – Brenda Fassie. As a child,
I was obsessed with her. I knew all
her songs and her dance moves too.
My family used to call me ‘umabrrr’.
@play

HEREDITA RY ISLE OF DOGS ON CHESIL BEACH

Grab your friend, lover,
mother – anyone within arm’s
reach – and settle down for one
of the scariest ilms of 2018.
Annie (Toni Collette) suspects
that a presence has remained
after her mother passes away.
Terriied but determined, she
has no choice but to face
an inherited evil.  to an island illed with rubbish.  fear of intimacy.
 On screens 15 June
No one does aesthetic drama
quite like Wes Anderson. He’s
once again teamed up with a
stellar cast (including Scarlett
Johansson, Greta Gerwig and
Tilda Swinton) to bring to life this
heartwarming and hilarious
animation about a dystopian
future in which dogs are banished
On screens 22 June
Lovers of period ilms, this one
is for you. On Chesil Beach,
based on the masterpiece by
Ian McEwan (Atonement and
Saturday), is set in the ’60s
and tells the story of a newly
married young couple whose
relationship is threatened by
Florence’s (Saoirse Ronan)
On screens 22 June

OCEAN’S 8
Perhaps one of the most anticipated films on our list, we couldn’t be more excited that
Ocean’s 8 is finally here. With a line-up of some of our favourite female actors, including
Sandra Bullock, Mindy Kaling, Cate Blanchett and Rihanna, this comedy is a must-see.
A group of formidable women plan to pull off one of the most ambitious heists
9=179>12<5B?229>71>13DB5CC?>D85B5431B@5D?6D851>>E1<#5D1<1 È
On screens 22 June

108 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018


Book CLU
1. THE EYE
Fo tog r af iska (t eN eu es, p r ic e on r equ e st)
A bible for aesthetes, The Eye is a beautifully curated
collection of more than 250 images from 84 of the world’s
best photographers, including Ellen von Unwerth and Anton
Corbijn. While showcasing iconic photography from decades
gone by, the book also celebrates new and rising talents.
1 2
LEFT
From The Eye,
Holding Vanessa
by Cooper
& Gorfer 2017
2.THE GIRL WHO SMILED BEADS
C le m a n tin e Wa m a r iy a a n d E liz a b e th Weil
( Pe n g u in R a n d o m Ho u se , R 3 2 0 )
An incredible story of survival amid some of the
greatest evils committed in recent African history,
The Girl Who Smiled Beads tells the story of young
Clemantine, who was forced to lee her country in
the wake of the Rwandan massacre. Migrating from
nation to nation, she was subjected to countless
cruelties, but survived against all odds. A heart-
wrenching and insightful read. 
3 . A N N I H I L AT I O N
Je ff Va n d e r Me e r ( Ha r p e r C o llin s, R 2 1 4)
In this gripping and at times truly unsettling novel,
author Jeff VanderMeer crafts a contemporary
science iction masterpiece. Four women set
out to explore a mysterious phenomenon that
threatens life on Earth. Venturing into a place known
simply as Area X, they have no idea of the dangers
facing them. Once you’ve turned the last page,
watch the ilm version, available on Netlix and
starring Natalie Portman.
4 . E V E R Y N O T E P L A Y E D 
L isa Ge n o va ( Pe n g u in R a n d o m
Ho u se , R 2 8 5 )
From the acclaimed author of Still Alice, this novel
takes us once again into the world of a person
betrayed by their own body. Richard, one of the
world’s most celebrated pianists, succumbs to
a neurological disease that leaves his right arm
paralysed. Now he must come to terms with his
new life, and the impending spread of the disease.
Deeply sensitive and at times heartbreaking, Lisa’s
prose has raw honesty and compassion. 
3 4
@play

