Sometimes fairytales are not stories about dashing hunky princes on horseback riding in to save the day, sometimes, fairytales happen in unassuming office blocks where dreams come true in a flash from a co-workers camera.
That’s the fairytale of Sakhile Masinda, a realisation that age and circumstance are not a hinderance to grace big brand advertorials like Avon and Levis. A chance photoshoot lead to the unfolding of a beautiful story of a young man from Orlando East- Soweto who loves fashion and fashion loves him back he so much so he decided to set up a fashion label with a friend and called it House of SAXO a play on the his name and that of his business partner- Xolile in 2016.
Sakhile’s fairytale is not a story of fairy godmothers with magical wands and pumpkins turning into carriages, it’s a testament to hard work and determination, finding space and occupying it, learning and adapting. It’s a story of resilience from those Upendo Pictures photoshoots taken at Soweto’s iconic mine dumps dressed in a fusion of ibheshu and a tuxedo to the Prince Tribute stills in black and white and grayscale that show his uncanny resemblance to the late true King of Pop.
At the height of the global pandemic Brand : Sakhile Masinda was unveiled, the logo subtle with a spherical image resembling the irises of his big brown eyes and the camera lens. Like all fairytale this one too had it’s dark character lurking in the alleyways intent on bringing harm and painting Sakhile’s rainbow black in an obvious homophobic attack that lead to a collapsed lung and months of slow recuperation. This attack is what gave Sakhile a renewed sense of being and like with all fairytales that storm washed away the darkness and the rainbow re-appeared in the form of the Levi’s advertorial.
Sakhile appears in a classic oversized denim jacket, his eyes fixed on the camera. His bouffaint cut and well trimmed beard showing his fervent determination to represent his tribe. The world stood up to notice and Cinderella was invited to the ball and in the words of Muziwamandla in his article written in June of 2022, Sakhile Masinda was indeed the NEW FACE TO WATCH OUT FOR.
This was followed by the Oak Magazine campaign for Avon and a bourgeoning relationship with Magna-Carta who are favoured story shapers who cultivate relationships with influencers through .relevant and compelling content, this relationship resulted in the Sakhile’s partnership with Clicks .
The Sakhile Masinda fairytale continues in splendor!
