South African Stylist Phupho Gumede K Talks Style, Dreams and the Kampala Fashion Scene

Styling the entire cast of a reality show cannot be an easy task, but for 23-year-old Phupho Gumede, this was right up his alley. The South African stylist was in Kampala over the weekend for the ‘denim and diamonds’ edition of Abryanz’ Kampala Style Brunch. He rocked a denim two-piece by Mickyz Designs paired with a glistening crystal choker. I caught up with him the next day before he got his flight back to the south to talk fashion and his journey in the entertainment industry.

Watch the full interview here.

On Styling Zari Hassan for Young, Famous and African:

When styling Zari, we did a lot of blazers, a lot of tailoring, because it’s Zari the Boss Lady. I wanted to give that CEO vibe, but also keep it very, very high fashion… It was hard for the whole cast to share me since a stylist is very close to you and is responsible for your look. They all wanted to be my top priority. Zari would sometimes call me at 11pm and be like, “I know we’ve already had it fitting, but I’m really worried about tomorrow’s, shoot.”

On the Ugandan fashion scene:

I love how Ugandans take fashion seriously. I love it so much. You can see in the events they host, like the Kampala Style Brunch, you have events like the ASFAs; the magnitude of fashion events in Uganda Uganda is humongous compared to South Africa. So I vibe with that.

On beginning his career at 11:

I always say to people; it takes a long time to become an overnight success. My first gig that was, I’d been trying to convince my sister (Ayanda Ncwane) to allow me to dress her for a red carpet for 2 years since I was 11, and in my head it made sense. I’d do sketches and then this one time, she actually loved one and then she had a made. It ended up on the red carpet at the summers. And was one of my first best dressed.

Dream styling clients:

Kim Kardashian. Of course. Who else? Oh, I would die! The things I would do to Kim Kardashian? The whole universe would gag if I’d get the opportunity to style Kim. Like, the whole universe would be on a standstill because I would have so many points to prove.

But again, Lady Gaga would be a dream! Lady Gaga carries clothes so well. She transforms with each garment. She comes with the character. It’s not just the hair, the makeup, the clothes. She embodies what she needs to be. So that would be a dream for me.

Favourite item to wear:

I love a white t-shirt. Every time I see a white t-shirt, it’s like I’m seeing it for the first time. I’m so gagged. I know white t-shirts hate to see me coming. I’ll always get one.

atwiine@satisfashionug.com