For a few years now, things have started to move in the Cape Town fashion industry. AKJP Collective is the fashion phenomenon to check out if you ever come by this beautiful city.
Hamaji Magazine : Who are the two men behind AKJP?
Keith Henning, more known as Adriaan Kuiters (his grandfather’s name), opened his first shop, Adrian Kuiters, in 2011.
The shop is now called AKJP and is dedicated to showcasing local creativity and talent.
With his business partner Jody Paulsen, who is also a designer, they handpick together the designers for their shop.
Hamaji Magazine : When and why did you go from solo to AKJP?
AKJP collective is dedicated to showcasing creative, quality South African design.
Because it can be overwhelming and financially difficult for local designers to expand internationally, we are aiming to grow the store in Cape Town until it has built the necessary momentum to go overseas.
It is our dream to make it the go-to South African design store for international lovers of design.
This is a very exciting progression for us!
Hamaji Magazine : Where do you find your inspiration and tell us more about your last beautiful collection?
AW16 was inspired by our friend and artist Georgina Gratrix. We translated her art into fashion with textures such as jacquard and warm colours. What’s more, Georgina’s personal style is very spirited and idiosyncratic. She combines prints with all sorts of textures and bold accessories, and she really inspired us in all aspects. She is a dear friend and the collection is a celebration of our friendship.
Hamaji Magazine : Any new exciting upcoming projects?
We are launching our AKJP AW16 lookbook soon and are excited to welcome new brands to the AKJP Collective.
