Cape Town – Fashion designer David Tlale is best known for his penchant for the dramatic.
From staging a fashion show atop Green Point’s unfinished bridge to the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein, the award-winning designer has earned the title of South Africa’s most unpredictable designer. And his love for the unconventional transcends into his in-your-face designs that make headlines across Africa.
It’s been 11 years since the Johannesburg designer launched his brand. His hard work has been recognised with prestigious awards and he has showcased at several top fashion weeks.
This year alone saw him raking in top accolades, such as the Fashion Designer of the Year award at the African Diaspora Awards hosted by Applause magazine in New York in November, and the first African Icon of Hope award at Nigeria’s Fashion Week. His Spring/Summer collection, which he showcased at New York Fashion Week, earned admiration across the world.
And Tlale, together with media darling Bonang Matheba, Hip Hop artist Da L.E.S and hit maker DJ Dimplez, joined the Ciroc Circle of influential people. The Ciroc Circle celebrates South Africa’s top talents who are influential in fields of fashion, music and society.
“The year 2014 was absolutely amazing for me,” says Tlale. “God’s hand was showing off upon us as a brand. The Tlale journey is just starting to unfold. People always say: ‘Okay this is it for the brand and that we cannot do any more’, but we are just getting started.
“There is so much that still needs to be done, and the fact that the world is starting to recognise what we do is amazing. They are also closely paying attention and listening to the story behind the brand.
“To think that I work and live in Joburg and a publication (Applause magazine) that is based in New York recognises what we do is out of this world. It’s them saying to us: ‘Keep doing what you are doing because someone is watching’. It also says that there is hope for the African child to become a global brand.”
We spoke to Tlale at one of Cape Town’s hottest beachside hangouts, the Shimmy Beach Club, where he and the rest of the Ciroc Circle were having a Celebrating Excellence party.
He tells us his New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer showcase in October celebrated the rise of the African woman. The collection, titled Feminine Allure, was modelled by top models such as Tyson Beckford, who paved the way for black male models in the 1990s.
Tlale says the showcase was the most talked-about show.
“I keep on reaching higher and higher, raising the African flag. We see this (African) woman becoming a president, more and more women are becoming chief executives… powerful people. And the collection is embracing that.”
Tlale explains that for the collection they used African prints from Dutch brand Vlisco coupled with his renowned power white blouse.
“This season, every woman needs a David Tlale white blouse. The collection takes you from the boardroom to a cocktail session as well as to the red carpet,” he says. “We played around with shades of papaya and paradise peach… really soft colours with huge elements of elegance and sexiness. And wearability was more important than anything else. One thing all women want to do is to look good.
“It’s all about power dressing. If you look at it globally, the big spenders when it comes to fashion are in Africa. The fact that we are on this continent does not mean that we are behind at any level.”
Nurturing young talent is also very important to the fashion guru, and several of his interns presented impressive collections at the Durban Fashion Fair earlier this year.
“Mentoring young talents is key as we are growing globally as a brand. Young designers have to see that with hard work it’s possible to make it,” says Tlale.
“South Africa has so much to offer to the world and the world does not know what we have,” he says. “We came from difficult times of apartheid, and with democracy we became a country with possibilities… I want to be part of the people who are knocking doors down to opportunities.”
Although Tlale is known for his bold and colourful designs that command attention, he generally wears all black, complete with dark tinted sunglasses.
“I can wear colour at any given time but I have made a conscious decision that I don’t want to wake up in the morning and decide what am I putting on and in which colour. I have a national and international responsibility to choose the colours for the next season and that on its own is enough,” he says.
Tlale’s message to young and upcoming designers is that they should not let their circumstances determine their future success.
“I don’t see my upbringing as a struggle but as part of the influences that played a major role in my life… in my career and also in my creative process.
“I had to make a decision that I was not going to become just another designer that went to college, but that I wanted to become a global brand,” says the man who rose from humble beginnings in the Joburg township Vosloorus.
“Anything is possible if you put your heart, your mind and your passion in it. One major person who played an important part in my life is Nelson Mandela, a young man from Qunu who later became a global icon.”
On trends for high summer, he says everyone needs an African print for the season. “It does not matter whether it’s from Vlisco or a knock-off, pair it with a white blouse or a beautiful jeans shirt.”
Cape Argus