Mzansi’s designer-to-the-stars David Tlale has achieved another milestone with the launch of his new showroom in the heart of New York’s Garment District.
Located at 315 West 39th Street, the all-white industrial space with high ceilings featured a diverse range of his signature garments in beaded silk, chiffon, sheer organza, and Chantilly lace — including a Studio 54-inspired black fringe creation, a limited edition
T-shirt paying tribute to Nelson Mandela, and a long tassel couture jacket in bright orange, named after a client, Leslie.
Tlale, born in Vosloorus, won the Elle Magazine New Talent Competition in 2002, which jump-started his career. He was the first South African designer to have a stand-alone show at New York Fashion Week from 2012 to 2015, and an off-site show in 2018.
“New York is a totally different working environment,” said Tlale. “It’s not like back at home ... where I have my own entire studio with designers, patternmakers, cutters, finishers and everything else. Here, everybody’s got their speciality. And that’s why I think the ecosystem, or the whole value chain, is so successful in America.
“The same thing happens in Europe, where as a design house you’d be responsible for sampling, but when you’re done with sampling, you have to send it out so the specialists can do the very best rendition of your work. It’s been a beautiful journey of understanding how the American value chain is actually connected.”
He is planning to fly between New York and South Africa to build his clientele in the US and Europe. “For now, we are still distributing from South Africa with our flagship boutique in Johannesburg. But if people order from North America and Europe, we’ll be able to distribute from (New York) going forward, and people can come for their bespoke pieces, because that’s our passion as a brand.”
One of Tlale’s business partners, Dr Lucky Church, is a Jamaican global fashion public relations executive, with ancestral roots in Nigeria and Cameroon. “David is known in many New York fashion circles as the ‘Tom Ford of Africa’, and I was absolutely amazed when we visited David in South Africa in 2010,” said Church. “We all saw the depth of his talent. He represents what he does so well, and besides his detailed craftsmanship, he is a beautiful soul. I was honoured that he approached me to join the team, and we are excited to see how everything develops.”
The move to establish a second fashion home did come with challenges such as import and export taxes and clearing agents.
The 49 year-old couturier said: “It’s wonderful to see our clients, who have always ordered online ... We get a chance to see each other in person. This is a self-funded business, and what we’ve learnt over the years is that you can’t build in New York while you’re based in South Africa. You’ve gotta be here. You’ve got to meet the clients, the stylists, the suppliers and the buyers.”
“I love how David’s garments celebrate ‘30 Years of democracy’ in South Africa,” said renowned South African singer Motswedi “Moe” Modiba, who attended the opening. “It’s inspiring for us to see fashion talents like David Tlale and Laduma (Ngxokolo) coming out this side and making a name for themselves.”
Tlale’s recent Podcast and Chill interview with host MacG, about why South African celebrities should pay for their red carpet gowns, caused an uproar on social media.
“I’m not hating on celebrities. I’m starting to raise a voice and a concern over an expectation in the industry that has been accepted. And over the years, we’ve seen great brands going down. Why? Because of not being paid. Fame don’t pay no bills.
“Just say we are launching a car. OK, let’s call a designer to come do a fashion show around the car, but they don’t get paid. They say ‘we’ll give you PR’. Who is going to pay me for my time, for fittings, rehearsals, dry cleaning and steaming all the garments? I have to bring my interns to help. Who is paying and supporting this whole thing? Nobody,” he said.
“My advocacy around dressing celebrities is to say, ‘can you start respecting us as talent?’ Can you also start paying us because we are talent? If these conversations were had 21 years ago, we would have had a flourishing and powerful fashion industry on the continent and South Africa.”
Holding a bottle of Graham Beck champagne, he thanked God before proposing a toast to open the showroom.
He dedicated the opening to his late mother, Joyce. “I know that the one thing she would say is: ‘Oh, that’s my boy. You finally got the dream that you’ve always had in your heart.’ Years ago I said I wanted to have a business in New York, and she said, ‘one day, it will happen’.”
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