Street fashion is becoming a staple of the industry with highbrow fashion houses attempting to design sneakers and for the most part, failing.
The hunger for kicks may very well be at an all-time high and locally, the fashion industry has responded well. The likes of Drip, Vaya and Bathu are flying the flag high but selling sneakers is not an easy game by any standard.
Not only do your shoes have to be functional and comfortable, but they need to look like wearable art and somehow convey a story that is worth buying into.
Kamogelo Makomane from Emalahleni in Witbank seems to think that his brand of footwear and clothing has struck the perfect balance and could be the next big thing on the local fashion scene.
Kamo is an engineer with a background in metallurgy [the study of the physical and chemical behaviour of metallic elements], but he always had an enterprising spirit which at one stage led him to leave the stability of his cushy job to start up his own engineering firm, which has been going well for a few years.
Kaymoo sneakers were founded in 2020 with the name derived from Kamo’s contemporaries at varsity not being able to annunciate his name properly resulting in Kaymoo.
“I thought to myself that would make a catchy brand name. Something like L.V. [Louis Vuitton] or the likes of Karl [Largerfeld]. The main thing is that my designs are comfortable and unisex so even women can wear them. To add to the comfort of the shoes I normally use a foam sole and not a hard one.
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“The whole thing started during Covid-19. I have an engineering company which was affected by Covid and so during lockdown I found myself bored and so I started with the idea for these sneakers,” the 36-year-old father of two explains.
He made up a couple of samples with his early designs and people responded positively to them and urged him to take the idea further and he obliged. Kamo found a company that manufactures these kicks for him, which is a temporary solution as he would like to manage this himself. He initially started out by looking to emulate certain brands and taking elements of a certain cut or mold, using these as the building blocks for his own creation.
He put in an order of 40 of these sneakers and they moved like hot cakes.
“I would deconstruct shoes, remove the laces and tongue, and add my own details to this. Slowly working towards something new entirely.”
The story behind this brand is built on Kamo’s knack for breaking new ground.
“I started my own company to start work on new plans, taking old ones and turning them into something new. This was my thinking with Kaymoo to start something new and inspire other people.”
For the most part, his wares are available online. They did have a store, but rent was a little too high and so the hunt for another physical location is on.
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“I’ve got six designs with different colourways. We have also got tracksuits. Vusi Nova and Kwanda Music actually wear my brand a lot and a few soccer players too like Samuel Mabunda. The tracksuits are all season wear so when it’s hot or cold the light nylon we use works either way,” he boasts.
“For now, the focus is on the shoes and tracksuits. I also tried underwear, but people prefer already established names for that. The challenges are those as well as the risk involved in producing a high-volume product. When people don’t buy it becomes a problem but at least I have my other company which basically funds this business. This is a volume game and I’m not quite at the quantities of Bathu and Drip.”
Other than having a proclivity for striking out on his own, he does draw inspiration from a few fashion labels.
"I love Vialli, they’re a new brand that just came in. I like how they make sure about the quality which is key to them. It’s beautiful. I also like Hydraulics who sell international brands like Iceberg. They’re pricey but I’m a fan.”
He tends to buy shirts from Vialli and covets the material for his own shirts which have been made but are not on sale yet.
“I wear a lot of brands, there isn’t a particular one I like even internationally. It’s all in the art and style. The quality of the material is also important so after a few washes sneakers don’t lose their shape or colour, so they last. As men we don’t really enjoy shopping so buying quality you can get something that will last for a year and not have to go shopping again anytime soon.”
