When code red signals style
● It’s got to be a pretty darn good do to hold my attention for more than two-and-a-half hours — and an even rarer gem when out on the tiles for twice as long without checking the watch or scrolling through the phone.
Friday afternoon presented one such occasion —a heady buzz of great company, good food and topnotch entertainment to trumpet a message from one of the land’s big four banks.
Absa rolled out the red carpet at a swish venue I hadn’t been to before — the Langhams Executive Conferencing centre in Fourways, north of Joburg — to announce its new campaign, “Your Story Matters”, which is anchored in “a commitment to a more human-centred, empathetic approach to banking”.
On arrival, waiters offer red cocktails as I am greeted by the bank’s Candice Thurston before catching up with glam Mrs SA 2022 Jo Judnick-Wilson near the champagne garden where you can pick up a flute of Laurent Perrier.
With the dress code stating “dress as the main character in your story with a flash of red”, the colour lit up the Nike sneakers worn by serial entrepreneur Andile Khumalo, while for singer-songwriter Thabsie Vokwana it was a case of flashing her underwear as outwear (another 1990s trend back in vogue thanks to fashion plates such as Kendall Jenner).
The fiery hue popped up in the shirt Grammy award-winning artist Zakes Bantwini wore to finish off his dapper suit, while wife Nandi Madida went full blast for her pretty cocktail dress sporting a giant bow.
“I already had a red outfit in my wardrobe, so I was ready when the invite landed,” explained the perky actress and TV presenter.
The official proceedings are led by Zozibini Tunzi and the audience — which included Thembi Seete, leading man Kwenzo Ngcobo (whose career is on the up and up since The Wife), funny gal Nina Hastie, designer Gert-Johan Coetzee and eNCA anchor Abigail Visagie — hear from Paul Bayliss about the bank’sL’Atelier art project while marketing head Sydney Nhlanhla Mbhele explains the thinking behind the campaign. Entertainment-wise, DJ duties fell in the lap of Kimmy K, Langa Mavuso seared us with a soulful performance and YoungstaCPT proved why he’s the king of freestyle rap. However, for me the night’s highlight would have to be poet Lebohang Masango, who deftly wove prose with the bank’s messaging through her powerful spoken word.
Foodwise, we were treated to a floating feast starting with canapés such as venison carpaccio, panko crumbed prawns and chicken curry pancakes followed by bowls of mac and cheese croquettes drizzled with pesto, grilled fillet medallions served with ribbons of zucchini and mushrooms and panko fried chicken winglets on wasabi mash.
A change of pace, and another gastronomic spread on Monday afternoon — at a new culinary spot, Gigi in Waterfall, that sprawling estate between Pretoria and Joburg.
This was the location for an intimate meet and greet of a few of the celebs who have signed up for the next instalment of the local granddaddy of reality TV, Tropika Island of Treasure, which is set to return to TV screens soon.
While I can’t share too many details (the big announcement is only meant to drop this coming week), what I can tell you is that actress Omuhle Gela of Muvhango fame and most recently on Showmax’s The Mommy Club, TikTok influencer Chad Jones and Afrikaans music’s Bobby van Jaarsveld are three of the well-known faces vying to take home the bounty for the 11th edition of the series, set in Zanzibar this time around.
For Bobby it’s a full-circle moment as he once performed on a summer tour sponsored by the Clover brand.
“That was 20 years ago, barefoot on stage with my guitar,” says the tanned singer, who lives in Ballito these days.
Back to the venue and its elegant interiors with flourishes like herringbone-patterned tiles and plush textiles designed by 23-year-old interior designer Giorgio Tatsakis, who has garnered a reputation for the contemporary style he has stamped on the Johannesburg restaurant empire of his father, Chris Tatsakis, which includes Ethos, GRK and Kuzina.
The restaurant is the newest project from Moses Moloi, most recently head chef at trendy Sandton spot Zioux. At the time of the event, Gigi had only been open for 10 days but has already garnered a big following for its fare, which for us included oysters topped with tosazu, salmon fish cakes and succulent pork belly slivers served with yams and a pumpkin and pineapple salsa.
“It’s been a humbling journey, but we love it,” said the chef.