1. The ultimate go-to-guy

Since LIFE by Andre Martin hit YDE stores that many moons ago, the label has become renowned as the super reliable go-to-brand for the men in most of our lives. From his standard short sleeve, button up cotton shirts for dad’s, printed cotton tees for younger bros and off the hook tailored suits for the leading male roles in our lives, you can never go wrong. It’s why he will always be one of Mzansi’s favourite male designers. You can’t help daydream about your Boo in his threads.

 

2. He brings street cred to the runway

At every LIFE by Andre Martin show he brings this incredible energy and ‘life’ to the runway. It’s urban cool meets Mzansi suave and I promise, his runways shows are always a crowd pleaser. As an individual he has this intense X factor that seems to illuminate through each garment. It’s always so refreshing.

 

3. He’s from Durban

Which maybe gives him that refreshing edge. You never see him hanging about celebs, sipping expensive champagne doing the shoulder shimmy. He’s a regular bloke, like the kind from a Castle Lite ad. He’s so cool.

 

4. He also struggles with social media

It’s always amazing to find someone else who hasn’t quite got the full gist of the interweb scenario. His online store and Tumblr account are yet to get off their feet.

 

5. He’s hot

As much as one can love the David Tlale’s of the design world it’s always nice to have Andre in the house. He has this Craig David vibe about him, he doesn’t have a player reputation and he’s polite. The stuff dreams are made of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. He’s no stranger to failure

Life, just like most of ours has had its ups and downs. As a business they suffered a loss with the opening of too many concept stores, which saw the closure of more than half of them. A real entrepreneurial story is always more inspiring than the ones where everything goes smoothly. 

 

7. He’s embraced the harem tracksuit pant

Nicole Richie once tweeted “The key to a long lasting relationship is to wait until a man is legally bound to you before you wear harem pants”. We all know this yet can’t deny the unlimited comfort the harem tracksuit pant offers. It’s just so sweet that Andre has brought them to the forefront of Men’s fashion for us. 

 

8. He suffers from a standard fashion faux pas, just like the rest of us.

Even esteemed fashion designers hit a fashion speed bump. Got to love this pic of Andre Martin and Jan Malan wearing the same LIFE tee to lunch #same-sies

 

9. He shot his Winter collection in the 031 CBD

Most Durbanites have long forgotten that there is, still, in fact a CBD. They’re so busy cruising along the Umhlanga Ridge with the top down that Warwick Triangle and The City Hall are but distant memories. Not our Andre Martin. Taking it back to his roots he shot his 2013 winter collection in the thick of things with popular Durban photographer Craig Scott. 

 

10. Watch this…

 

 

And you’ll probably find another 10 reasons to love LIFE. 

Pics by: SDR photo