Lindiwe Suttle - Cape Town, South Africa

She started out in the fashion industry and had her big break styling artists like Beyonce and Ciara. But with a voice and style like hers, it can’t be argued that this lady belongs to be in the spotlight herself. Lindiwe Suttle pursued her dream and is now working as a performing artist and singer/songwriter. She was born and raised in the US by a South African mother and American father. Later on she moved to South Africa where she got crowned to be most stylish South African beyond other style recognitions. But long before these recognitions, Lindiwe knew how to rock it! “When I was five years old I begged my mom to buy me a pair of cowboy boots and I would insist on wearing them with everything, even formal dresses. My mom would say to me, ‘You don’t wear cowboy boots with nice dresses.’ So, I snuck them out of the house and wore them but got caught red-handed wearing them. Looking back I think they look great with the dress. I guess I had my own personal style at an early age.”


Like many of us, Lindiwe’s surroundings played a role in creating her fashion sense. “My mom was my style icon. In middle school, I use to wear her clothes to school without her knowing. My aunts from South Africa were like my big sisters, they lived with us growing up and they always had cool clothing. I use to sneak their clothes in a bag and change on the way to school to look more hip and to be different than the kids wearing jeans and t-shirts,” she reveals. Even today her roots are visible in the way she dresses. “On my father’s side, my great-great grandfather was a Cherokee Native American chief. I noticed when I started performing live, I would always look for feather pieces as part of my costume. Maybe this is my Native American heritage coming through,” Lindiwe explains.


Lindiwe describes her style as vintage meets rock-n-roll. “I am continually in conflict with the ladylike side, my vintage, and the androgynous rock-n-roll boyish side.” And with her love for South Africa she likes to add items of her favourite local designers to her look. “I try to support as many local designers as possible, because I believe in their talent. Lara Klawikowski is my ultimate. She is now designing all the looks for my debut album shoot and music video. I attend many student shows searching for new talent to commission to make things for my live shows. I found Lameez Claasen, a second year design student whose jacket we used for the cover of my single, Man Made Moon .” The singer also likes to add other favourites to her look, which she believes will always be in fashion: a leather jacket, black blazer, pencil skirt, denim, classic white shirt and a LBD.


This fashionista grew up around stylish women and always believed in the art of dressing up. Therefore she can identify with her favourite fashion quote by Karl Lagerfeld. “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.” She adds. “Dressing up is what my mother taught me and is instilled in me.” With her mothers advise in mind and her own personal style that she created since the age of five, Linwide keeps on expressing herself to the world. By doing so she earned her place in the spotlight, which resulted in amazing fashion moments such as, winning ‘best dressed’ in high school, voted ‘Women of the Year Style Icon’ by Glamour Magazine in 2010, voted Most Stylish South African in 2010 at the SA Style Awards and meeting designer Christian Lacroix.


While these acknowledgements might seem enough for most women, this lady is determined and dreams about more. “I have just written a song about being addicted to fashion and our quest for individualism, where I mention Lagerfeld and McQueen. My fashion dream would be to have this song play at every major fashion week and get it in the hands of every fashion designer I admire and the like of Anna Wintour, Franca Sozzani and Andre Leon Talley. I also want Viktor and Rolf to one day design all my costumes for a tour.” Can music get more fashionable than this?

Lindiwe is currently working on her debut album in Berlin, Germany. It promises to be a unique sound described as Avant-garde pop. Want to keep up with Lindiwe? Follow her on Twitter !

All photos courtesy of Lindiwe Suttle