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Exciting news! DJ duo Euphonik have opened a fashion store in the heart of Braamfontein. It’s called Debut and we got a tour of the place...
Beautiful store, this. Where did the idea come about?
Euphonik. We were in Hong Kong earlier this year and we got the idea for a cool concept store. That was in January and fast forward to now and the store is open
Was it based on any particular store in Hong Kong?
E. The fitting of the store only came in after we had got the property so I don’t think it really did. It kind of just added up in front of our eyes
What was the initial idea behind this store then?
E. If you go through Soho in London and New York, there are always cool, quirky stores and in South Africa we don’t have the same. So we wanted to do something like that here. If you look through the store you’ll find things you won’t find anywhere else in the country. It’s edgy and very different.
Kent. I noticed that we have a lot of fashion shows in South Africa where we show off local fashion but a lot of that stuff doesn’t make it to store. So it was the idea to start a platform for local designers to get exposure.
How do you select those local designers?
E. At the moment, we are still starting out. I don’t really consider myself a fashion head but I know what is cool and different and everything in the store is our own stuff. We want to bring in local stuff that is competitive internationally, so that a tourist from the UK can come in here and be like “Damn I want to take this home and tell my friends I got this in SA” because you won’t be able to get it anywhere else in the world.
Are you involved in the design process at all?
K. We are involved in the buying process (laughs) We have got brands from all over the world, some from the Netherlands, some from China and some from SA.
E. It’s a global South African store. It’s us putting all the cool things from around the world in one store.
Why Braamfontein?
E. You just gotta look around at how the area is changing. We wanted a destination store where the location is just as much a part of the experience. So that you know when you come to Joburg to get your clothes you can’t find it anywhere else.
So is this a 50-50 venture? Or is one of you the fashion eyes and the other the money man?
E. (laughs) I think Kent is the one with the fashion eyes (laughs)
K. No ways!
What’s your favourite item of clothing?
K. Right now it’s the debut stuff! (laughs) I got a lot of it.
E. Honestly speaking, I would wear everything in this store. I would wear most of these on a Friday, for a night on the jol.
So, what’s in the future for Debut?
E. We want to build a DJ booth in the store so that there is live music every Friday afternoon.
K. Also, we are releasing a woman’s range soon and we are talking to a French shoe designer about bringing some of their shoes over.
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