HAILING from Namibia’s southern neighbour, South Africa, Theo Ngobeni is a man who is all about style, etiquette and living a life befitting of a true gentleman.
If this man sounds familiar, it’s because he embodies most of the characteristics of Namibia’s own dapper dandy, Lourens ‘Loux’ Gebhardt. Together, the pair were responsible for styling the male presenters at the NAMAs who looked positively handsome on Friday and Saturday.
Speaking to Theo, who is also known as ‘Mr Slimfit’ in style circles, I was overwhelmed by the sheer elegance that this man exuded. Fresh suit, despite the fact that it was well past midnight (I interviewed him at the NAMAs after party), eloquent and looking more like a model just off a fashion shoot.
A fashion blogger, stylist as well as a trendsetter of note, Theo has started a gentlemen’s movement which he hopes will spread further than his home country. Lucky for us, Loux has that covered in Namibia.
Theo has a CV that is fast gaining impressive credibility, having worked on fashion campaigns for Destiny Man magazine and as a stylist for clothing store C-Squared.
It was for their outstanding headway in changing the face of Southern African men’s fashion that the pair were tasked with dressing the NAMAs male presenters.
Because of their efforts, it could very well be said that the male presenters on both nights looked even better than their female co-presenters. They rocked well-fitted, well-tailored suits with accessories that complimented the women next to them.
“The first thing we did was speak to the production team to find out what the theme is.
We also tried to avoid too much blue so it didn’t clash with the blue carpet,” says Theo of their preparations for the NAMAs. He adds that what’s most important in styling is listening to clients and delivering what they are comfortable in, not only what you want. “You must understand that they have a brand and you must also realise that sometimes a client is scared to try something new.”
This understanding and patience with clients probably played a big role in dealing with one of the presenters who refused to be dressed by them.
“He refused to wear our suits but after seeing how good the others looked, he agreed to have us style him with our accessories, which was all we could do as we had no suits for him,” says Loux.
“Namibians are still a bit conservative, which is understandable,” says Theo, who adds that men being visual beings makes it difficult for them to believe they could look good in something until they see someone wearing it, or they wear it themselves. “The biggest thing with men’s fashion is education.
They like visualising so you as a stylist need to demonstrate how good something could look,” he says. One of the biggest selling points to get men into the best suit possible is to remind them that “suits are to women what lingerie is to men,” Theo adds on a naughty note.
With feedback on their work at the awards being mostly positive, it will be great to see the two work on more projects together, especially with the upcoming opening of Namibia’s own branch of C-Squared.
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