O
ne of Africa’s
most prominent
creatives and a
Marie Claire 2018 Image
Maker, Trevor Stuurman
has released an incredible
new photo series titled
‘Teleporting Into Africa’.
Over the past six years,
Trevor has actively shaped
a large part of the local
creative scene, and has
become one of the most
celebrated artists on the
continent. On the topic of
his creative beginnings, he
says it all started on paper.
‘My first creative outlet
was drawing. The very
first pictures I started
taking were with my
phone’s camera. That was
where it all began for
me.’ Today, his aesthetic
is distinct and defined,
a major feat in the visual
digital age. Discover
‘Teleporting Into Africa’
and more of Trevor’s
work via his Instagram.
trevor_stuurman

FABRIC IN COLLABORATION WITH VLISCO MAKE-UP LESEDI LEKETI & JANINE HORSLEY HAIR BOMZI LEKGORO
THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPH TREVOR STUURMAN ASSISTANT OBAKENG MOLEPE STYLING RICH MNISI

TREVOR STUURMAN

Teleporting into
MODELS THANDO HOPA, KOFI APEA-ADU

AFRICA
 @play

WE’RE IN LOVE WITH STRIKING

DESIGN THIS WINTER

Dive into the illusion of an upside-

down canopy of trees with this rug.
Boersen & Lukacs Liquid Maple
Rug (300cm x 400cm) POR
Create a talking
Cremadesign.co.za
point on any
coffee table.
Porcelain pot
R299 H&M Home

Ceramics are the

perfect way to
introduce colour into
your home. Ceramics
POR Mervyn Gers
COMPILED BY EDWAIN STEENKAMP PHOTOGRAPHS COOPER & GORFER, DEBORAH ROETS/SOUTHERN GUILD,
EMMA SVENSSON, INEZ VAN LAMSWEERDE & VINOODH MATADIN, GETTY AND GALLO IMAGES, SUPPLIED.
ALL PRICES AND RELEASE DATES ARE CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRINT

Add a little drama

to your cheese
A contemporary
platter with
piece of art
these knives.
brings life to any
Cheese knife set
space.
R250 Poetry
Justine
Comfort is the
SCAN VIA Mahoney
ultimate form
‘Heroine’
of luxury.
SHOP THIS POR
Oslo chair R7 250
PAGE ONLINE Southern Guild
Skinny laMinx
M a r i e C l a i r e ’s f i r s t
ANNUAL IMAGE
M A K E R S AWA R D S e v e n t
h o n o u r e d S o u t h A f r i c a ’s
B E H I N D -T H E - S C E N E S
fashion-industry ICONS
and the NEW GUARD
Marie Claire, celebrities and guests gathered at Room
-P]LPU1VOHUULZI\YNVU4HYJOMVYV\YÄYZ[
annual Image Makers awards, turning the camera on the
people who are most often behind it: stylists, make-up
artists, hair gurus, fashion designers and photographers.
In conjunction with ALDO’s Go for Bold campaign, guests
had the chance to view the new vibrant ALDO range and
pose in front of the stunning hedge photo wall that ALDO
curated. Guests were treated further with The Singleton
as their welcome cocktail. The ever-stylish Nomzamo
Mbatha was the MC for the evening and, with the help of
Marie Claire fashion director Tarryn Oppel, handed over the
awards to our 2018 Image Makers winners. Guests then
danced the night away, along with the hottest and most
PUÅ\LU[PHSWLVWSLPU[OLMHZOPVUPUK\Z[Y`

THE WINNERS OF THE 2018

IMAGE MAKERS AWARDS
Icons
1. Stylist – Louw Kotze
2. Photographer – Ulrich Knoblauch
3. Fashion designer – Marianne Fassler
4. Hair stylist – Saadique Ryklief
5. Make-up artist – Clara Chimeloane

The New Guard

1. Stylist – Kwena Baloyi
2. Photographer – Trevor Stuurman
3. Fashion designer – Rich Mnisi
4. Hair stylist – Bomzi Lekgoro
5. Make-up artist – Kelly Paitaki

