My history with 44 Stanley goes back to when there was still a 20 in my age bracket. I remember heading to Rocka on Wednesday nights to watch Marcus Wyatt play his trumpet on jazz nights, or going for Saturday brunch at Salvation Café. So visiting it last month for a wine tasting with friends while watching Charles Leonard play a DJ set, I ended up bumping into many familiar faces from back in the day. Except now, some of us are pushing strollers instead of tequila shots across the table. While meandering through the shops, watching Johannesburg’s coolest folks, I found myself being reminded of the magic of one of my hometown’s most beloved destinations for independent fashion, design, and café culture.
More than two decades since its transformation from abandoned warehouses into an urban village, 44 Stanley continues to evolve – not with fanfare, but with finesse. In recent years, a new generation of creatives has breathed fresh life into the precinct, layering it with global influences and deeply personal narratives. Among them are three remarkable entrepreneurs: Rodney Mudzengere, Noko Malatjie, and Abdoul C. Machioudi, the minds behind IFUKU and Kōhī, Lombia, and Yä-de respectively.
This is a place where ideas are steeped in meaning. Rodney’s IFUKU reimagines vintage workwear through a sustainable, minimalist lens, while Kōhī serves matcha with Japanese reverence and a side of slow living. Noko’s Lombia has quietly pioneered African eyewear, fusing world-class craftsmanship with purpose. And Yä-de, Abdoul’s concept boutique, offers a stylish yet soulful tribute to the continent’s artisanal brilliance, featuring designers such as Nigeria’s Dye Lab with its vibrant hand-dyed textiles, Senegal’s Adama Paris – known for blending heritage with modern femininity – and Sisters of Afrika, whose expressive silhouettes celebrate African womanhood and identity.
These brands don’t just sell products; they sell presence. And in that spirit, 44 Stanley has become a destination for discovery – whether you’re sipping a perfectly whisked ceremonial matcha or a full-bodied merlot, uncovering a selvedge denim jacket with a past or being fitted for eyewear that feels like a personal statement.
The precinct continues to host refined cultural moments, like the recent Vinosity wine event where DJ and music historian Charles Leonard spun vinyl classics for a crowd mixed with 30-year-old travellers from Europe, mindful pan-African 20-somethings, and 40-year-old cool kids. It’s these kinds of layered experiences that define 44 Stanley – timeless, soulful, and unmistakably eclectic.
This is Johannesburg with all its nuance; curated, creative, and quietly cool.
RODNEY MUDZENGERE: IFUKU & KŌHĪ
Born in Zimbabwe and raised on the value of resourcefulness, Rodney began selling clothes as a teen. IFUKU is his love letter to vintage denim, pre-owned workwear, and Japanese precision. It’s also a philosophy, one that is rooted in care for the body, the planet, and the past. His in-house line, SHIGOTO IFUKU (‘work clothes’ in Japanese), reworks utility garments into stylish, wearable streetwear. The space is calm, minimal, and thoughtful – a reflection of Rodney himself. “It’s about designing things people can live in,” he explains. “If it’s made well, and it has a story, it belongs at IFUKU.”
Repairs and revivals are integral to the store’s culture. “I’d rather repair my vintage pieces than keep buying new,” he says. “I might be the only one wearing some of them. They’re special,” adding that “It’s about care. Care for the body, the clothes, and the planet.”
That ethos runs through everything at IFUKU, where the philosophy is as much about preservation as it is about style. In Rodney’s world, longevity is luxury, and every garment has a second life waiting to be lived.
Kōhī, the Japanese-inspired café next door, grew organically out of Rodney’s world. “Most denim lovers are also coffee addicts,” he jokes. “Kōhī to me was the unstoppable dream I always had inside my head and I had to bring it to life,” he says. After years of studying minimal Japanese interiors, Rodney knew exactly what he wanted. With the help of Mady by Us Furniture Studio, the result is a serene cocoon that’s earned a reputation for some of Joburg’s finest matcha. “People always comment on how we make it, and they often take home one of our tiramisu cupcakes too. We’re proud of it.”
The loss of his eye in a car accident marked a turning point. “It was a rebirth for me,” he says. “It’s now my signature; a new identity.” Rodney’s resilience is stitched into every corner of IFUKU and Kōhī. He’s a collector by nature; of clothing, music, vintage record players, and Land Rovers – all driven by a respect for heritage and stories that last.
