Off The Cuff
See All Categories

WHAT WE’RE WEARING VOL. 21: FATHER’S DAY EDITION

Style / 
June 2021

Collage of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children. They are all wearing Levi's Singapore tees and shorts.Collage of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children. They are all wearing Levi's Singapore tees and shorts.

Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Nuholt Huisamen has spent the last five years with his family in Singapore. As Managing Director of Levi’s® Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Sub-Sahara Africa, Nuholt has quite a bit of responsibility, but arguably his most important job is as father to three kids: Nuholt Jr., Danielle and Jean (ages 17, 15 and 12, respectively). Here he discusses the household uniform, fatherhood abroad and importantly, what his kids think of his job.
Photo of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children.Photo of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children.

We’re a Levi’s® family through and through. All my kids have been born while I’ve been here, so it’s really all they know. The brand plays a big part in our story—it’s really all we wear! 


My kids think it’s cool that I work at Levi’s®. At the very least, I think my job’s earned me a little bit of credibility with them. They’ve always liked coming with me to work, and good thing as I’ve been taking them since they were babies. Once in my office (when I had one pre-pandemic), my youngest told me he wants the same office one day. It was very sweet! It helps to have a place that feels cool to them. I come with some credentials, which can come in handy.


Singapore is heaven on earth for kids. Moving here injected a ton of newness into our lives, as you can imagine. For the first year or so, we were always on an adventure, exploring everything. As far as SE Asia goes, it’s a pretty outdoorsy place. The country’s been conscious of creating a lot of parks and fields and open spaces, which we make great use of. My youngest plays rugby, football (or soccer for Americans) and many other sports, so we’re out there a lot.


In terms of what we wear here, it’s mostly shorts, skirts, tank tops, that sort of thing. Because of the humidity and heat, we don’t need a lot of layers. Out of all of them, my youngest son is the most focused on what he’s wearing. My daughter is a semi-pro gymnast, so she mostly wears her gym attire or throws on a t-shirt or sweats.

Photos of Nuholt Huisamen with one of his sons and his wife.Photos of Nuholt Huisamen with one of his sons and his wife.

My oldest is autistic so it’s a bit different for him. While the other two are focused on sports and gymnastics, he’s gotten really into cooking culture: He knows all the celebrity chefs, plus obscure amature cooks from all over. He’s now super into cocktail recipes. He knows them all by heart and could tell you the ingredient list for just about anything. I recently took the family out to a fancy cocktail bar for Mother’s Day and got him a nice one—he thought he was getting the real deal, but he’s only 17! Of course it was virgin.


When it comes to our traditions, our favorite is Sunday morning pancakes. Since the time my oldest was about four or five, I can count on one hand the times we’ve skipped it. We have a certain ritual we follow: First my wife gets up and makes the batter, then I make the pancakes (always gluten free). We always play Jack Johnson. If someone saw us, they’d think we’re from the Truman Show!


I’ve seen the kids grow so much since we moved. Cape Town is a wonderful place, but it can be a bit isolating. Here, they live very international lives. They go to school with kids from all over the world. As parents, it’s nice to think of the exposure to other cultures and the opportunities they have to broaden their minds.

Photo of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children.Photo of Nuholt Huisamen with his wife and three children.