Staff Reporter
Windhoek-Namibia’s Lourens Loux Gebhardt, better known as Loux the Vintage Guru from Windhoek, has reportedly teamed up with South African Tony Mac Maake, to design a wooden bow tie called LouxMac Legacy. Our resident reporter brings you the story from Windhoek.
However, following a media release by a Czech company, Gebhardt contacted New Era to say he has some pending “internal issues that need clarifying” regarding his involvement with BeWooden.
The “internal issues that need clarifying” says Gebhardt, relate to the proceeds from the sales of the bow tie.
A statement released by the company behind the initiative’s public relations person, Henrik Roth, based in Germany, says a portion of the proceeds from LouxMac Legacy bow tie will go towards a South African children’s charity foundation.
In the BeWooden online shop, they have priced the LouxMac Legacy bowtie at N$1,406.19 a pair, and N$193.54 from each sale will supposedly go towards a South African charity foundation that Tony Mac established.
BeWooden says the designers have made the LouxMac Legacy bow tie with up-cycled mahogany wood from an old school roof in Tanzania. The bow tie will be a limited edition and aims to connect Africa with the world.
The design is a collaboration with German artists and originated from the Czech Republic, where in 2013 a group of young innovators and designers decided to create wearable fashion from wood and other natural resources.
Roth also sent New Era a link to the promotional video they put out on Facebook, in which Gebhardt describes his involvement.
“It is different countries combined globally to let people know that we can work together as a team, as brothers and sisters, irrespective of the colour, the race and indigenous languages we speak.”
Not only does Gebhardt dress up every day in vintage clothing – no matter what the occasion – he is also a stylist.
The two men say they want to protect the culture developed by their predecessors in the late 70s and 80s.
“We want people to be well dressed and groomed again and remain so until 2050,” Makeen and Gebhardt said in the statement issued by Roth.
Gebhardt is best known for his unconventional and vintage photoshoots, which he shares with his fans.
Because he only wears vintage clothing, people consider him one of the true dandies of southern Africa and Dandy Magazine, based in France, recently featured him on its cover.
Because of this, “WE ARE DANDY”, published in New York, recently featured and documented him in a book by the photographer Rose Callahan and writer Nathaniel ‘Natty’ Adams as one of the classic elegant men around the world.
He attends international fashion fairs such as Pitti Uomo 91 & 92 and in addition Elle magazine; The Guardian, CNN, The Independent, Village Voice and the Daily Mail have all featured him.