Cape Town Spurs midfielder Keagan Buchanan spoke with Soccer Laduma's Fan Park about his plans to take the South African fashion industry by storm.
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What's the story?
When one thinks about an effortlessly stylish South African footballer, Keagan Buchanan's names is one of the first that springs to mind.
The former Kaizer Chiefs, AmaZulu and Maritzburg United baller surfs an eclectic wave when it comes to his personal style, which will soon be translated into an luxury athleisure wear brand.
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Let's take a closer look at what Buchanan had to say...
Keagan Buchanan on his venture into fashion
Keagan Buchanan is highly regarded as one of the most stylish footballers in South Africa, and probably the continent as a whole.
The baller, similar to the likes of Hector Bellerin, Michy Batshuayi and Serge Gnabry, has blazed a trail in the crossover between football and fashion.
His vibrant style, accompanied with a good eye for high-end brands and silhouette options, make him a fashionista many want to emulate.
'The Fixer' as he's known on the pitch, has plans to kickstart his own fashion brand titled 'REFVND' and it's something he's been wanting to do for a while now:
"REFVND is a brand I've been working on for three years. I actually had a different name for the brand, I had to change it because there's another brand abroad that's similar in name.
"The brand follows [on social media] my wife, myself and Mohammed Bah; who is one of the creative directors alongside me, who owns another brand called Nacao Cabra based in Durban. But he is based in America, so we do our discussions via FaceTime or whatever," said Buchanan when mentioning the brains trust of his clothing brand.
When thinking about luxury athleisure fashion brands, the likes of Sporty Rich, Palace Skateboards, Wales Bonner, Y-3, Pas Normal Studios instantly come to mind, a brave sector of fashion to explore for Buchanan, but it's a challenge that's made for him.
"What inspired to specifically focus on luxury athleisure, is the fact that I'm an athlete. Obviously. I've got a taste for high fashion, streetwear, so in a nutshell I'm making clothes that I would want to wear, along with people that follow me and my style as well. Which will then make it marketable and appealing for them."
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Buchanan initially had plans to launch his first REFVND collection this summer, but a busy schedule has delayed things a bit. Fans can now expect some Buchanan-designed garments early in the new year.
"My brand will now drop in January because of the hectic December schedule with all the games and my wife giving birth. So I've put that on hold until January. But like I said, it's been a plan of mine since my Maritzburg United days. I've been planning, sketching, coming up with ideas because this thing takes time.
"I don't want to do just any brand where I'm not putting everything into it because I know what I want to do with the brand and I've done my homework. I follow a lot of other designers abroad and what their podcasts and try to pick up tips, how they do their marketing, etc," says Buchanan.
In terms of luxury sportswear/athleisure brands that Buchanan takes inspiration from, the creative athlete looks at big industry names like England's Cole Buxton, Represent and one of his most-worn brands, Rhude from the US.
Here's a snap of the baller styling in a cycling top from a collaborations between his sponsor PUMA and the Rhude brand:
Take a scroll through the gallery to view some of Buchanan's best outfits:
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