The Wave
As a reader, I want you to think of this column as a guide to youth culture, maybe not the voice of the youth, but a guide that highlights all the waves that are surfed by the various creators/artist in the Upper Highway area.
This is a youth cultural column that dives into the deep-end of the latest trends that relates to the cool kids and the not so cool kids. I am Lusanda Khulani Luthuli, I’m a multimedia journalist, youth cultural fanatic, social media enthusiast and most importantly, a wavy dude.
Slang dictionary: Wavy/Wave – Made popular by New York rapper Max B, wavy simply means something that is cool/hip/trendy e.g – “Hey man, that’s a wavy outfit you’ve got on there “. or “Everyone is vegan right now, it’s the new wave”.
Streetwear culture is alive and well in the Upper Highway area and these two Instagram pages provide its young fashion lovers the most convenient way to purchase the best vintage, high-end garments.
Before.Us Clothing and Citizen Clothing provide a similar service with the same target market. Although both brands have the same goal, they run their businesses in their own unique way. Before. Us Clothing was started by Thomas More old boy, Jonathan Morgan and Curro Hillcrest old boy, Rorke Stainton.
The two fashion-loving friends met at Varsity College, Westville, and started the business by integrating their skills in photography and thrifting.
Morgan explains:“We both really like fashion and Rorke is good at photography, I’m good at thrifting clothes, so we collaborated. We both love the street-clothing industry and we both said let’s start this”.
The creative duo feel that their Instagram thrift account is different from its competitors due to their progressive marketing skills. Stainton says: “ To grow the page in a short amount of time, I think its been 8 weeks, and we’ve gained over 1700 followers, which is quite decent for a thrift business. We got people (influencers) in who have a large following on Instagram to promote our stuff”. Morgan added: “I think our marketing is a lot better than most thrift pages, with the way we set our page up and because we have promoters”.
Citizen Clothing by Troy Davey has been around since 2017 and the Westville Boys’ High old boy behind the brand explains how it started of as an extension of his own style. Davey: “I wanted to re-sell clothes but I didn’t want to sell things just for the money, I wanted to sell clothes that have a certain aesthetic and style”.
Davey feels like the Upper Highway needs more creatives, Davey explains: “For anyone who’s trying to sell any forms of art, you need to make use of Instagram and other platforms, the area needs people who are just willing to try and put their work out there”.
Follow them on Instagram: @citizen_clothing_ and @before.us.clothing
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