Cape Town’s very own: Awonke Moko on Creativity, Culture, and Building Something Bigger Than Himself

A week ago, I had the opportunity to get on a WhatsApp voice call with one of South Africa’s growing voices in fashion and Cape Town’s creative culture, Awonke Moko, who many may already know through DJing. But the conversation we had stretched far beyond music. It became a conversation about fashion, identity, influence, creativity, and the importance of building from where you come from.

If you’ve seen Awonke in real life or even through Instagram, you immediately get the sense that he has something to say about South African fashion and where it’s headed, and you want to hear all of it. In many ways, he reminds me of what Ricky Rick represented for South African fashion and culture. Someone who didn’t just wear clothes, but someone who actively carried local fashion into conversations, communities, and everyday life.

Born and raised between Zihlahleni village and Dimbaza township in the Eastern Cape, Awonke speaks about his upbringing with a deep sense of memory. During our conversation, he reflected on moving from the village to the township for high school and suddenly being exposed to new forms of self expression through fashion, music, and creative culture. He remembers watching people print graphics onto plain T shirts themselves, seeing DJs play for the first time, and slowly realizing there was a bigger world beyond what he had grown up around.

The conversation becomes less about one career path and more about what happens when creativity becomes something that shapes every part of your life.

By Khaya Mnisi

Khaya Mnisi: When you think back on your journey, what was the moment or the shift that pushed you to become the creative you are today?

Awonke Moko: For me, the real starting point was wanting something different from the usual path in rural areas. I grew up in Zihlahleni and went to Zihlahleni Primary School. When it was time for high school, I moved to Dimbaza township. Luckily, my cousin lived there, so I had a place to stay. Everything in the township felt different, the lifestyle, the energy, the way people moved.

That’s where I started learning, not just about fashion, but music too. I’d see people DJing in clubs, even though I was too young to get in. I noticed how differently people dressed in the township compared to the village. They’d buy plain T-shirts and print them themselves. That’s when I started caring about clothes in a new way. I wanted to look like the guys I admired, people like A-Reece and Ricky Rick.

I remember watching the “We Want The Whole Thing” music video and seeing Kappa in it. That moment stuck with me. I bought myself a Kappa T-shirt and a Kappa belt. At the time, I was the only one at school and in the township who had that.

In Grade 9, there was a Mr. Valentine’s competition, and I won it. After that, people started giving me a lot of attention, and I loved it. I fed off that energy, so I knew I had to keep that image up. I kept finding ways to get those brands because I didn’t want to lose that attention once I had it. That’s what pushed me to start my brand, Umbrella Fam. I started selling T-shirts, but I had a bigger vision. I wanted it to be a creative house for me and my friends-photographers, videographers, rappers, artists- with me running the company and focusing on building the brand.

There wasn’t one single moment that made me who I am today. It was a gradual exposure to more, and realizing there was a bigger world beyond where I came from.

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Khaya: When did you start DJing, and what were your early passions or influences at the time? What was it about music or sound that first drew you in?

Awonke Moko: Back in high school in the Eastern Cape, I had friends who were producing a then popular sound called Isigubhu, which is similar to Qgom. At the time, guys like Mr Thela and Ghost CPTwere big influences around that sound, and I liked a lot of the people who were playing it. But honestly, at that time I didn’t really care about DJing myself. I was just around it. I’d go to events with friends just to chill and hang out.

Things changed properly when I moved to Cape Town to study Architecture. I found this foundation called Growing OGs that used to host free sessions every Thursday. DJs and producers from Cape Town and Joburg would come through to speak, teach, and let us practice in the studio. The space was close to my res, so I started spending a lot of time there. I was also outside a lot, I kept meeting more people who were into music and DJing seriously. I think just being around people who made a living from music started changing how I listened to sound.

When I eventually started DJing properly, I was mostly playing Afro House and Afrotech because that’s what a lot of the people around me were playing, except for my roommate who was into House, I was like, no, it’s for grootman [laughs]. Funnily, even before I could DJ, I’d already be thinking, “If I mix this song with this one, they’d sound good together.” I used to pair songs in my head before I even touched decks.

Khaya: Who were you listening to at the time?

Awonke Moko: I listened to people like Caiiro and Thandi Draai a lot. I was also listening to people like Shimzaand Sun-El Musician. I’d go on YouTube and watch mixes from Lemon & Herb and other DJs I admired. Around that time, Kunye was also starting to grow and posting those long three hour sets online. That whole thing felt like a vibe.

Khaya: You’re currently based in Cape Town, how does the city shape the way you think and move as a creative?

