Crafting luxury

Hanneli Rupert of Okapi is speaking at the International Herald Tribune Luxury Conference in Rome from 15 to 16 November. We spoke to her about the changing face of luxury and why African craftsmanship has so much potential.

Define luxury in the 21st century.

True luxury is not about mass production; it’s about handmade, bespoke design. That’s why Okapi is about helping customers to customise their own handbag.

Why does Africa show promise in this sector?

In certain markets, what African brands are doing is more covetable than the established luxury labels because we are offering a once-off product of genuine artisanal design. Plus our quality can be compared to that of covetable Italian design houses.

What luxury brands do you lust after?

I see art as a new kind of luxury and really covet a piece by Nandipha Mntambo. Locally Tammy Frazer perfumes give me a traditional feeling of luxury. Globally, I am a big fan of designers who merge interesting influences. Celistina bags, for example, are exquisite clutches made using shells from the Philippines.

36 Long Street, 021 422 2828, okapi.com

Hannelie has just launched her new venture, Merchants Café. We are giving away a bottle of Merchants Café wine and a unique Michael Chandler plate to four VISI readers. To enter, sign up to VISI’s weekly newsletter by midnight on Thursday 8 November. Four winners will be drawn from the newsletter subscriber database using random.org.