When she was good, she was good. Period. But when she was bad she was really bad. That was MaBrrr ? always straddling the extremes in life; never the middle-of-the-road type.

Because of her rebellious nature, one could never categorise the aspects of her life ? love, finances, and even fashion. She lived the lyrics of one her hits, Umuntu Angeke Um-confirm, something that illustrated her unpredictability and carefree spirit.

She first shot into the limelight in the early 1980s, with her Weekend Special hit. The look then was known as the ?hippie? or ?peace and love? style.

In the video MaBrrr released in the early 1980s, she epitomised that look in her blue and white handkerchief dress and braided hair.

Brenda had arrived. She was taking not only Joburg by storm, but the whole country...Not only was she breaking record with the number of copies she was selling but, she was also ? in a way ? symbolising the rebellious sprit of Class of 76 and 80s youth, both in song and fashion, setting the trend in the fashion world.

Remember the Zola Budd (minibus taxi) days, and how we all took on the punk-style and wore different colour socks? We did so after Brenda sported the look in her Zola Budd video. At the time, she would wear short dreads and have them coloured or sometimes uncombed hair, tinted blond and initialled B at the back.

Almost everybody (whose parents approved) jumped on the bandwagon. Then there was the contact lens craze. Again this was after Brenda had had hers coloured blue. Her luxury cars had personalised number plates long before they became fashionable.

Brenda was at the height of her career. She commanded the respect and attention she so loved, savoured and demanded from anyone who dared to either ignore or treat her as another girl next door.

Love her or hate her; one thing was certain: she was fashion savvy, streetwise and had giant doses of chutzpah. Her look underlined the street-smart character that endeared her to ?the clevers? and ordinary township folks who felt she belonged to them.

She knew how to mix and match her colours but her wardrobe gained a peculiar shine because of the pride in her stride. She was every designer's dream and the likes of Sister Bucks and Nandipha Madikiza were at her beck and call as she changed outfits left, right and centre.

?She loved clothes, and loved stylish clothes,? says Sister Bucks, who was the first designer to dress her.

Only MaBrrr (and Madiba of course) could rock up at a party dressed in a full cricket gear and everybody paid attention. Or, for that matter, turn up in a full school uniform and make a full fashion statement. She had her low points, appearing in ridiculous get-ups ? as she often did recently. Perhaps they reflected her melancholic mood.

She had the body, the in-your-face look in her eyes, the pout as she naughtily flirted with everyone in sight. It was the Brenda trademark never to ignore anyone crossing her path and not only to occupy the ground she stood on ? but own it.

Who will next occupy that hallowed ground? Probably, Brenda herself, through her legacy that will surely live on for generations.

References

• Sowetan: EDUCATION, Friday May 14 2004 p. 12. Author: Pearl Rantsekeng

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