#MCImageMakers2018
repor t ba ck

Opposite page, clockwise from

top left: Image Makers winners;
Tarryn Oppel, Nomzamo Mbatha
and Emilie Gambade; Tshepi
Vundla; Lesego Ntsime; Trevor
Stuurman and Marianne Fassler
This page, clockwise from top:
Tshepi Vundla and Rich Mnisi;
Nambitha Ben-Mazwi; Trevor
Stuurman; Trevor Stuurman,
Kwena Baloyi and Saadique
Ryklief; Kwena Baloyi and
Clara Chimeloane
This page
The Arc de Triomphe
is intricately carved
and stands 50m high
Opposite
The breathtaking
view of the Eiffel
Tower from Les
Ombres, on the
roof of musée
du quai Branly
 PH OTO G RA PH S LYNET TE B OTHA US ING
THE NEW HUAWEI P20 P OWERED BY L E ICA
travel

CLOCKWISE
FROM LEFT
Warm and cosy Lino
bistro; historic Hôtel
de Crillon looks out
over the Place de la
Concorde; love locks
on the Seine; beautiful
architecture abounds;
toasting to the weekend
with French wine from
the suite at Hotel Du
Collectionneur; a view
over Paris from Hyatt
Regency Étoile.

f I needed
another
reminder that
climate change
is real, I got it
when I landed
in Paris on
26 March 2018.
Far from spring
in the French
capital, a
blustery chill
wrapped its
cold around
me as I stepped
off the plane at Charles de Gaulle.
On a whistle-stop media trip with
Huawei for the brand’s international
P20 and P20 Pro phone launch,
there were still no complaints from
my side – because Paris is always
a good idea.
I decided to stay on a few extra
days in order to have my sister and
niece join me from London, and we
explored the great city on foot,
via taxi, by boat and bus. But with
one day on my own, between the
launch activities and my sister
arriving, I made the decision to
worry less about having a bucket list and more
about just enjoying the area and surrounds that
I found myself in, which happened to be the
8th Arrondissement, one of the 20 administrative
districts in the capital city. My base? Hotel du
Collectionneur. Part of the Preferred Hotels
and Resorts group, this five-star art deco, grande
dame of a hotel transports you right back to the
1930s with its decor and charm. Situated within
walking distance of the Arc de Triomphe and
the famed Champs-Élysées, it is the perfect base
from which to explore the highlights of Paris.
First stop – coffee. Being a foodie in Paris is
one thing; being a vegan foodie is quite another.
The city of love is many things to many people,

