Today we have another exclusive interview By Zayne Violet. 

Twenty-six-year-old Zazu Moloi is a creative pioneer with a success that has been

forthright and rapid. Moloi’s most notable and unique entrepreneurial success is his photography, fashion, and design brand known as Installennial. A modish look and a camera in hand, one glance at Moloi, and you’d assume he’s been doing this his entire life– but he hasn’t.

“I was raised by South-African Immigrant Parents. I am a first-generation American.

Growing up, the expectations for myself were not that of the typical American Child. I was to

take advantage of opportunities that would not have been available to me if my parents had taken the latter. Not to do so would have been considered that of sin. To pursue art as an avenue to success was unthinkable and profoundly misunderstood by my parents. Artists don’t make money, and no money means that you aren’t successful. Success is a dollar sign. As

understandable as these expectations may be, they left no room for individualism. Being yourself as a way of achieving success in life was a foreign concept to my foreign parents.”

Moloi later went on to become a Biomedical Engineer, and to his surprise, his parent’s

expectations were unmet still. “I had worked my whole life to accomplish all that I believed

expected of me. The money was there. I was supporting my mother and sister in ways my father

couldn’t, but it wasn’t enough, and that killed me.

During my time as an engineer, I often found myself questioning my being there. Why am I doing this? I couldn’t find good enough an answer, so I quit, the disappointment of my parents in tow.” In late 2018, Moloi found himself in Paris for Fashion Week with a clean slate and a

camera in his hands. He had never shot before. So much time lost to him fulfilling the

expectations of others. One-click of the camera and the time stood still forever. “I wanted this to

become my way of life. Capturing moments and making them endless, and I wanted to recognize the individuals encaptured in these moments as they are to be instead of expected to be just as I should have done for myself. I want this for me; why shouldn’t I have it? I had to stop accepting limiting beliefs.” Through his continued work, Moloi’s ultimate desire is to teach others to accept themselves and to achieve the once thought to be unachievable.