Kgomotso Seboko: The man finding Africa’s next top models

While the runway was dripping with stylish outfits, anticipation and a bit of UltraMel custard earlier this month, Kgomotso Seboko was filled with pride and gratitude. As a fashion producer and model scout, Seboko was one of the agencies that supplied models for the MaXhosa Africa showcasing at this year’s Paris Fashion Week. MaXhosa Africa’s Siyi-Kulture collection was a celebration of identity and heritage, layered on theskhothanesubculture.

For the local brand, the collection reinforces its founding philosophy that culture is not static, it is lived, evolving and continuously expressed through contemporary design. Putting together a stellar showcasing on an international stage takes an ardent team, including model agencies. On a trip to Paris, France a few years back, Seboko discovered a tall young man, BA Alassane Jr.

When MaXhosa Africa opened casting calls for this year’s Paris Fashion Week, Seboko immediately contacted MaXhosa founder Laduma Ngxokolo to suggest the young soon-to-be model. With two decades in the fashion and modelling industry, Seboko has come a long way from being rejected for his height by model agencies. Now as an award-winning model scout, pageant coach, fashion producer and media entrepreneur, he is flying higher than ever.

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Encouraged by friends, in 2005 he set up KS Modelling Academy in Johannesburg, where he even tried convincing me to join his agency because of my height. He hasn’t succeeded but he has managed to carve out a laudable career since then. Through his academy, Seboko has trained Miss South Africa finalists for more than a decade.

The academy has also produced Seychelles Fashion Week, launched Mister Heritage South Africa and supplies models to brands such as Revlon, Inecto and Darling Hair. Mail & Guardiancaught up with the man who starts his mornings with prayer and the gym, to learn more about his experience at Paris Fashion Week with MaXhosa Africa. Your initial dream was to be a model.

When did the dream start? It began back in Lesotho where I used to get in trouble for stopping every cameraman to take photos of me. My grandmother used to yell at me for making her pay for all the photos taken throughout the day.

I fully discovered it when I moved back to South Africa, to KwaZulu-Natal, where I participated in beauty pageants and fashion shows throughout my high school years. But the dream was deterred and you had to transition to being a model agent and scout?

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