116 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018


WHILE YOU’RE
I N PA R I S . . .
SEE...
The exquisite Hôtel de
Crillon. If you can’t afford the
accommodation rates at one
of the most luxurious and
historic hotels in Paris
(housed in a building dating
back to 1758), save the
budget and pop by for high
tea instead. The decor,
service and delicious treats
will not disappoint.
BOOK...
A shopping tour in Saint-
Germain-des-Prés with
Greets Paris, during which
you’ll visit some of the most
incredible boutiques while
learning more about their
history and design aesthetic.
Greets Paris also offers other
unique experiences in Paris
– from gastronomy and the
art of living to art and culture.
Greetsparis.com
E A T. . .
Lunch at Spoon 2 (25 Place
de la Bourse) and enjoy
dinner and drinks at l’Alcazar
(62 rue Mazarine) for a
unique taste and experience
of true Parisian hospitality.
GO TO...
Les Ombres, on the roof of
the musée du quai Branly,
for an uninterrupted view
of the Eiffel Tower, best
experienced at night when
the tower is lit up.
FOR MORE...
Vist Parisinfo.com, the
oficial website of the Paris
Tourism Board, before your
trip for additional not-to-be-
missed things to see and do.
GETTING
THERE...
Air France offers daily
lights from Johannesburg
to Paris, on an Airbus A380
or Boeing 777.
There are three direct lights
available per week from
Cape Town to Paris on
JOON, a subsidiary airline
of Air France.
Within France, Air France
lies to 25 cities from Charles
de Gaulle or Orly airports.
To book your light,
visit Airfrance.co.za
travel
but it’s tough out there for the plant-based
among us. After repeatedly requesting soy or
almond milk with my coffee in various quaint
delis around the area (to quizzical retorts of
‘Pardon?’), it was at Starbucks that I found my
double-latte-almond-milk fix.
Wrapped up in a thick Melton coat, scarf
and boots, I walked the frosty streets of the
Champs-Élysées, taking in the sights and
sounds, until I reached the towering Arc
de Triomphe, where I joined the throng of
passersby staring up at the grandiosity of the
famous monument. With its neoclassic design,
intricately carved sculptures and sheer size
(it’s 50m high), the Arc was originally built
between 1806 and 1836, to honour those who
fought for France, in particular, those who
fought during the Napoleonic Wars. Engraved
on the inside and at the top of the arch are all
the names of the generals, and battles fought.
Beneath the vault of the arch there are further
inscriptions and curiosities, including a tomb
of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
For a view worthy of a postcard, the next
stop had to be the Hotel Raphael’s famed
terrace, which is often referred to as a
suspended garden in the sky. The family-owned
hotel is a must visit, not only for the best
uninterrupted views of the Arc and the Eiffel
Tower, but also for its history and antiques
collection that has been built up by its owners
over 100 years. The hotel was home to Cary
Grant and Audrey Hepburn while they filmed
the 1963 romantic comedy Charade, as well as
a much-loved escape for other celebrities of that
era, including Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Steve
McQueen and Roger Moore.
Having worked up an appetite during the
morning escapades, I hotfooted it to Gentle
Gourmet – the house of vegan gastronomy
– whose mission it is to combine the finesse
of French cuisine with an ethical and ecological
approach. And they do just that... The menu
changes from season to season, but dishes from
the spring menu included a main of tagliatelle
JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 117
travel
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with a list of sites to tick off – the Eiffel Tower
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sight (after unintentionally circumnavigating the
Arc de Triomphe twice, much to my niece’s
frustration and my sister’s and my amusement),
we followed the steeple until we reached its
base. While contemplating whether we should
join the Easter-weekend queues and go up or
rather get coffee and croissants, we were conned
by someone ‘collecting money for the children’
and accidentally photo-bombed numerous Eiffel
Tower selfies. In the end we didn’t go up the
tower, and I opted instead to buy my niece
a beret (as you do) and some really cheesy
postcards to send home to family and friends.

118 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 travel

With no time to waste, we set off to the Seine

for a boat cruise with Bateaux Parisiens just as
it started to drizzle. A boat trip is a great way to
take in the city, gliding down the river, beneath
its bridges, and passing some of its most famous
sights (like the Grand Palais and Notre-Dame
de Paris), with detailed commentary available
via audio in 14 languages.
We had snacked on frites and Nutella
pancakes on the pier before we gave in and
decided to splurge (R450 for a 15-minute ride)
on an Uber back to the hotel, which we made
up for with a ‘hotel picnic’ of olives, French
bread, hummus and wine for a late lunch.
Très chic.
My Huawei P20 notified me of the 15 000+
steps I took that day – a far cry from what my
body is used to with my desk-bound 9-to-5
– so the late afternoon was spent at leisure in
the hotel, with a visit to the executive lounge,
which offers an opulent yet relaxing atmosphere,
fitted with a large-screen TV and a decked
terrace with beautiful views.
While walking around on our last morning
in Paris, we jotted down a list of what we hoped
to achieve in a matter of mere hours – breakfast
CLOCKWISE FROM
in the neighbouring Parc Monceau, placing a
TOP LEFT ‘love-lock’ on one of the bridges over the Seine,
Almost 10 million mastering the bus system, and getting ourselves
people visit The to The Louvre and the Notre-Dame de Paris,
Louvre annually, for
good reason; Lynette before enjoying lunch in bustling and vibey
taking in the Eiffel Saint-Germain-des-Prés, with enough time to
Tower at sunset; the return, pack and head to the airport.
ceiling of the Grand
Palais, the location We managed to tick off all of the above
of the oficial Huawei – although I’m not sure ‘mastering’ would be
P20 and P20 Pro a true representation of how we navigated
international launch;
the entrance to the (read: got lost) on the bus route; c’est la vie,
Grand Palais on we had a jam-packed, fun day, full of laughs
launch day; and reminiscing, at the end of which was
a bright and
interesting gallery
a tearful goodbye.
wall at one of the I’m not sure when next I’ll get to see my sister
shopping malls; and niece, but the memories we made during
looking out over
The Louvre’s
our short time together were priceless – and
courtyard from we’ll always have Paris. mc
Café Orly.

JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 119

MAD E /W W F 0 4 0 1
 The world through the eyes

YAYO
K
Yayoi Kusama with
‘Dots Obsession –
Night’, Tokyo, 2008
 life stor y

USAMA
W O R D S E D WA I N S T E E N K A M P
life stor y

he world through Yayoi

Kusama’s eyes can be an
overwhelming place. Her
art, though breathtaking,
is at times terrifying, as it
reveals a mind burdened
with severe anxiety,
trauma and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Regarded as one of the most important
living contemporary artists, the 89-year-old
has spent most of the past four decades
in permanent residence at Seiwa Hospital
for the Mentally Ill in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Ironically, it is there, mostly hidden from the
outside world, that she has created intimate
connections with people around the globe. 
Yayoi was born in 1929 to parents trapped SCAN VIA
in a loveless, arranged marriage, whose
volatile relationship would go on to scar DISCOVER
her for life. Yayoi’s father felt emasculated by YAYOI’S
the fact that he married a woman of higher ART
status and had to take her surname, so he
spent very little time at home. He was
a womaniser, which left her mother bitter
and abusive towards her children. As a child, Yayoi would be place as one of the
sent by her mother to spy on her father’s extramarital affairs, prominent avant-
sometimes witnessing him in the act. These visuals would garde artists of the
result in her lifelong obsession with and abhorrence of sex time. She detested
and the male body, themes that are very present in her early the patriarchy; war
soft sculptures, depicting phallic shapes. and conflict even
At around 10 years old, Yayoi began experiencing more so. These
intensely vivid visual and auditory hallucinations, including intense feelings
hearing flowers speak to her and seeing patterns in fabric were evident in all
come to life. As a way of coping, she poured herself into aspects of her life
art and writing, drawing repetitive patterns as a method of but especially in
‘self-obliteration’, the only way she could soothe the severe her art, which she
anxiety she was experiencing at the time. was producing at
Soon, Japan was in the midst of World War II, and at only an incredible rate.
13 Yayoi was sent to work in a factory, sewing parachutes Her talent as a
for the military for 12 hours a day. She spent these formative painter, performer
years of her adolescence in constant fear, US fighter planes and installation
droning overhead. Despite war crippling her country, and her artist was becoming
life coming to an abrupt halt as a result, Yayoi continued to well known around
make art as a means of personal mental survival. New York. In 1962,
In the years following the war, it was clear that Yayoi was she started work
at odds with her environment and family. Though her family on her famed
forbade her to study art, she refused to compromise and ‘Infinity Rooms’
began to study the Japanese Nihonga style. However, she – chambers filled
soon found the style and tutelage restrictive, and abandoned with strategically
her studies. The oppressive conservatism of Japan, and her placed mirrors and colours to create illusions of space.
mother’s insistence that a woman should be settled down as Thanks to these, and works like her ‘Infinity Nets’ paintings
a housewife, alienated Yayoi. After a correspondence with and performances such as ‘Anatomic Explosion’, her
famed American artist Georgia O’Keefe, Yayoi decided to reputation as a bold and innovative artist was secure. 
leave Japan for New York City in 1957, which at the time was However, some were not so sure. In 1966, Yayoi became
the heart of the art world. It would prove to be a defining the most scandalous figure in the international art world.
decision for Yayoi; there, she was free to explore her creativity Despite not being invited to the Venice Biennale, she
and womanhood without limitations. crashed the event and peddled 1 500 cheap replicas of
In the late ’50s and throughout the ’60s, Yayoi embraced her larger orb installations for $2 a piece, as a commentary
the rapidly growing ideology of the hippies as she took her on the commercialisation of art.