And it’s at 44 Stanley where his philosophy finds community. “It’s like a European village in the middle of Joburg,” he says. “Every day I meet someone special. It’s like meeting the same soul in different bodies.”
NOKO MALATJIE: LOMBIA
Lombia, South Africa’s first high-end eyewear brand, began with Noko’s personal story – one of obscured vision and eventual clarity. “I grew up in Tembisa, where access to something as essential as prescription eyewear was a luxury,” he shares. That exclusion stayed with him and seeded a vision: to create something that offered both visibility and dignity.
“This personal struggle became the heartbeat of our mission. Lombia isn’t just about creating luxury eyewear – it’s about visibility, identity, and empowerment. That’s why our partnership with the Isiboniso Foundation is so vital to us. We don’t want to just design beautiful things, we want to change lives through access and opportunity.” Through this partnership, each frame contributes directly to providing under-resourced communities with the gift of sight.
Noko describes himself as the “chief architect” of Lombia – a title that speaks to his hands-on, conceptual approach. Largely self-taught, he learnt the industry by immersing himself in the world of optics and design, establishing Orme Atelier as Africa’s first full-service eyewear agency before launching Lombia as a stand-alone brand.
His frames are produced in Japan and are known for their artisanal precision. “To me, quality means intentionality,” he says. “It’s the difference between a product that exists and one that makes a statement.” Designed with African facial features in mind – especially the bridge of the nose – Lombia’s pieces are as considered in fit as they are in form.
“44 Stanley represents everything Lombia stands for – creativity, craftsmanship, and community.” And it’s here that Noko engages with customers who connect not just to the look and feel of the frames, but to the story behind them.
“I want Lombia to be a symbol of what African creativity looks like when given space to breathe,” he says. “A brand that redefines luxury from an African lens.”
ABDOUL C. MACHIOUDI: YÄ-DE
Step into Yä-de, and enter what founder Abdoul calls a “fusion hub of art, culture, and fashion.” The Benin-born, Johannesburg-based creative has spent decades moving between continents and industries, and it shows in every inch of his concept boutique. The name “Yä-de” combines two Yoruba words: ‘yä’ meaning “pathway,” and ‘dé’ meaning “arrival of greatness.” The name not only honours the boutique’s mission, but the recent birth of Abdoul’s son.
From working with fashion retailers like Edcon to managing luxury label Billionaire on Sandton’s Diamond Walk, Abdoul absorbed the mechanics of high-end retail, while remaining rooted in African creativity. “I started in retail with my mother’s import-export business in West Africa,” he recalls. “She was brutal with the standards but gentle with people. That was my basic foundation. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher/influencer. ”
Yä-de is his answer to the often-overlooked brilliance of African design. It features a curated mix of fashion, accessories, and lifestyle pieces from across the continent such as Nigeria’s Dye Lab and Senegal’s Adama Paris, and emerging labels that Abdoul scouts himself. “Our crafts speak boldly for themselves, and you can see the truth of this statement written throughout the four corners of the continent. It is the reason why we study and curate the brands we partner with even though our own in-house collection is not far from the horizon,” says Abdoul.
Why 44 Stanley? “It has a very diverse customer base, with international clients from Europe and America, and pan-African consumers from the continent. It was the right place to launch our first concept store.” Storytelling and product knowledge are key to the experience. “Although we are in a sales environment, the human element is our number one priority,” he says. Through curated collections and customer conversations, Abdoul is building more than a store – he’s nurturing a movement.
Discover 44 Stanley
- Catch a cult classic or a local documentary at The Bioscope Independent Cinema
- Discover literary gems and first editions at L’Éléphant Terrible, the precinct’s intimate bookshop
- Browse remastered South African vinyl classics at Mr Vinyl
- View limited-edition fine art prints at The Atelier and Gallery and see a 200-year-old printing press brought from Paris
- Indulge in seasonal scoops from Forest Gelato or the famous cheesecake at Salvation Café
- Shop slow fashion, accessories, and homeware from Africa’s finest artisans at Mungo, Storm Ceramics and more
- Step inside The Manor, Trevor Stuurman’s acclaimed creative space and one of Time magazine’s World’s Greatest Places
