City Slick

I spent last weekend in Johannesburg and I learned a number of things:

1. Jozi style is both eclectic and un-self-conscious.
2. Johannesburg is, strangely, not the most design-conscious of cities.
3. Joburgers are warm and inclusive in a way that makes Capetonian coolness seem positively Nordic.

I was overwhelmed by the incongruous mix of people in clubs, restaurants at bars and in malls. In Cape Town you always know what you’re going to get. Style is extremely well-defined, and going to a certain bar will always yield a certain crowd. Very few surprises. Capetonian style has a rock undercurrent that’s part Woodstock, part Teddy Boy, part Guns ‘n Roses. It’s palpable. Johannesburg is the polar opposite. Homogenous style doesn’t seem to exist and you’re just as likely to find skinnies and Cuban heeled ankle boots alongside flip flops, patent stilettos and non-name sneakers. Seriously.

Where Cape Town is all about the people-watching, Joburg is outwardly un-self-conscious. It literally doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. Cape Town is all eyes and Jozi is all ears. The place hums with sound and energy. At Kitcheners, Joburg’s version of Cape Town’s Kimberley Hotel (a once-grand hotel now home to rock-loving regulars nursing drinks on the rocks, all bare ankles, too-short jeans and plaid chests), Felix Laband drew the most mixed crowd I have ever seen. In Cape Town you can place people, but Joburgers defy categorisation. My eyes may not have seen anything sartorially transcendent, but the scene in itself was pure inspiration. The playlist was the perfect soundtrack to the scene. Felix and co careened from deep house to kwaito to post punk, soul, pop and back again. It made me want to stay a little while longer.

When I say that Johannesburg is not the most design-conscious city, I don’t just mean in terms of fashion. Capetonians are surrounded by beauty all the time, and it’s not just the mountain and the beaches that are aesthetically pleasing. Buildings, old and new, cafes, restaurants, shopping centers and streets are beautiful, too. Cape Town breathes design. Joburg, I was surprised to note, not so much. I left feeling that the design I encountered was familiar, cosy, a little bit older.

Pockets of newness tempered with edgy design exist, sure. But my overall impression was that Jozi is a kind of grand old dame whose tenants, with their energy and warmth, pack the real punch. I am glad to be back, make no mistake. But Jozi certainly turned my head.