Born in Pretoria – South Africa, Rahim Rawjee spent his formative years growing up in Canada. After finishing high school, Rawjee went on to study design in Toronto, with a keen interest in fashion design.
Thereafter, he moved to London to shape his career and experience design in a different setting and context, returning to South Africa in 1999.
Rahim was (and still is) particularly passionate about fashion as he felt it was a medium that was constantly changing and evolving i.e. a breeding ground for creativity and ingenuity.
Rahim was (and still is) particularly passionate about fashion as he felt it was a medium that was constantly changing and evolving i.e. a breeding ground for creativity and ingenuity.
The first iteration of Row G, a made-to-measure atelier, was thus born. The brand came to fruition during an emergence of creativity in South Africa’s fashion industry.
SA Fashion week, in its adolescence, was helping push fashion boundaries and change the local landscape. Rahim’s first show at SA Fashion Week was very well received, and the brand found all the local movers and shakers lining up to purchase one of his converted pieces. In 2011, Rahim showcased Row G, as the iteration its known as today, an exclusive tailormade emporium for men.
Rahim has been fortunate enough to grow up in an entrepreneurial family. The Rawjees diverse spectrum of businesses – their portfolio is extensive – range from mining to hotels to name a few. It is through this that he has acquired a strong business acumen and entrepreneurial mindset. Today, Rahim is known not only as a creative but strategic thinker. “There is no room to remain stagnant in life. I am constantly looking for ways in which I can grow, transform, evolve and disturb life as we know it,” says Rawjee.
SA Fashion week, in its adolescence, was helping push fashion boundaries and change the local landscape. Rahim’s first show at SA Fashion Week was very well received, and the brand found all the local movers and shakers lining up to purchase one of his converted pieces. In 2011, Rahim showcased Row G, as the iteration its known as today, an exclusive tailormade emporium for men.
Rahim has been fortunate enough to grow up in an entrepreneurial family. The Rawjees diverse spectrum of businesses – their portfolio is extensive – range from mining to hotels to name a few. It is through this that he has acquired a strong business acumen and entrepreneurial mindset. Today, Rahim is known not only as a creative but strategic thinker. “There is no room to remain stagnant in life. I am constantly looking for ways in which I can grow, transform, evolve and disturb life as we know it,” says Rawjee.
Ronald Ndoro, fellow co-founder of QSL Private Members Club, and Rahim serendipitously met at a wedding in South Africa two years go. They started talking about new ventures, and the concept of Africa’s most progressive private membership club grew and took form organically. They decided then and there to take the plunge and create something so unique and disruptive, it would change the idea of a private members club not only in Africa but on the global stage as well.
Rahim brings to this partnership imagination and strategic thinking, and is pleased at being able to find the creative outlet and another facet to flex his inventive muscle and skill. His background was so easily aligned with the concept of membership, it just made sense. The knowledge and experience Ronald has added to the venture, has helped create a symbiotic relationship, resulting in an effortless project.
With Row G, Rahim has been fortunate to consistently work in the realm of luxury, understanding the ideology and philosophy of the concept to transform it into its next manifestation. Rahim strongly believes that the QSL Private Members Club will deliver access to change instead of the excess that luxury has come to be known for. Luxury, for him, is about access to knowledge, to experiences, to conversation and to thought leadership across all industries. This is what QSL will become, inviting forward thinkers who have shared commonality, a new way of thinking and exponential imagination.
“The process is enlightening. The forward-thinking movers and shakers are born with creativity, and talent, building connections through life and gleaning off each other for knowledge and concepts. These ideas then manifest, resulting in the meeting of great minds and the creation of crazy masterplans.”
Rahim’s vision for QSL is to create a hub for likeminded people who want to take the African continent and world forward in the context of a global society. He believes that ideas, concepts and businesses must grow organically. “It’s about the national progression of evolution in all aspects in life.” This is the ethos behind the QSL Private Members Club. All of the existing spaces on the QSL property will soon become one space, a social hub of sorts, for the idea generators to find camaraderie and share or network. Networking means connecting, not only moving forward but building forward.
According to Rahim, “It’s incredible what this concept and space will be able to. QSL can become the foundation for the legacy of its members, a legacy that will remain long after we’ve all the left building. This members’ club will be a place where creativity gestates and subsequently, becomes.”
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