TREVOR STUURMAN : THE EXPLORER
SOUTH AFRICA: FASHION/ PHOTOGRAPHY
‘The Explorer’s lantern has the power to reveal true character. He sees more than meets the eye, and his lantern rouses everything it touches, freeing their inner being and allowing them to emerge’
Trevor Stuurman is a creative with a growing global footprint, often referred to as a bright small-town boy with big city dreams. He was born and raised in Kimberley. Stuurman is a fine a multi-media visual artist. His career in fashion was kick started, when he was named the ELLE Magazine’s first ever Style Reporter back in 2012. He was then featured in House and Leisure’s 2014 Rising Star. He then made the cut for Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans 2015, and Destiny Magazine’s The Power of 40 List. GQ Magazine named him Best Dressed Man in 2015 as well as SA Style Awards 2015 Next Big Thing.
In 2016 he championed the Sunglass Hut Reflections Conference as key note speaker and was invited to be part of the judging panel for SA Fashion Week’s New Talent Search 2016. He was again invited as Speaker at Oxford Africa Conference 2017. Art lovers got to see his work as Exhibitor at Cape Town Art Fair 2017.
The acclaim has seen him seamlessly swapping the street scene for high-end fashion events such as London, New York and Milan Fashion Week. Stuurman knows how to carefully capture colour, character, texture and feeling to breathe life into his still images. We can’t get enough of artists who embrace every aspect of their unique African culture and heritage. Stuurman often speaks about drawing his central inspiration and drive from cultures of his country and mother continent.
Stuurman is studying for a BA Honors in Motion Pictures and spends most of his time researching urban style cultures across the African world. Stuurman gives of his time to mentoring young students from the Alan Grey Orbis Foundation.
Most recently Stuurman collaborated with Simon & Mary on their fez-style hats which were inspired by Ndebele use of colour and beaded bracelets. The breakthrough achieved by the range is part of what confirms Stuurman as a creative revolutionary bent on shaping the future of the continent.
Marvel Studios and Disney identified Stuurman as a creative giant and commissioned him to do art work for the biggest film to date, Black Panther. Stuurman has recently also joined forces with Vogue as contributor.