124 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018

 CLOCKWISE
FROM LEFT
‘The Eternal Love I Have
for the Pumpkins’, 2016;
Yayoi in New York circa
1964; ‘Flowers That Bloom
Tomorrow’ in the gardens of
Chatsworth House, England,
2011; a wax igure of Yayoi
on display during the Louis
Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama
Collaboration unveiling.

Yayoi had one Japanese pavilion of the Venice Biennale. Since then, Yayoi’s
great relationship striking art has fascinated the world, and she is now as much
during the ’60s. an art world celebrity as she is an artist. 
Joseph Cornell With a dazzling aesthetic like Yayoi’s, it isn’t hard to imagine
was 26 years her that she would be drawn to fashion. In 1968, she started her
senior, and the own label, Kusama Fashion Company Ltd, with designs being
two shared a close sold at giants like Bloomingdales. Although the company
bond that Yayoi eventually folded, her love affair with fashion was far from
later described over. Her 2012 collaboration with Louis Vuitton (then under
as ‘passionate’. the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs) was a surreal fusion of
However, Joseph, art and fashion. Her signature polka dots adorned luxurious
like her, had a fear silk scarves, trench coats and bags, and would go on to
of sex, and theirs become one of the most significant collaborations by the
was an asexual French fashion house. 
relationship. When Yayoi has said many times that without art she would have
he died in 1972, killed herself a long time ago. Through her work, which she
it was a loss Yayoi still produces at an unbelievable frequency at nearly 90, she
would mourn for has been able to deal with the severe traumas of her past. She
years to come, and still doubts whether she is a great artist, but, with death just
one that would around the corner, she won’t slow down. mc
inspire her art.
By 1973, her mental health was deteriorating so rapidly,
she was forced to return to Japan to seek treatment. In 1977,
Yayoi Kusama’s 2018 exhibition ‘All About
PHAIDON AND JONATHAN BALL

she checked herself into the Seiwa Hospital, and has been
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF

My Love’ saw her art inally celebrated in

PUBLISHERS, GALLO/GETTY

a voluntary resident to this day. With her studio situated her hometown of Matsumoto, in Nagano,
nearby, she was able to continue working on her art – one Japan. This follows a series of major
of the few outlets for her severe anxiety. What followed exhibitions in Toronto, Brisbane and Tokyo.
Her life and incredible body of work has
was a period where she was all but forgotten by both the also been recently documented in a new
Western and Eastern art worlds. book by Phaidon, Yayoi Kusama – Revised
Then, in 1993, she returned to prominence, becoming and Expanded (available in South Africa
through Jonathan Ball Publishers, R950).
the first-ever artist invited to mount a solo exhibition in the
horoscope s
Just as the Solstice arrives, you will be revitalised with
celestial energy. It’s a clear cosmic signal that if you apply
your resources, and work hard, many of the visions you have
for your future can begin to be realised. Be ready to shine
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CANCER
(23 Jun – 23 Jul)
There’s plenty to keep you busy
this month. The challenge will be
working out whether to follow
your heart or your head – they
won’t always agree! Even if you
focus on the cerebral, remember
that your feelings are such an
integral part of your personality,
you can’t afford to ignore them. For
more, go to Cainer.com/marieclaire
LEO
(24 Jul – 23 Aug)
June is action-packed. You can
put on a charm offensive that
could turn your worst enemy into
putty in your hands. Yes, there will
be moments of drama. No, not
everything will go your way. But
you’ll inish the month with almost
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VIRGO
(24 Aug – 23 Sep)
We are sociable animals. And
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attention, your support networks
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cosmic focus is on relationships.
With a willingness to accept other
people’s visions, progress can
be made. For more, go to
Cainer.com/marieclaire
126 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA JUNE 2018
– 22
ay
M establish new levels of trust and
Ju
22
n
GE
LIBRA
(24 Sep – 23 Oct)
Insanity is doing the same thing
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ingenious twist to the same thing to
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It’s frustrating when you push
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 on the roa d

