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Editor's Letter: Happy Heritage Month

My first year at SMag was also about honouring the past, embracing the present, and celebrating the future. Here is how we did that…

Emmanuel Tjiya S Mag Editor-in-chief
Editor-in-chief of SMag Emmanuel Tjiya. .
Editor-in-chief of SMag Emmanuel Tjiya. .
Image: Simz Mkhwanazi

This issue marks a year since I’ve taken the helm of this magazine. Bear with me as I borrow a leaf out of the book of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw. In the finale of the lacklustre first season of the Sex and The City revival, Carrie struts to the Pont des Arts in Paris in candy-coated Valentino couture to scatter her the ashes of husband, Mr Big (Chris Noth).

Her ball gown is not the only dramatic thing about the scene — in the Carrie-est way possible she fittingly found an Eiffel Tower-shaped urn purse. It’s a romantic moment, perfectly scored by US musician Todd Rundgren with the serene lyrics, “Hello, it’s me. I’ve thought about us for a long long time…”

While the scene is breathtakingly cinematic, searingly poignant, and a fashion fantasy, it’s the words that her character utters at the end that stay with me. “The more I live, the more I find myself mystified.”

Those words sum up my first year as SMag editor. While I quickly found my rhythm, I haven’t entirely figured it out and I don’t intend to. Where is the fun in that? At times, nothing makes sense, as is often the case in life.

But the beauty of approaching life in such a way is that you are kept on your toes and open to taking risks. I’ve made new discoveries, pushed myself in ways I never imagined, created new joys, and mirrored it all back to our readers. No two issues have been the same; each came with its own challenges, which I welcomed. I became a warrior of change because I wasn’t afraid to fail.

Now, for the tea…

One of my favourite amapiano artists, Kamo Mphela, was supposed to be on the cover. Conversations with her management were fruitful over her fronting our Heritage issue. Unfortunately, on the day of the shoot we were informed she was not going to make it after she had “missed her connecting flight to SA from Paris”. 

It wouldn’t be an SMag cover shoot without a surprise and lots of drama, I jokingly said to my team. While in the beginning it was, of course, a nightmare, it soon turned into a blessing in disguise. As soon as I let go of the plan I had carefully curated, I found a solution right in front of my eyes.

A day before, musician Sio became the talk of the town after featuring on a Spotify billboard in Times Square, New York. So, when Kamo dropped out, I thought, “Why not Sio?” We called her and explained our situation.

She didn’t think twice and within an hour she was on set and in makeup. She was not only a pleasure to shoot but also a consummate professional — her aura lit up the set. Upon arrival, she thanked me for the opportunity. I was perplexed, because she was bailing us out — and, above all, this was a woman making waves in New York.

After the shoot, she thanked everyone on set for capturing her quirky personality and explained that, working as a model, she often had to adopt different characters on sets. “This is the first time I’ve just been captured as myself,” she said as she thanked me once again for the opportunity after the shoot.

Sio, I’m sharing this story not to drag Kamo down at your expense — I strongly believe the timing was not right for her and I will not rest until she’s on a future cover.

Sio, we didn’t do you a favour, you deserve this and everything coming your way. It’s your time, shine! You have a very bright career ahead of you. Unearthing such stars is in the DNA of SMag and we pride ourselves on being part of your trajectory.

I’d always known of Sio, but on set I serendipitously discovered her sound. Her music is dope and she truly is a hidden gem. I’ve been blasting her music since that day and I strongly recommend songs such as 1000 Memories, Forbidden and Alchemy as part of your Heritage Month playlist.

My first year at SMag was also about honouring the past, embracing the present, and celebrating the future. Here is how we did that…

December’s Celebration issue explored how exciting the future is. We looked at amapiano as the future of local music, and our cover star Shudufhadzo Musida was styled like a divine sci-fi princess draped in white David Tlale for the S1981 collection.

The Freedom issue in April, fronted by filmmaker Mmabatho Montsho, was a blast from the past. She was a pink diamond thanks to a voluminous Erre jacket, combined with OTT hair and daring eye makeup, all of which screamed 1970s hippie disco. In the same spirit, Umlando hit maker Toss challenged fashion norms by modelling gender-bending clothing.

The June Youth issue was about the now and inspired by TV show Euphoria. We embraced Gen-Z fashion trends and beauty aesthetics such as glitter makeup, Y2K style, body positivity, and protecting our mental health. We also zoomed in on toxic masculinity.

We stayed in the present a while longer with August’s Women of the Year issue, which was all about sisterhood and girl power. Who better to represent that than our cover star Lamiez Holworthy? She posed topless for SMag as a way to reclaim her power, strength, and body as she turned 30. She is fearless, fierce, and fabulous — as are the other trailblazing women featured alongside her.

The Heritage issue is premised on 1990s redux and kasi swag through the lens of kwaito. We are paying homage to how the genre that emerged when apartheid ended became a force that shaped (and continues to shape) fashion, culture, and youth.

The spirit of popular kwaito groups Trompies, Boom Shaka, Alaska, TKZee, Aba Shanté, and others is all over our pages. Gen Z warriors Lemogang Tsipa, Thembinkosi Mthembu, and Senzo Radebe from the anticipated Shaka Ilembe series bring it all to life.

What is next? I don’t know, but stay tuned, SMaggers!