The Cape Town based clothing brand Brahsse’s creator Shakoer Baderoen uses fashion as a means of “looking for a way forward”. Having attended Stellenbosch to study transport, economics and logistics, there was a lot of racial tension during his undergraduate years from 2014. He was a part of the house committee at his residence and part of the work involved “controlling the vibe”. Frustrated at how tenuous relations from previous generations continued, he wanted to do something about this.
Baderoen mentions how fashion has always been his first passion. He wanted to start a brand that would bring people together and represent “the mix of stuff found in life”. He mentions how he comes from a coloured background where he stayed in Cape Town’s suburbs. Coming to “Stellies” he wanted to expose this world to his life. The word from which the name of the brand draws from, brasse comes from the Cape Flats lingo meaning ‘male friends’. Baderoen added the ‘H’ not just to differentiate his brand but to also represent the word ‘Heritage’. His brand represents “people from all races and backgrounds communing together”.
He does this by wanting his brand to remain relevant to our current lively times. He takes his inspiration from 90s styles and his brand includes vibrant colours. He is very much into vintage and is nostalgic for previous street trends. Brahsse is made for Millennials and post millennials, it is for them that he wants to use the brand to connect people.
His main goal is not necessarily to sell but to bring people together through his pop ups around the city. He invites movie makers, creatives from the other side of Cape Town and Somerset. Here artists and other creatives come through and his space becomes one where people get to connect with those who they would usually not bump into within central Cape Town.