Awonke Moko: I think Cape Town forces you to become more practical. Most of us come here with creative ideas and ambitions, but the city makes you think about business whether you want to or not. The cost of living is high, rent is high, food, events, everything.

When I first came here, I was running a clothing brand. But I ran into a lot of challenges and realised I needed to be around people who understood how to actually build a business in this city, especially in fashion. Cape Town taught me I had to think differently about how to turn ideas into income, not just creativity.

At the same time, it opened doors for me. I remember meeting Lukhanyo Mdingi at an Adidas Originals event and I showed him some of my sketches, we spoke, exchanged numbers, and he later invited me to his studio. I would go see fittings, shoots, and how things are put together. That changed a lot for me. It helped me understand the fashion industry properly and how to position myself within it.

Cape Town changed everything for me because it put me in rooms I wouldn’t have been in otherwise. You run into the same photographers, designers, musicians at events, and collaborations happen naturally. You can’t just stay in your lane here - you end up learning about sound, fashion, visuals all at once.

So for me, Cape Town made me more intentional and more collaborative. It’s where DJing stopped being something I just watched, and became something I started doing myself.

After that, I started thinking differently. I even reached a point where I felt like I didn’t necessarily want to run a brand anymore. Instead, I started thinking about building a platform, like a space or a hub where creatives could actually produce work without being crushed by production costs. Somewhere a designer could come and still create without everything being blocked by production costs.

I think that’s the reality here. A lot of people come to Cape Town with those dreams, but the pressure pushes them into a nine to five instead of building what they came here to build.

Khaya: Would you say the same thing happens in Johannesburg?

Awonke Moko: I wouldn’t say it’s easier to be a creative in Johannesburg, but there are more people who are able to live fully off being creatives there. People have cars, they run shops, they build things. Cape Town is just expensive in comparison.

At the same time, if everyone from Cape Town moved to Joburg it would also be a problem, because then the creative economy here would suffer.

Khaya: You’ve shown such a strong connection to South African fashion through the brands you wear. When did supporting local become a real, conscious decision for you, when did it become more intentional in how you express yourself?

Awonke: It became intentional when I moved to Cape Town and started going to events where people were actually talking about fashion in a South African context. Before that, for me it was just about getting the brands I admired - like Kappa in high school. I’d wash cars and do side jobs just to afford them.

The shift happened in two ways. First, meeting people like Lukhanyo Mdingi and seeing the research and intention behind his work. It made me realize local fashion isn’t just clothes, it’s culture and history.

Second, it got personal. My mom worked in a clothing factory in the Eastern Cape and used to sew and fix clothes for neighbors while listening to Umhlobo Wenene. She taught me how to sew. So when I wear local now, I’m also wearing her story.

Now I see the hand behind every piece. It’s not just about looking good. When we support designers like Thebe Magugu, Lukhanyo Mdingi and Maxhosa by Laduma we’re showing the next generation that African fashion can stand on its own. And hopefully, that creates jobs and opportunities back home.

Khaya: I was watching a David Tlale interview where he talked about why it’s important to buy local and not just support fast fashion like SHEIN. But in the comments, a lot of people said local brands are just too expensive, and that’s why they don’t buy them. What do you think is really behind that? Why don’t people buy local, and what could change so that more South Africans support local fashion?

Awonke: Yeah, I’ve seen those comments a lot, and I get it. When you compare a R250 SHEIN tee to a R1200 local tee, it looks expensive on the surface.

But what people don’t see is why. Local designers aren’t mass producing in factories overseas with cheap labor. They’re producing in smaller runs, paying people properly, often using local fabric, and keeping the money in the country. My mom worked in a clothing factory in the Eastern Cape, so I know how much work actually goes into making one garment properly.

The other thing is we’re measuring it wrong. A SHEIN tee might last 5 washes. A local piece made well can last years. So it’s R1200 once vs R250 five times. But beyond that, when you buy local, you’re funding someone’s studio, their team, and hopefully the next factory that creates jobs here.

Three things that can help local brands

1. More visibility: If influential people consistently wore local overseas, not just when gifted, it would shift how people see the value. You know, it really comes down to influence. People like Black Coffee, Tyla, Uncle Waffles and Dj Maphorisa when they wear local, it makes us all want to buy it. And they do support local, but if we saw more of them consistently, it would shift everything.

Like, if we see Uncle Waffles in Adidas campaigns, we all want Adidas, even though it’s expensive. So, it’s not just about price, it’s about influence. If we see Uncle Waffles wearing Wanda Lephoto, we don’t say it’s too expensive, we just buy it because we love her.

It’s the same with A$AP Rocky. When he wore Ray Bans, people just bought them, no complaints about price. If people look up to you, they’ll buy whatever you wear, expensive or not. So, if you’re a big South African artist, that’s the first step, wear more local. Once your audience sees you wearing it, they’ll trust it, and they’ll buy it.

