Bafana Republic

Is there a prettier and more successful model alive right now than South Africa’s very own Candice Swanepoel? There was a time when doing well beyond our borders meant ‘doing well for a South African’. But now Candice as well as Behati, Heidi, Marike (le Roux) and the other lovely (less-clothed) Candice - the biggest stars of the southern firmament - are doing spectacularly in comparison to just about every other model on the planet. Reasons to be proud.

The super-respected model manager Marlon (another South African gone stellar) once told me that the reason for Candice’s huge success was not only her jaw-dropping good looks but also her very good manners and sweet nature. Even more reasons to be proud.

Years and years ago, one of our then fashion editors shot her for a COSMO cover. I, displaying my customary cluelessness with regard to all things fashion, proclaimed that she had ‘funny eyebrows’ and spiked it. I have not, it transpires, got infallible judgment.

I also decided years ago that COSMO’s very brilliant assistant editor Cathy Lund was ‘not the right person for the job’. She was only snatched from The Sunday Times because our then deputy editor saw her value and talent, ignored my opinion and hired her. I have loved being proved completely wrong in my initial assessment of Cathy since the second time she walked through the door.

So what can I say I’ve learnt from my missteps and misjudgments? A few things:
1) It isn’t necessarily a disaster if you make a few errors of judgment along the way. No-one is always right.
2) Life can be generous and might give you a second chance to correct some of the mistakes you make. (Sometimes you will have to trust someone else’s judgment over your own.)
3) And, sometimes, timing is all. There couldn’t be a better month to run Candice Swanepoel’s first COSMO cover. It is a unique moment for all of us – a month in which we are duty bound to have the time of our lives! It is a rare gift to be offered such an opportunity, and perfectly timed for most of you, the COSMO crew who are living one of life’s most precious periods – your fun, fearless 20s.

So, no bitching and moaning. No negative anything. You have the opportunity for the party of a lifetime, right here, in our cities, on our doorstep.

The Sokker Wêreldbeker (I’m not sure what I am allowed to call it without FIFA chopping off my head) is here – the time has come for us all to get into our Bafana Bafana colours, paint our faces and blow those vuvuzelas. (Look how cool Candice looks decked out in SA’s colours - you could join her!) We have so much to celebrate about our beloved, badly behaved home, which remains beautiful, hopeful and able to pull off miracles.

Your task for June? Drink it in, party like it’s 2010 and share a little love with the world. Although not, of course, the traditional COSMO-type love. Save that for the bedroom with a loved one. To that end, we’ve included some sokker-inspired sex positions. We can’t help it, we’re proudly COSMO to the core!

Author: Vanessa Raphaely