It’s a booty call

by VISI BLOGGER Nadine Arendse

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It’s Saturday and I’m at the Designgoods market in Cape Town, searching for Grandt Mason’s business card.

Grandt has my deposit safely tucked away in his back pocket. Now it’s just the tiny matter of settling my exclusive pair of g-mo eco boots. My beautiful zigzag-stitched, two-toned Hawk pair is understatedly unique. Grandt laces up my boot, demonstrating how it can be folded over neatly for a different look. Yep, it’s a done deal.

I quizz the qualified industrial designer to discover more behind the g-mo brand…

When you take off your shoes, do you unite your right shoe with the left?

It depends on how I feel... Sometimes. I tend to live in one or two pairs, although I have about 30.

Childhood dream?

To be a nature conservationist / game ranger.

Who does the g-mo brand cater for?

We have customers from as young as nine years to as old as 90. The typical g-mo wearer is someone looking for a unique yet comfortable shoe of impeccable quality. Each shoe is carefully considered. Depending on the fabric combination, it will draw a particular individual.

Apart from parachute and truck covers, which other materials would you
like to get your hands on?

I’d like to find a way to make use of old car tyres as a soling option for boots. I’d also like to look into making a waterproof boot out of billboards.

Do you get your hands dirty?

Not so much anymore, but every now and then I have to fix a sewing machine. If I’m prototyping, I’ll stitch the shoe from start to finish to understand the production process. The real tough part is putting the shoe together, which I don’t do myself anymore.

Is the water-resistant spray you’re using a bit like Scotchgard fabric protector?

Yes, a company in Port Elizabeth developed it for me. It’s formulated for delicate fabrics. I’ve also just heard of a completely natural waterproofing agent, which I’m very excited to get my hands on.

Name three of your clothing all-time favourites.

As a kid I used to live in my Spiderman outfit. At 17, I wore a crazy 70s jacket with a technicolour lining inside out. I really loved it and thought I looked super cool!

Now I wear my old pair of Tommy Hilfiger pants at the Rocking the Daisies Fest every year. They‘ve been printed on, stitched, re-stitched and patched with all sorts of fabrics. I add some new detail to them each time. Love ‘em!

What’s the measure of success for g-mo?

We’ve just started exporting to Canada and the USA. It’s something we’ve been working towards for a while. With the online shop, we intend to expand production capacity and invest in cool new machinery. This way we get to compete with the world’s best footwear designers.

More information: http://g-mo.co.za/

About Nadine Arendse:

Nadine studied fashion design and feature writing, and has spent most of her career thus far in the retail sector. She notes that she has “a classic personality, with a fair side of quirkiness”. She loves designing, styling and doing all things creative. Her aspirations are to be a fashion editor while continuing to be a driving force behind the fashion label Mi, based in the Cape Quarter. Nadine also showcases her own fashion label, called Rendition, at the You, Me and Everyone We Know market, which regularly takes place at the Labia On Orange theatre in Cape Town.

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