Phupho Gumede-K

Category
Arts & Entertainment

Age
23

Organisation / Company
Freelance
Website

Profile

Phupho Gumede K, 23, is an award-winning pan-African celebrity stylist, creative director, and reality television star. He is a stylist for some of Africa’s biggest celebrities, such as Diamond Platnumz; 2face Idibia; Khanyi Mbau; Zari the Boss Lady and Annie Idibia. He boasts of being  the first person to style 21 magazine covers under the age of 21. Gumede K was involved in Season 1 of The Real Housewives of Durban on Showmax and Bravo where he drew in viewers with his larger-than-life personality. He contributed to the over-the-top image of the first series of Netflix’s Young Famous & African as a stylist. He has been named head of wardrobe for the second season making him the streaming service’s youngest ever head of department. He was inducted into Forbes Africa‘s 30 Under 30 Class of 2022, giving him international recognition. “The young ‘isiZulu queer’ stylist from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, has made it,” Forbes Africa said of him. Gumede K is passionate about helping up-and-coming South Africans. “Everything we went through to break through in all our industries, we need to make sure to leave the door open, so they don’t have the same struggles, and the ones in front of us must do the same. And that is the only way we will move forward as a society,” he says.

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

• 1 year-UKZN, Bachelor of Science: Biological science.
• 3 years undergrad-UJ, Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design.

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• A world record- Styled 21 magazine covers before the age of 21. 
• Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 Class of 2022. 
• A cover star of Forbes magazine African May 2022. 
• 2x Africa Choice Awards(Nigeria)  ‘Stylist of The Year’. 
• Youngest Head of Wardrobe in Netflix Africa for the series Young, Famous and African.

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

My grandmother has always motivated us to win 10-0. And my mother has always emphasised that we can’t be beaten by other kids from other homes. So from a very young age, the spirit of perfection has always ruled over me. The Spirit of not competing with the next person, but rather leaving a very remarkable gap that will be so hard to fill.

Advice to your younger self?

You are doing great.  Don’t be easily discouraged by the naysayers. Those sticks and stones they throw at you, one day will build a house. Be bold. Speak your mind with a firm voice. You are exactly who you think you are.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

I would love to see a South Africa with more open doors for the kids that come behind us. They can’t have the same stories of suffering as us. Everything we went through to break through in all our industries, we need to make sure to leave the door open so they don’t have the same struggles and the ones in front of us must do the same. And that is the only way we will move forward as a society.