Obakeng Rantlhane charms celebs with magic touch

Who do you call when you are Young, Famous & African to set the sartorial stage and serve some reality show realness? Well, SA maven Bonang Matheba and Nigerian bestie Swanky Jerry had stylist Obakeng Rantlhane on speed dial for their extravagant wardrobe selections for the second season of the Netflix show.

Creating new personal identity through the lens of fashion is what the 25-year-old personal shopper is fast becoming known for. It comes easy if as early as five years old you were already obsessing clothes. For Rantlhane that love was first sparked by his mother, who used to bring home a big shopping bag filled with clothes and ample items to pick from.

While dressing up is more of what he enjoyed about clothing, a very young Rantlhane saw himself channelling and crafting the art of styling, making him a household name in the fashion industry today.  Fast forward to 20 years later, the custom consultant from Burgersdorp, in the Eastern Cape, has turned it into a career. 

"I’ve been a fan of Bonang since I was in primary school. So, I went in there thinking ‘I’ve studied this lady, I know what she wants, I know her style,’ only for me to get there and see that she’s a human being. She knows what she likes and she’s a perfectionist," Rantlhane says.

"Since Bonang has worked with so many stylists both locally and internationally, I knew I had to bring it. She and I would bounce off ideas or pictures of what style direction she'd like to take.  

"It was quite easy for me to tell whether Bonang loves a look I put together or not, solely from her facial expressions. She was vocal as well...  she'd often say: 'OMG, this outfit is eating!' or 'Oh no! I don't like this look'. So, it wasn't hard for us to establish a rhythm in terms of how and what she wanted to look like." 

Rantlhane admits styling the two stars was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, experiences he’s ever had. In the 12-episode reality TV show, he styled Matheba for the first two episodes and Jerry for the last four.   

"Coming from a high of dressing a perfectionist such as Bonang, I was kind of mentally prepared to style a fashion designer such as Swanky. He understood my thinking when it came to a concept look and he was very accommodating in guiding me on how to best dress him," he says.

"Styling Swanky felt like I was working with my fashion godfather who taught and showed me more than what I had initially bargained for." 

Over the years, Rantlhane has cultivated an impressive list of celebrity clients and headed up several high-profile projects. He was previously head stylist for Living the Dream with Somizi and has  also collaborated with Pearl Thusi, Thandiswa Mazwai, Nia Brown and Lula Odiba. 

“Growing up I used to love denim jeans, corduroy pants and tops... every time there was an event at home, my family and I would dress up in matching outfits, so that was fun for me. However, when I went to boarding school, my interest in fashion grew even more as I would read and get inspired by magazines such as Elle and Glamour,” he says. 

“I was in grade 6, so I couldn’t afford the magazines... I’d always wait for my grade 9 friends to be done reading theirs and I’d then ask them to lend me the mags. I used to love indulging in fashion spreads and fashion inserts. I think I was training my eye to know what’s hot and what’s not.”  

Having no formal background in fashion design, Rantlhane prides himself on his ability to sketch clothing, something he learnt while he was doing his secondary phase at the International School of SA in Mahikeng, North West.  

“One day one of the matric girls saw a sketch drawing of a dress I drew and she fell in love with it. She then asked me to help out with her prom outfit and I did. She later won best-dressed girl. Imagine, I got to dress a girl in grade 12 when I was only in grade 10. Come to think of it, she was actually the very first person I helped style,” Rantlhane says.  

“The following year when I was in grade 11, I helped dress another girl and during my matric year, I was styling a larger number of girls at my school. I also helped organise their makeup, hair and outfits. So, when I moved to Joburg in 2017, I made it my plan to continue my styling career and make a name for myself.” 

With his path in the industry fairly new, yet quite impressive, Rantlhane hopes to one day work with Blood & Water star Ama Qamata.