If you haven’t checked out Siyabonga Beyile’s fashion blog, The Threaded Man, you need to do yourself the favour. The Threaded Man is a one-stop online portal filled with style inspiration for men. As inspiring is the founder, who is only 21 years old, and definitely making Cape Town and Wynberg Boys proud! We caught up with Siya to score some style tips and find out more about him.
How did your love for fashion begin?
I think my love for fashion stems from my culture mostly, I am Xhosa and in my culture everything you wear has a significance. More deeply than that, my love for fashion comes from my curiosity to understand people – you can tell a lot about a person through their choice of clothing.
In what ways did living in Cape Town influence your style?
What I love about Cape Town is that it’s a city where people don’t feel the need to show off through wearing expensive branded clothing. Cape Town is driven by taste rather than hype. The Cape Town consumer will shop at expensive luxury stores but won’t buy the big branded stuff, whereas a Johannesburg consumer wants to be seen so they will choose clothing with a massive logo.
Your brainchild, The Threaded Man, is the largest men’s fashion and lifestyle portal in Africa. So, I would say you definitely know a thing or two about fashion. What would you say is the best style advice that all the threaded men should take note of?
My advice is simple… Fit is everything. Most men don’t look stylish because they forget the simplest thing and that’s getting the RIGHT size.
In June this year, Forbes Africa named you as one of the Top 30 under 30 to watch. What can we expect to see from the young Siyabonga Beyile in the upcoming months?
HAHA! Forbes added some pressure. Now, I have to be a billionaire before the age of 30. On a serious note, the focus is to expand the business while building a good foundation for our longevity. I have some exciting projects coming out later this year and I can’t say much more than that.
It looks like winter is really starting to set into Cape Town now. What’s your favourite winter accessory this year?
My Bomber jackets are the best this winter; I have about 20 now!
Photography Courtesy