golden era

From promo model to powerful creative influence, Kim Jayde leans fully into her brand as she unpacks the full circle moment of being back at BL and beyond.

- BY YASHNA BALWANTH

Days spent on a fashion shoot set are always intense, but the end shots make it so rewarding. There's a certain energy in the air even before we start shooting, and as our cover star Kim Jayde stepped into the studio on a very rainy, very cold winter's morning in Cape Town, catching that 6am red-eye flight, her vivacious personality shone through like you wouldn't expect from someone who had been up since 2am. That megawatt smile, the excitement over the clothing and shoes, the absolute banter - we were ready to create magic, and boy-oh-boy did we do just that!

Model, ex MTV Base & Africa television host, entrepreneur, producer and MC host with the most, Kim is a woman of many talents. Balanced Life was her first official magazine cover back in 2019, and now she is here again to show us how things have changed. Kim gives us a full update on what we have to look forward to from her for the rest of the year - but in sneakers, of course!

A LITTLE BACKSTORY

While Kim has garnered quite the fan club across her social media pages over the years, working with brands such as Ivy-Park, adidas, Hennessy x NBA and more, she didn't start out this way. "I came to the industry on MTV Base back in 2017. I'm gonna keep it super 100 with you guys, I was an absolute nobody when I got my job on MTV. I had no experience in television because I was a model. I had no industry connections, and no agency would represent me," Kim shared at a keynote presentation. "When I started out on MTV, I made R4 000 a month. No glam team, no styling, no wardrobe - that was what I was earning. So, it really was a tricky one coming into the industry and trying to figure out my space, who was I, where do I fit in."

'IT REALLY WAS A TRICKY ONE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT MY SPACE'