Bal Harbour

C O U R T E S Y O F M A KOTO taught me how to act and behave in a certain way. I learned, absorbed, listened, and matured quickly. CC: If you could rewind the clock, anything you would change? KK: I don't like saying should've, would've, could've. It's not healthy. You have to take it for what it was. Look at it as life lessons. CC: I think that's true, because at the end of the day, every one of us is exactly where we need to be based upon all the choices and decisions we have made along the way. So of everything that you've done, was there a favorite photographer that you worked for, a favorite shoot? KK: That's so hard, it's like picking your favorite child! Everybody has their own style and captures your different emotions. And every photographer evokes a different feeling, that's what excites me about my work. I get to tap into who I want to be that day: The glam girl or the tomboy? Am I more moody, what is it? I love when I get to do things out of the box. I'm not afraid to look different. CC: Because then you're only known for one thing. I would imagine a huge part of your success has become your willingness to be such a good team player, a good collaborator, and stretch the limits to do things that others don't. So many people are so focused on what they don't want to do. You are a Yes person. So am I. Yes is life. People who say No never get to push their boundaries. KK: But don't you think that happens more when people get older, because you kind of start to be more aware? You know, you don't want to fail. CC: Clearly, I'm the very oldest at the table. I say Yes to everything. I want to stay in touch with pop culture. You can't get set in your ways. You have got to move. KK: For sure. To achieve our best potential we need to try things. I want everything I do to be the best. I don't want to fail, and then, it's not a fail, because at least I tried, right? CC: I think failure is so important. KK: I do have to prioritize and say No sometimes. Like now in Miami, there's so much going on. CC: You have been here since 2012; you've seen this massive change that happened during the pandemic, with the waves of New Yorkers moving here. What's the good and the bad about that? KK: More traffic [laughing]. Too many people. We need more schools. There's a good opportunity for entrepreneurs out there. I do love the energy that people coming here bring, also businesses coming here, operating from here. It brings more possibilities. CC: There's been such great expansion here. And I think Miami has gotten a much better rep; people used to come to party. KK: Also when it comes to fashion. I just joined as a Board member Istituto Marangoni, the private Italian fashion and design school in Milan that has a Miami branch. They have amazing talent coming out of here. I went to a fashion show they did last year and I was like, Wow, this is so good, the details, the tailoring. I'm really excited about being on the board and getting involved with the students, giving them feedback. CC: What other philanthropy is important to you? KK: I've worked with amfAR for over 20 years. I also do a lot with Feeding America, packing boxes for food banks or serving meals. I really like volunteering where I get to be hands-on. I'm not just making an appearance. CC: We support Lalela in South Africa. It's an extraordinary program in impoverished areas, where most of the parents are domestic workers or policemen or they work in the government, so their kids are left unattended from 2 p.m., when they can get into any form of mischief. Art is the first curriculum that's taken out of any school when there's a budget cut. So we provide art education to stimulate creativity and awaken the entrepreneurial spirit amongst these kids. We started Lalela, which means To dream in Swahili, with crayons and paper, and then it became multimedia, and then painting, and then graffiti, and now we've got all different forms. We take the kids' artwork and turn them into these beautiful scarves, pocket handkerchiefs. We sell them in cashmere, cotton, everything. They're incredible and make the best gifts, because we're helping children and giving them an opportunity. It's pretty extraordinary. KK: You have to give back to the community. My kids are already privileged through their education, so it's important to make sure they understand how to be socially responsible. Waiter brings another plate of sushi and a miso seabass dish. KK: I love this kind of food, but you gotta know how to make it right. CC: Do you like cooking? KK: I love bringing people together. Am I the best cook? No. Could I be a really good cook? Yes. I want to take lessons. Because, whatever I love, I want to be very good at. CC: You know, I wrote two cookbooks. I love cooking. I called my very first book "Effortless Elegance," because if it's not effortless and not elegant, it can be stressful. KK: That's true. You spend all this time going to buy the produce, cutting it, cooking it. Ten minutes later, it's gone. How did you get into what you do? CC: Growing up in Central Africa, in Zambia, in a town that had no hotel or restaurant, we had to entertain in our homes. I always remember people coming for cocktails, for lunch, for dinner. My parents loved hosting, loved entertaining. It was always not about impressing people, but making them feel welcome. Everybody pitched in. So when I came to America, I just did what I did at home. I came when apartheid was at a high and I didn't believe in the political system in South Africa. I was 23 years old, and I didn't think there would be a future in that country. KK: So where did you go? CC: I came right to LA, with $400. KK: Why Los Angeles? CC: I had a friend there, and I knew that the weather was similar to South Africa, and I knew there wouldn't be a language issue. I got a job assisting, teaching cooking lessons at a high school adult program. I had worked at a health spa at a private conference center in Johannesburg, just before I came here. So the whole idea of hospitality has always been in my life. KK: How do you come up with your ideas? What's your inspiration? CC: I cannot switch my mind off. If I spend a half hour talking to you about what you want, what you're looking for, what's important to you, then I can walk into a space and it just comes to me. KK: Do you then draw your ideas? CC: Sometimes I do, but I have a photographic memory. I can look at a floor plan, and I can build a three-dimensional diagram in my mind. I can layer onto it, what is the floor finish? What's the wall finish? I probably have 15 major events in my head right now, probably working with 10 different floor plans. I know exactly what's going on with every one of them. KK: Is there an event or wedding that you haven't done yet and are dying to do? CC: I've had a few people ask me to do crazy, crazy things, like getting married underwater. I like to do things that are elegant, chic, groundbreaking, always edgy, but I don't like silly... I've always wanted to do something at the White House. WHAT THEY ORDERED Makoto House Salad, Hamachi Ponzu, Spicy Tuna Roll, Dynamite Hand Roll, Miso Seabass, Hamachi Ponzu, Scallop Crudo BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M

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