2. More storytelling: People need to know the hand behind the piece. When you know it’s Lukhanyo Mdingi researching African culture, or that you’re wearing something made in the Eastern Cape, it stops being just a T-shirt.

3. More entry points: Not every local brand has to be luxury price. We need more designers doing accessible lines so people can start somewhere.

At the end of the day, fast fashion is cheap because someone else is paying the cost. With local, you know who that is and it’s us.

Khaya: Who would you say is someone big who really supports local, who stands out to you?

Awonke: The only person who really pushed local in a huge way, and we lost him, was Ricky Rick. There was a real shift in his career when he fully embraced local fashion, going to Artclub and Friends, supporting Wanda Lephoto. And the best part was, he didn’t even ask for a discount.

He invested in those brands fully. That kind of support creates visibility and trust for emerging labels. It’s the model we need more of.

Khaya: For everyday people with limited budgets, how can they still support local brands, and how can the brands themselves meet them halfway?

Awonke: A lot of local designers actually make both high end pieces and more affordable items, T shirts, caps, socks, things like that. So support doesn’t always have to mean buying the most expensive piece. It can be as simple as buying those accessible items, sharing them, telling your friends where to find them. And brands can meet people halfway by offering a range, so everyone can get involved no matter what their budget is.

Khaya: When you look at South African fashion right now, what excites you the most, and which brands stand out to you, not just aesthetically, but in what they represent?

Awonke: What excites me is that South African fashion finally feels like it’s speaking in its own voice. People aren’t just looking overseas anymore for inspiration. Designers are pulling from their own cultures, their own histories, and even the realities of how we live here. That’s what makes it feel real.

Lukhanyo Mdingi is one of the brands I really respect because it’s deeper than just nice clothes. You can tell there’s actual research behind the work. He works closely with local makers, keeps production here, and really values craftsmanship. My mom worked in a clothing factory in the Eastern Cape, so I understand what it means when a brand creates jobs and keeps that kind of work local. That part matters to me a lot.

Thebe Magugu is another one. I like that his clothes always feel connected to something bigger. There’s usually a conversation happening in the collection, whether it’s about history, politics, or identity, but it still feels modern and wearable. He’s found a way to make South African stories travel globally without watering them down.

And then MaXhosa. What Laduma has done is crazy because he took something deeply rooted in Xhosa culture and made the whole world pay attention to it. The knitwear is instantly recognizable, but it never feels like culture being used as decoration. It still feels honest to where it comes from.

What’s exciting is that these brands don’t feel like they’re chasing trends anymore. They’re building something with identity behind it, and I think the world is starting to respect that.

Khaya: I’ve noticed you’re consistently in different cultural spaces, fashion events, galleries, community moments. What draws you into those worlds beyond the DJing? Being in those spaces so often, how has it shaped your understanding of what culture actually is?

Awonke : I don’t see those spaces as separate from DJing, they’re all part of the same thing for me.

What draws me in is the people and the energy. Fashion events, galleries, community nights… they’re all places where people are expressing something without words. I go to listen, to watch how people move, what they’re reacting to, what makes a room feel alive. That stuff directly feeds what I do behind the decks. If I only stayed in clubs, I’d miss half the references and moods people actually live with.

Being in those spaces a lot has changed how I think about “culture.” It’s not just music or art or fashion on its own. Culture is how all of that collides in a moment, the way a song hits different in a gallery vs a basement, how people dress to signal something, how a small community creates its own language. It made me less interested in genres and more interested in context.

Khaya: One thing I’ve always admired creatively is the freedom to evolve, how someone can start in one space, like DJing, and naturally move into film, fashion, or other forms of storytelling. When you think about your own journey, what do you feel is pulling you next creatively?

Awonke: The next thing for me creatively isn’t just about me as a DJ. It’s about building structures that actively push South African brands forward.

Right now I run IMBEWU AFRICA, a media agency that celebrates and represents African brands. We’re telling their stories, amplifying their voice, and making sure they get seen in the spaces they deserve to be in.

But I don’t want it to stop at media. My long term vision is to have a physical store that showcases and sells local brands and eventually a factory that actually produces clothing for South African brands. The idea is to close the loop from storytelling, to retail, to manufacturing, all rooted in Africa.

Awonke feels like exactly the kind of person PAVED Magazine was created for.

When I started this publication, it was about building a space for people like him. People who don’t separate fashion from music from art and design, but move through all of it naturally. People who stay curious, who engage deeply with their interests, and turn that curiosity into a way of living rather than choosing just one lane.