THE growth of the men’s fashionmarket is slowly outpacing thatof womenswear. And with theinaugural SA Menswear Week(SAMW) taking place in the city

next month, Cape Town is joining thelikes of London, Milan and Paris in givingthis fast-developing facet of fashion theattention it deserves.

Siyabonga Beyile, founder and creativedirector of menswear fashion portal TheThreaded Man, says it’s about timemenswear took centre stage in SouthAfrica.

Joburg-based Beyile is one of a handfulof young people in the country who havemanaged to create a platform promotinglocal menswear designers. Only 21, hisopinion is already well respected withinfashion circles, and it’s no surprise he hasbeen roped in as a media partner forSAMW. The Threaded Man will livestream all the runway shows.

“SAMW is so critical for SA because it’sgiving menswear designers an opportuni-ty to showcase their work on a platformthat is dedicated to them. It will also serveas an indicator of where menswear cur-rently stands in SA, and what tools weneed to put in place in order for theindustry to grow,” says Beyile.

“In Africa as a whole, we do not havelocally grown men’s fashion and lifestylepublications that encourage growth inmenswear. The ones that we have focusmore on international expensive brandsthat most men can’t afford,” he says.

“The Threaded Man is for the everydayAfrican man who wants to be stylish andmost of our content can be bought at yournearest store. We support local designersand also challenge them when we feelthat their concepts are not executed wellenough for the African consumer,” saysBeyile.

The portal, which was relaunched inOctober, is followed by thousands of peo-ple. Its Instagram account has over 3 000followers.

“Looking at Africa and the social issuesthat we are facing, I saw an opportunity touse fashion as a vessel for change – to bet-ter men on our continent. Being aThreaded Man is much more than beingstylish. It’s also about how the man carrieshimself and how he treats others, espe-cially women,” he says.

“The 21st century woman seeks aThreaded Man who understands that shecan follow her dreams and that her sexdoesn’t stand in the way of what shewants to achieve,” Beyile explains.

Having grown up in Cape Town, Beyile says that attending Wynberg Boys’High School moulded his love affair withfashion.

“The school prides itself on traditionand for the first two week you get putthrough activities to earn your blazer.Once you earn your blazer there is a cere-mony to welcome you into the brother-hood. When I received my blazer myparents started calling me The ThreadedMan… not only do the threads I wearmake the man but also my actions in soci-ety,” says Beyile, as he explains the originsof his portal’s name.

However, it was studying at Joburg’sLISOF Fashion School that gave him thenecessary knowledge to venture into thecyberspace world.

“I didn’t want to be like other bloggers,I really wanted my blogspot to have depthand credibility. I remember telling mypeers that my blog would grow to becomean influential part of African men’s fash-ion and they laughed,” says Beyile.

He counts editor-in-chief of AmericanVogue Anna Wintour as one of his biggestfashion influences.

“She understands the importance andthe message behind what she is doing.With my portal I apply the same logic:that there is meaning behind everythingthat we are doing and its importance toAfrican fashion and culture.”

Chelsea boots, printed shirts, rings andoversized coats are Beyile’s current fash-ion obsessions. His favourite local brandsat the moment include 2014 AFI Fastrackwinner Oath by Rich Mnisi, Mute byJenevieve Lyons and Crowe by DaleStrime.

“The designers are brilliant. Every sea-son I am inspired by different factors thataffect my style. Last year I was all aboutdeconstructed minimalism and this year Iam all about the 80s rock movement,” hesays.

Beyile’s international favouritesinclude designers Tom Ford and Christo-pher Bailey of Burberry.

At the moment he says he can’t livewithout his white and black V-neck T-shirts. He explains that Joburg’s currentstreet style is inspired by Gothic Samuraiand the Sartorialist movement that wasengineered by New York fashion photog-rapher Scott Schuman.

“Street style in my city (Joburg) is a bitfrustrating because everyone is trying tobe different but they all end up lookingthe same,” he laments.

As with other bloggers who have astrong social media presence, posting pic-tures daily on his social media accounts iskey to growing his following.

Besides posting his daily fashion looks,Beyile sometimes spices things up by

THURSDAY JANUARY 22 2015

LIFE Basking inthe wonderof VictoriaFalls

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Looking out for theeveryday African manSiyabonga Beyile’s love affair with fashion started at Wynberg Boys’ High –now he provides a sense of dress to his followers, writes Nontando Mposo

Being a ThreadedMan is muchmore than beingstylish. It’s alsoabout how theman carrieshimself

REFRESHING CHANGE: Nothing can curb Siyabonga Beyile’s enthusiasm when it comes to dress sense. PICTURES: ALESSIO LA RUFFA

Siyabonga Beyile’s style tips

●Always keep it simple and well fitted. ●When on a date, always keep it cleanwith a crisp white, short-sleeve shirt, agood pair of jeans and a pair of formalshoes.●For the office, keep it casual, yet tailored. Brogues are your go-to shoes for any smart or casual look, wear them with slim-fitting jeans and shirt. A thin tie and fitted blazer will completethe look.●For a night out, wear a nice pair ofsneakers, such as Airmax or All Stars,with ripped jeans. Add a nice tee with aleather jacket for that edgy look.

showing off his 15 tattoos. “I am very lucky to work and collabo-

rate with an amazing photographer andinstagrammer Alessio La Ruffa. Heshoots most of my work and he under-stands the aesthetic that I am going for.He is my greatest collaborator to date,”says Beyile.

“My life with The Threaded Man hasgiven me influence and access. There’snothing more frustrating to have a visionand not have the tools to execute.”

Although one will rarely see pictures ofBeyile with a smile on his face, he says heis a hopeless romantic.

“I love the idea and concept of love. It isa motivator for some of the greatestsongs, movies, art and novels,” he says.

Beyile’s plans for the year includes col-laborating with designers fromacross Africa and seeing more of theworld.

“Right now I am doing what I considermy dream job. I am a creative director

and a shareholder in a company that wasmy brainchild,” he says.

His advice to emerging bloggers is:“Stay true to yourself as most new blog-gers try to chase the lifestyle they perceivecomes from blogging and don’t focus onthe craft of what they are doing.

“Also, do your research. Like in anyother business, it’s important that youfind a market for the product you are try-ing to create.”

Beyile says that although receivingfreebies is nice, he carefully chooses thebrands he associates with.

“I do get free clothes and gifts frombrands, but that doesn’t necessarily meanthat the brand will be featured on my por-tal. It’s important to have integritybecause the brands I feature on the sitehave to be tolerable of my target market.

“Also, because The Threaded Man is abusiness, we charge a fee for custom fea-tures and shoots. Free clothes don’t paythe bills.”