Girl Talk- Interview with Nyané Lebajoa

With over 460K followers on Instagram alone it’s safe to say that Nyané Lebajoa has taken the world of social media by storm. We caught up with the fashion blogger and model to talk haircare, being a twin and the future of blogging.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hey! I’m Nyané Lebajoa, I’m 22 years old and I’m currently based in Berlin, Germany. I am originally from Lesotho, a small country in Southern Africa. I spent my teenage years in the UK and moved to Berlin this year.

What inspired you to start blogging?

I didn’t really see myself as a blogger up until now. I started as a portrait and hair model at a very young age and then took to Tumblr to show off some photography and styling work of mine and [twin sister] Mpho. Instagram seemed to be the next big thing so I made an account and started posting. It turned out to be quite successful and brands started contacting me wanting to send clothes for me to wear and advertise which was pretty cool!

You are one of the most successful models and in-demand online bloggers. What’s your secret?
I don’t really have a ‘secret’. People always ask me this and hope for some definite formula for success and I always have to disappoint them. It’s simply work! You need to get up and work as hard as you can, every day!

Even though you have worked with your sister on fashion campaigns, it seems like you’ve both come into your own carving out social media careers as individuals instead of relying on the ‘twin thing.’ Was this a conscious decision or a reflection of two different personalities?

It was a little bit of both! When we took to Instagram we decided to start separate accounts and both our careers really started off from there. Apart from the fact that our tastes have changed and evolved over time, we have always had different tastes but they somehow complimented each other without us planning on it.

You seem to have very different personal styles, but like most sisters, I imagine there’s a huge amount of wardrobe stealing that goes on?
This used to happen a lot when we still lived at home together- but we never had any serious arguments!

Your platinum silver locks have arguably become your trademark look. How do you keep them looking so lush?

Thank you! Yes it’s definitely my go-to signature look. There is this amazing Swedish brand called Maria Nila, they have a really nice silver range of shampoo, conditioner and masque and they are just perfect to keep the perfect silver and get rid of any yellow or blue tones.

Who or what are your influences?

This is very hard, I don’t actually have a go to place for inspiration. It can be something that pops up on the explore page on Instagram or it could be something I see in a magazine. I like going on Tumblr for inspiration because that’s kind of where I came from, and I can really relate to what’s popular on Tumblr, but I also refer back to older works of my own and try recreate them with a fresh touch.

Who are your favourite designers/labels?

I absolutely love Ellie Saab and anything by Alexander McQueen!

It seems like everyone has a blog nowadays. Where do you see the future for a market which has seemingly become oversaturated?

You are absolutely right, it is and so has Instagram. I think it will just be increasingly hard to be successful and just like in any other creative industry there will be more and more diversity so people will have to find new niches. The best way to do that is through being authentic and true to your personality.

They say behind every beautiful blogger is a boyfriend with a camera…
This is very true for me! Philipp and I work together on loads of other stuff, so he is basically my personal assistant, agent, manager, tour manager, photographer, videographer, producer and anything else I need him to be at any given time! (laughs)

Any exciting projects in the pipeline you can let us in on?
I am working on my own clothing designs with a few brands and there will be more of that in future!

And finally, describe your perfect day?
I would probably spend it somewhere on a rooftop, full of exotic plants, surrounded by my friends and family, with plenty of music, cocktails and a BBQ!