Malcolm Kluk and Christiaan Gabriël Du Toit saw the potential in the vacant lot next door to their existing Cape Town boutique and have since announced the upcoming launch of their new shop. They say, "It is not our brand's profile to run out homogenous stores that are temples of impersonality. Each store should be individualised to the area and market."
Here, the international award winning designers tell more on the new space, their latest "naughty ... tongue in cheek" collection, and what it's all about.
You launched the existing Cape Town flagship store in Dec 2011 - not that long ago. Why did you feel the need to open a new shop?
The maths made sense for us to develop the vacant lot next to our store and build a custom designed store that would be perfectly tailored to our needs. Who would say no to that?
As the flagship store, what sets it apart from your other boutiques in Johannesburg and Pretoria?
Funnily enough, it will come in line with the other stores. We changed our corporate image to pink and gold, which is reflected in the other stores. So Cape Town now has the proper identity.
Fashion is an ever-evolving business and it is important to update with the trends, particularly at our level. When you are serving high profile and net worth individuals who travel, there is no excuse to say that we in Africa should not have the same standards.
It's high time for the launch. Why in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week?
We produce six collections a year and time them to coincide with fashion week. It is also a great way of showing who we are as a label in Situ.
How would you describe the event décor?
This launch is more about an attitude to fashion. It is a love for style rather than a utilitarian concept. Our store as it is every day is the event décor. We will just hype it up. Uber glamour with a bit of a nightclub feel.
Each collection is usually inspired by fabric and music. We have been working with Netherlands-based VLISCO for a couple of seasons now and this collection will coincide with their Fantasia launch worldwide.Explain the collection to be showcased at the launch; the inspiration behind it. And the general process involved in coming up with the concept.
Photography: Kopefiggins. Model: Lindsey from Max Models. Hair and make-up: Kelly Paitaki.
The coming season is very print-orientated, from tribal to geometrics to florals. It is important for us to always align ourselves with luxury, and the printed natural cotton cloth is just that. The silhouettes have to fit with our customer. We know them personally and design with them in mind. They have a demanding lifestyle and do not settle for anything less than the best. We also like to indulge our customers with the fantasy they don't have in their everyday life. We like to do unique shows with dramatic narratives that fit into a make believe life. This collection is naughty, colourful, tongue in cheek and glamorous.
It is the parties before we got too politically correct; it is that music you can dance to without moving.
What are you working on at the moment?We work very close to deadline on all our collections in order to be up to date with fashion. We are a small business and can react to trends very quickly. Our customers travel and need to know that what we have is not a season behind like the chain stores would have. But we are currently planning our October Africa Fashion week collection.
What is your latest achievement you're most proud of? And are there any awards you're working towards?
If we worked for awards we wouldn't sell clothes. Every so often the planets align and a collection is both critically and financially successful. We are very proud to have won 'designer of the year' at the last Africa Fashion Week. Courtesy of Mercedes Benz and African Fashion International, we won a show at any MB Fashion week international, and we hope to take KLûK CGDT to one of the fashion capitals in September.
Which garments have received great remarks this season or do you consider your greatest work of art, and what do you expect to be big this Spring/Summer?
It is funny but some styles do well in Cape Town and others in Gauteng; some are for the older customer and others for the matric girls. Our quantity per style is quite small to keep it exclusive and units sell out often. We do have a made-to-order service where customers can order a style previously in-store in a fabric of their choice. Mostly, at the moment, it's all about the dress!
What do you find to be most successful, i.e. ready-to-wear, couture, bridal, etc.?
Each year we think one is more successful than the other until the figures prove they are both equally important to our business. It is great to be able to make ready-to-wear, which is about our ideas and market trends. It is also a privilege to be let into a bride's dream.
You say on your website that the brand is 'not only about clothes, but rather life and a holistic experiential, boundary-blurring approach to style'. Please elaborate.
Design does not happen in a vacuum. It is an all-encompassing lifestyle: the interior; the smell; the music we play; the champagne we offer daily; the events we get involved in - it's the total KLûK CGDT experience.
The launch of KLûK CGDT's flagship store will take place in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on Saturday, 26 July at 7:45 for 8:15pm on the corner of Bree and Waterkant Street in Cape Town. By invitation only.
