Pageant judge’s style is on fleek
In 2015 he was named best male stylist in Mpumalanga during the Beauty, Fashion and Music (BFM) awards that were held at the civic centre in Mbombela.
MBOMBELA – It has been said that fashion fades, but style lasts forever and so our very own local fashion guru, Martin Mkhaliphi, shares his creativity when it comes to dressing to kill.
We will get close and personal with Martin, who is well known as a judge in the Miss Mpumalanga Beauty Pageant as he tells us more about his “free style.” Martin admits that he loves clothes even though he is not a conventional fashionista.
He maintains he has style and believes that it is important for men to dress smart. He has no special boutique where he buys his clothes since he believes style is foremost and not fashion.
“I just mix my clothes and I buy at every store including Edgars, Mr Price and Truworths. I am a simple person but sometimes I buy my clothes from Dubai and Turkey.” Mkhaliphi admits that when it comes to good clothes, he can’t resist buying them.
He also has a weakness when it comes to shades and shoes.
He owns 100 pairs of shoes, has 30 sunglasses with different shapes and also has a large belt collection.
“I enjoy collecting clothes and consider myself generous,” he says. “Sometimes I post on social media that I’m in a generous mood, and if you’re lucky, I will give you a suit or something else.
“Sometimes I give to members of my family as well, but I don’t give away my watches since they are very close to my heart in a way that I can’t even explain.
” Having a good taste in clothes helped Mkhaliphi attain a finalist position in the Mr South Africa competition of 2000 and also opened doors for him in the modelling industry as a part-time model.
In 2015 he was named best male stylist in Mpumalanga during the Beauty, Fashion and Music (BFM) awards that were held at the civic centre in Mbombela. He confides,
“Being a finalist groomed me a lot and helped me to learn a few things regarding clothes and balancing colours, which is very important when you really want to look smart.
The journey opened my eyes to different aspects of my life and now I coach young student models who are doing a great job in the modelling industry. Some of them have participated in local fashion shows. People must just watch this space, I have more plans in the pipeline but it would be premature to talk about them now.”
He also says wearing tailor-made suits and carrying men’s bags are fashionable,
“People have the perception that when a man is carrying a bag, that he is gay. That is not true, men’s bags are in fashion, it helps you to be well organised. You know that your cellphone, cars keys and other important articles are in one place,” he concludes.
