Thobile Mazibuko
One night while on a trip back to Zimbabwe, I was in a bar with friends where an old man held court telling stories of his glorious past.
He told of how, as a young man, his father taught him how to make shoes in Le Marche, central Italy. He talked about how he travelled around the world and had ended up in Zimbabwe. That he made friends with a Zimbabwean man who made leather goods and how they bonded over their shared love of fine craftsmanship and became lifelong friends.
As the old man filled in the details of his story, it occurred to me that the man he had befriended was, in fact, my grandfather. Before leaving, I asked the old man his name to which he replied: “My name is Billione Rikko.” That story struck a chord with me and when it came to creating my own label, I knew exactly what it would be called. We chose ostrich skin for BR|ONE as we wanted to utilise our African roots in our brand. Our shoes are made in Italy, and the tanneries in Italy sourced the ostrich skin from South Africa. Another reason was we wanted to provide a brand that could offer exotic skins and maintain the elegance and desirability of our products. Luxury brands no longer care about originality or genuine exotic skins, they use printed skins and at worst, plastic.
It’s been a humbling experience. They are wonderful people. I have been blessed to have actually met them, let alone create bespoke shoes for them.
Oh that is a difficult question. I really enjoyed all of them. Some had protocol, some didn’t. Davido was so loving and the most humble person I have ever met. He works so hard. Somizi joked a lot was very bubbly and filled the whole room with laughter and joy.
Somizi is a breath of fresh air. He bounces with some good energy. He is genuine and passionate.
His response to our presentation was very good but we anticipated this as our products are of high quality.
He, however, superseded our expectations. I would definitely choose to relive the moments we, as a brand, experienced with Somizi.
I am really looking forward to working with P Diddy, Naomi Campbell, Chris Brown, TIWA Savage, our African queen Bonang, AKA and the list goes on.
The UK is a market that is laidback. Its market focuses on things other than fashion unless you are in London where individuals are more diverse and fashion conscious.
The African market desires luxury goods and at times cannot access them, even when they are affordable and this makes it even more attractive when the desired product becomes accessible within their community.
Most customers resort to travelling abroad to countries such as Dubai to buy luxury goods. desires luxury goods, what’s next for your luxury brand?
I am now on a mission to launch my brand in South Africa and Nigeria simultaneously, after almost 10 years trying to get to this point.
I also want more presence in a few boutique stores around the world.
Connect with Hilton Mutariswa on his Instagram pahe @ billionerikko.