Tlale is also nominated in the Best Fashion Designer category, alongside Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, and Gert-Johan Coetzee.
When most South Africans think of fashion, David Tlale is among the first names that spring to mind.
With more than two decades in the industry as a fashion designer, on Tuesday, Tlale was announced as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural South Africa Fashion Awards (SAFA).
Speaking to The Citizen, Tlale admitted that he wasn’t aware of the award and the nominations he received.
“Awards are wonderful and beautiful, and being recognised for the work that you do in the industry, and also sustaining and maintaining a brand that is reputable, and I would say being a game-changer in the industry, is really beautiful,” said Tlale.
Tlale wasn’t aware of the nominations, as all nominees were not notified publicly until an embargo on the nominations list was lifted.
“David Tlale embodies the very best of South African couture: two decades of fearless creativity, international runway impact, and a consistent commitment to mentoring the next generation,” Global Partnerships Manager of the World Fashion Awards, Sara Kensington, told The Citizen.
“His work has carried South African design onto the world stage, which is why the South Africa Fashion Awards will honour him with the Lifetime Achievement Award this year.”
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South African Fashion Awards
The awards are a collaboration between Republic Africa and the internationally acclaimed World Fashion Awards.
“The World Fashion Awards has expanded into South Africa to help spotlight a powerhouse creative industry that has influenced global fashion for years,” said Kensington.
The awards are set to take place at Sandton’s Hotel Sky on 4 October.
Kensington said partnering to launch the South Africa Fashion Awards is a natural step.
“It celebrates local excellence with international visibility, and creates a platform that will elevate designers, models, stylists, photographers and brands across the continent for seasons to come.”
Tlale is also nominated in the Best Fashion Designer category, alongside Rich Mnisi, Thebe Magugu, and Gert-Johan Coetzee, among its long list of nominees. Tlale is also nominated in the Best Fashion Icon category.
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David Tlale births other brands
One of the best ways to measure someone’s influence in a particular industry is by how much they’ve inspired or contributed to the generations that follow them.
Tlale established his brand in 2003, and among his notable achievements is winning the Elle New Talent Award that year.
He was also the first South African designer to showcase solo at New York Fashion Week, and the likes of Beyoncé and Naomi Campbell have worn his garments.
However, his most proud achievement is seeing young South African designers, who were once interns at his company, taking the world by storm.
So extensive was his internship programme that it even inspired a reality TV show on SABC 3, titled “The Intern” by David Tlale.
“We want to make sure that the legacy of David Tlale touches and changes people’s lives, careers and futures. When we look at the journey that we’ve taken with The Intern by David Tlale, I mean we have produced amazing brands,” he said.
Among the names he mentions is Siphosihle Mahlangu, who is the founder of the now-renowned Masango by Siphosihle, Keletso Moraba of K.Moraba & Collective, and Mmuso Maxwell, owned by designing duo Mmuso Potsane and Maxwell Boko.
In 2022, Mmuso Maxwell won the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation at the International Woolmark Prize event in London.
“I mean, the list goes on,” he says.
“The beautiful part of this is that when we started this, as the House of David Tlale, was that, ‘we just wanna make sure that the brand along the journey gives birth to other brands’, and I think and believe that all these brands that we’ve mentored over the years, they keep thriving.”
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Growing the clothing and textile ecosystem
Due to his longevity in the industry, Tlale has a deep understanding of South Africa’s clothing and textile ecosystem.
“As the House of David Tlale, we are currently on a greater mission of training the unemployed young people who have no skills,” he says.
He told The Citizen that he has taken 100 unskilled youth to train them as labourers. “Because over the years we’ve trained designers, but now these designers need labourers and there are no labourers that are going to support their vision as brands.”
“More than anything, we’re saying let’s give South Africa hope. We want to partner with government, we want to partner with the private sector in making this training lucrative…and not just train people and leave them redundant, make sure that they get employed, make sure that some of them become entrepreneurs,” said the experienced fashion head.
Tlale says he wants to make sure that “as the industry grows in terms of the fashion designers with a piece of paper from university, but we have the whole value chain that is going to support us…and making sure that we fight poverty, we fight unemployment. It’s very easy for us to complain…but we as professionals and creatives have it in our power to change it.”
He said this initiative was a pilot and hopes to partner with the government and the private sector in rolling it out countrywide.
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David Tlale at the Moscow Fashion Week
Tlale presented his latest collection at the recent Moscow Fashion Week, where many were impressed by his work.
“Moscow Fashion Week was really beautiful because our first entry was in 2023, and now going back there with the Soweto Fashion Week and under the Brics Fashion Summit and showcasing at Moscow Fashion Week has been really amazing because it’s solidifying the introduction that we did two years ago,” he said.
“Also, the beautiful part of it is that showcasing each and every product on the runway that is proudly made in South Africa is a proud moment for us, and also seeing how the world was receiving it was, we were humbled to actually have represented South Africa on that platform,” shared Tlale.
“ … And I believe this is only the beginning of our journey with Moscow Fashion Week, but also with the Brics countries.”
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