ECO RIDER
Remember when every Hollywood actor drove
a Prius? We’ve come a long way since then…
JULIET McGUIRE recommends three ‘green’
cars available in South Africa right now T I P S T O S AV E F U E L
The price of petrol is out of your
hands, but you can aim to
ill up less often. Here’s how:
F I AT 5 0 0 T W I N A I R P O P
t

STICK TO THE SPEED
F R O M R 606 800

Fiat’s TwinAir Pop isn’t in quite the same LIMIT. Not only is speeding
league of fuel eficiency as the other two illegal, driving fast also
vehicles on this page, but it’s certainly a consumes more fuel.
more affordable option. And with a fuel
t

53"7&-
-*()5
Remove all
consumption of just 3.8L/100km, you can unnecessary items from your
rest easy knowing you are doing your bit car. Too much weight can
for the environment as well as your wallet. put a burden on the engine,
which requires more fuel.

t


1-"/
:063
53*14

#&55&3
Avoid travelling
F R O M R 194 900

during peak trafic times.

If you’re running errands,
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With a 0.0L/100km fuel consumption and destinations as possible.
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greener than this. The BMW i3 was launched in MYTHS
South Africa two years ago and made waves
t

*54
#&55&3
50
*%-&
Not
with its funky good looks and environmentally true, especially over extended
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of course the one to choose, but if the thought car and starting it again uses
of being stuck on the side of the road with no less fuel than idling will.
battery power is too much to handle, there is t

5011*/(
:063
5"/,

a Range Extender version which combines an 4"7&4
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Cars have
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This may look like a beast of a luxury it is already full.
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of a tiny hatchback. With an electric '6&-&''*$*&/5
 This may
motor at the back and a turbo- and have been true decades ago,
supercharged engine at the front, but automatic vehicles have
the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine offers improved dramatically in
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JUNE 2018 MARIECLAIRE.CO.ZA 127

absolut e e ssent ia ls
W AT C H
MOTSWAKO
W E D N E S D AY S
AT 8 : 3 0 P M
ON SABC2

I’M A B S O L U T E LY
OBSESSED WITH…
handbags, which I consider
to be a girl’s best friend.

IN THE MORNING…
I start with a cup of Lipton
Green Tea and get my son,
Alu, ready for school.

IN MY
BATHROOM
YOU’LL
Sechabag FIND…
Babôr
ReVersive
Overnight
Mask, Nimue
Sun-C
SPF40, Avène
Better known as Sechaba G, this Cleansing
Foam and a
RADIO PERSONALITY, seasoned whole lot of
I’D NEXT LIKE Jo Malone
TO TRAVEL TO… MC and VOICE-OVER ARTIST products.
Croatia with its scenic
coastal views, or Rome recently added ‘presenter’ to her CV,
with its ethereal ruins
and awe-inspiring art
joining SABC 2’s MOTSWAKO
and street life. for the show’s 19th season

COMPILED BY LYNETTE BOTHA PHOTOGRAPHS ISTOCK, SUPPLIED

ON MY BEDSIDE
TABLE IS…
my Inglot lip oil, a box
of tissues and my
Marc Jacobs watch.

MY FAVOURITE SONG I’M C U R R E N T LY

AT T H E M O M E N T… READING…
is a classic hit by Amel Larrieux called We’re Going To Need More
‘No One Else’ from the album Morning. Wine by actress, activist
and author Gabrielle Union.
 INTRODUCES

Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18.

 TAG Heuer Boutiques; Sandton City & V&A Waterfront. Also at selected fine jewellers nationwide. For further information please call 011.669.0500. www.picotandmoss.co.za

Discover more on Youtube and on tagheuer.com/cara

«Lions to me symbolize bravery», Cara Delevingne

TAG HEUER CARRERA LADY

Shot in real conditions by David Yarrow