She has perfected the art of being a true new age cultural icon. 

Words by Tutu Zondo

Common reactions when Nkuley walks into a room include jaws dropping, eyes widening and small gasps escaping. Hers is an otherworldly beauty, and the type of face you see once in a generation. But when she walked in on the date of this this shoot all I could do was smile. 

I probably tell the story too much but, I met Nkuley outside a small bar in Braamfontein and almost instantly we became friends and in the years that have followed, we’ve become family. This means I’ve had the great honour of having a front-row seat to the magic that is Nkuley, a new age icon.  

When she walked in for this shoot in a bright pink adidas tracksuit and Yeezys, I smile because I remember her first job in this city; a stark contrast to the tastefully decorated studios we find ourselves in today. The first job Nkuley did was in an abandoned building in the middle of Hillbrow. It was a music video for an artist that neither of us seem to remember. We laugh about it now. ”It was the bottom,” I say. ”I was still a bottom,” she says, with her signature quick wit. That first shoot was a long shoot, and no one got paid but even then, Nkuley gave everything. Her first time on a set and she was styling, creative directing and also starring in that music video. She was just 17 years old.  

Now at 23, she is taking bigger strides in her career and at every step she is redefining what success looks like. In the 5 years she’s been working, there’s very little she hasn’t done in the entertainment industry. From DJ-ing at the hottest parties in the city, to her status as a super model who has worked with icons like Rich Mnisi, Nao Serati and Thebe Magugu. She’s designed collections of her own, and been the muse of artists around the world. She was once even an intern of this very magazine, a memory she laughs at when it’s brought up during the course of the shoot. What Nkuley brings to each of these roles is an authenticity that can never be replicated (even though many try). 

Over the course of the days I spend with Nkuley, working on this profile, I ask her about her current projects and, without missing a beat, she flips her long platinum blonde braids and says, ”I’m directing a movie”. In all the years I’ve known her, she has refused to be put in a singular box and this next move shouldn’t surprise me but, I can’t help but be intrigued. 

Not a lot of people know this about her but, Nkuley is a movie buff. ”I’d rather watch movies, than listen to music” she plainly states. The first time I watched Paris Is Burning, a film that quite literally changed my life, was because she insisted I would love it (she was absolutely right). If you want a movie recommendation, she’s your girl. And now, she’s creating her own film with internationally celebrated visual artist Luvuyo Nyawose. She doesn’t speak too much about what we can expect, but she does promise that it will be personal, vulnerable and revealing.  

It’s her mix of authenticity and radical vulnerability that has led to her almost cult-like following online. A child of the internet, raised on Tumblr and Instagram. Nkuley has shared so many moments and milestones (her first “real” job? Moving into her apartment, the woes of dating) with the thousands of people who follow her every move. She has perfected the art of being a true new age cultural icon.  

She has also become one of the greatest teachers in this new age — yes, a teacher. What Nkuley has managed to do is explore very complex ideas around identity, gender and sexuality in a way that feels accessible. By sharing her own journey with these ideas and truths she’s started conversations and challenged ways of thinking. In 240 characters on Twitter, she often documents her journey of “becoming”, she doesn’t shy away from speaking about the unique struggles and splendid triumphs she faces as a trans woman in South Africa. 

Across her social media, we’ve seen her fears, her hopes and joys. We’ve also seen her break down doors and step into rooms people like her were never meant to be in. She is a woman movement and, like everyone else, I’m just happy to bear witness to it.