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FIVE MINUTES WITH MAQUE DE GORGEOUS

15 Aug 2011
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Maque De Gorgeous is a blogger, fashionista and ubercool man about town. We chatted to him about his life, obsessions and inspiration.

Describe yourself in three words.

Sociable, friendly, outspoken.

What does your average day look like?

Wake up, check my phone for updates of my clients’ social media profiles and their online mentions, check my calendar for events I might’ve forgotten about, get ready for work, get to work, search for content, topical or conversational, for my clients (this involves reading lots of blogs and websites and following relevant people on social media platforms; I sometimes get ideas for my own blog from this) and manage their online reputations based on mentions. If there are no events I have to attend, I head home and get ready to meet friends for dinner or after-work drinks. I strongly believe in living every day like it’s Friday – it lessens the anticipation of the weekend.

What is it about fashion that inspires you?

Thula Sindi once said something that has stayed with me ever since: there’s nothing new in fashion, it’s the same thing over and over again That said, it’s the idea of remaking and tweaking the old and creating something fresh that I find inspiring. Moreover, fashion allows you to create and recreate the characters you’d like to be.

Three ways to stay creative?

• Try something new.
• Peruse fashion blogs and pop music videos to find out what’s “new” and see how I can adapt it to suit my needs.
• People-watching. It’s one of my favourite pastimes. There are so many people who are creative and interesting and they do not know it. They inspire my own creativity.

What do you love about living in Jo’burg?

There’s a buzz. The idea of being anonymous in a city appeals to me. Jo’burg embraces all sorts of people and I love her for that. She gives opportunities to those who actively seek them. Very few cities in South Africa do this.
I love shopping at small boutiques that support South African fashion designers. I do not go shopping often but when I do, I also hit downtown shops for quirky gems that I won’t find anywhere else. I love going to fabric stores, too. It’s amazing what you can find between rolls of fabric.
I love grill restaurants such as Karoo (Lonehill), Carnivore and Turn ‘n Tender (Parktown North), and Chinese food – Lucky Moo in Atholl Square serves the best. My favourite burger place has to be Royale in Cape Town on Long Street. It’s too yummy!
Playtime is usually spent at my friends’ homes.

Style crush?

Definitely Daphne Guinness. Anyone who can inspire the likes of Lady Gaga is worth her weight in gold! In South Africa, Guy Ndlovu is a winner! His quirky retro style is amazing.

Current obsession?

YouTube videos of animals attacking each other in the jungle. D-r-a-m-a! Love it! I am also obsessed with décor magazines. I recently bought an apartment and am looking for interesting, fresh ideas for bringing my personality to it. Though I can spew garish colour-block mayhem onto the walls and floors, I also want it to be simple and clean (I have to live there!), and décor magazines show me how to simplify my scattered ideas.

Who are your favourite international designer(s)?

Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh, Vivienne Westwood and Viktor &Rolf. They are innovative. To them, a show is an opportunity to go crazy and display fashion in its most artistic form, which leaves stylists and fashion editors to do their job and translate it into something the public can relate to. They make fashion fun!

And locally?

Suzaan Heyns, Stiaan Louw, David Tlale and Clive Rundle. Based on their last collections, each of them brought something pleasant to the catwalk, from Stiaan’s Nomadic collection with unusual silhouettes for men to Clive’s clothes made from scraps of fabric from his previous collections, which he had made himself. (How amazing is that?) The clothes are wearable but presented in a very exotic manner that excites me. Fashion and clothes are supposed to be exciting and I think these designers know that and live up to it.

If you could be a book or a movie character, who would you be?

A character from Memoirs of a Geisha. Sayuri, for instance. As painful as the process of becoming and being a geisha was for her, there was something magical about getting ready to go to teahouses – the kimono, the intricate tying of the obi belt that separates the real geisha from the common street walker, the way they carry themselves in public and the messages conveyed by each gesture – it was all very artistic.

Dream destination?

Monaco. I want to bask in the ambience of luxury at its very best, somewhere where living a dream looks achievable.

Secret treat?

Reruns of The Big Bang Theory with a box of Chinese noodles.

Images from We heart it.