KAMO MAFOKWANE: INFLUENCER CLASS OF 2020

Interview: Khensani Mohlatlole

Photography: RTC Studios | Austin Malema

Make-up: Beez Glam Studios | imakeyoubelieve

Hair: Xola Madube

Dress: Keys Fashion

The first thing you need to know is that Instagram luxury influencer, @willkatelady’s real name is Kamo Mafokwane. She’s currently considering changing it, because even though her name is there in block letters in her bio, people still address her as the username. But that’s a happy consequence of creating such a pervasive, genuine brand.

“I’m trying to be less pedantic and more free-spirited when creating content because that’s what people connect to the most,” Kamo shares. Her work is incredibly polished and meticulous which is what we’ve come to expect from influencers and brands in the luxury niche. “Creating content is difficult in a sense that I feel like it always has to have this perfect look, so I’m trying to be less ‘perfect’ and more authentic. [Luxury] makes it a lot more difficult because the clients that you’re working with do expect quality from you so in that sense I have to be pedantic about the little things.”

Lockdown has helped her realise that she can drop the veneer of perfection from time to time, and get rewarded for it too. After all, her followers like her work because it’s an extension of who she is. “I felt like I wasn’t growing anymore so I was restrategetising the way I was perceived and trying to be more open. When [content creation] becomes a job, you lose the essence of yourself and I feel like lockdown helped me focus on what my essence actually is.”

She’s in a better place than when she started off, however. In the beginning, it was a lot of freebies and a lot of unpaid ideation. “It was more beneficial for the businesses and brands than it was for me,” she says. Now she’s having to learn how to strike a balance between that early authenticity while maintaining the business aspect of everything. It’s a very delicate balance.

“I still feel like there are still so many brands that are stuck in doing things a certain way. I think that you get the most out of content if you allow the influencer to dictate how the content should be created because they know their followers, they know their niche. Most of the time, the brand just wants to reach out to that niche.

As someone who is primarily dealing with luxury brands; famous for continually upholding brand integrity and bureaucracy, Kamo has to carefully evaluate the projects and campaigns she takes on. Recently, influencers have come out about brands and agencies now expect them to produce the same quality and amount of work that fully staffed agencies do but with much less money. “I’m very strict on that,” she says. “There’s no point in being stressed over something and then not liking what you do. The biggest thing is being honest with myself: how much am I willing to do that will still make me happy and the brand will still get what they want. It’s a compromise between us two, about what’s best for both of us. It’s an investment on both sides; I’m helping you, you’re helping me.”

You can tell Kamo enjoys creative control and freedom. It’s what made her realise that her dream of living out The Devil Wears Prada and Running in Heels just wasn’t for her. “I interned once at a magazine and I thought I wanted to be in magazines and I realised this is not me.

Everything’s dictated for you, you don’t have creative freedom. For me, the biggest thing was to have creative freedom. I was a fashion and beauty assistant, but I was doing a lot of running around and labour. I know you have to climb the ladder but towards something I’m enjoying.”

There’s nothing more she enjoys than content creation. That’s part of why she agonises over it so much. “I think there’s people that definitely influence but I call myself a content creator. The influence comes later but, for me, the most important part is creating the content. My mom says this all the time: [that] I’m a silent influencer. You get people who are loud influencers, when they do something then you’ll see it elsewhere straight away. I think I’m a silent influencer because people will pick up on the things I do almost subconsciously.”

There’s a different kind of power in that; it’s not so much setting trends but creating actual value for people. It really means something in an age when our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter to grab people in such a way that will last a long time.

We delve into her niche; luxury. The idea has always existed but the term has become so ubiquitous lately as everyone desperately tries to tap into the luxury market. “I think luxury has a thing to do with power but I don’t see it like that. For me, luxury is quality. Luxury is an appreciation for craftsmanship. I think the term is considered ‘bad’ now or [associated with] ‘flashy’ brands. My mom has taught me the importance of passing things down and the heritage and story behind it is the luxury in it. It’s not about the brand or how expensive it is. It’s deeper than that.”

We can’t discuss luxury without talking about sustainability. Our fashion and fashion influencer culture definitely encourages overconsumption and Kamo mentions that she’s now realised that the amount of money she had spent on all the fast fashion of her teen years could have been better saved and invested in quality items she would still have today.

It’s difficult, however, for some to participate in more ethical fashion when they feel they need to keep up with the lightning fast pace of fashion trends on Instagram.

“Who cares if someone sees you in the same item three times?” She asks. “Are they going to shoot you? It doesn’t matter. That’s my favourite part about styling is reworking and restyling. For example, there’s a top made by Jacquemus and it’s basically a t-shirt that’s been twisted at the back. I was looking at it and it’s quite interesting because people would actually buy the top but you could make that at home. That’s what I do.”

“[Sustainability] is slowly becoming a big part of my life. I’ve been more conscious about it and trying to invest in brands that believe in the same thing. There’s one brand I’ve partnered with called Pangaia, they’re a tracksuit brand. Every tracksuit or t-shirt they’ve made impacts the Earth in some way, like a tree gets planted. They use natural dyes from fruits and plants and they help in different communities. Things like that are really important. I’m partnering with more brands that take care of the Earth and community.”

It’s been a tough year yet Kamo is delightfully optimistic about the future. “I’ve moved into the interior decorating space, I have really exciting things coming 2021. It’ll be in a different creative direction,” she says though there will be much more revealed later. The lockdown’s been eye opening as she’s realised that her work isn’t solely about fashion or beauty. It’s all just creativity and expression and that’s what will allow her to explore every avenue available.

“I think as content creators and influencers we forget that people try so hard to do things like us or be like us and it shouldn’t be like that. We should just enhance people to do things the way they want to do it,” she says. “You’re put in the world to be your own person and someone will find inspiration from that.”