Walking the Fashion Line

UP-AND-COMING FASHION GURU CELESTINE KAMPIRE REVEALS HER JOURNEY IN A TELL-ALL Q&A

From styling to photography and her foodie-inspired YouTube channel, content creator Celestine Kampire is a multi-talented creative. The Rwandan native who now lives in the Mother City has been making her mark in the fashion industry with her 'cool girl' looks. Fondly known as 'ur fashion friend', here's Celestine's story.

WHAT DREW YOU TO STYLING AND THE FASHION INDUSTRY?

I have always been drawn to fashion. When I was around 11 years old, I had a book where I would sketch all the designs I wanted to make when I got older. With that in mind, I studied fashion design after high school.

I've always been very visually inclined too, so watching movies with amazing costumes also drew me in, as well as being able to style myself.

ARE YOUR SKILLS SELFTAUGHT OR DID YOU DO ANY SPECIAL TRAINING?

I studied Fashion Design at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and worked in the fashion industry until 2020.

While working in the fashion industry, I was doing social media on the side and got a camera in 2017. From there, I got into photography and in 2020 I went fully into it with my younger brother as a content creator.

DO YOU THINK YOUR UPBRINGING IMPACTED YOUR CURRENT CAREER PATH?

No, styling and fashion have always been passions of mine.

But from an African perspective, going into a more stable field would have been more desirable to my family and community. As a result, two of my older brothers went into engineering and I went into design instead.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A CONTENT CREATOR?