31 Mar 2019

South African designer David Tlale has advised local designers to be persistent and change the game.

He said one needed to understand their vision and end goal and visualise their path in the industry.

He said this on March 30 at a fashion talk show titled: 45 minutes with Emmanuel Kayenda, EK hosted by Kayenda, a Motswana model based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Tlale, who started off in his mother’s backyard with just a domestic machine and specialising in dresses said for him consistency depended on his lifestyle as an artist.

He said with discipline and hard work as well as a spiritual relationship with God, one could go far, “but without all these, as an artist you are nothing as these builds a person, and hence their talent nurtures,” he said.

A proud product of Bantu Education, Tlale said education was key in the fashion industry.

He said it was in class that a designer learned all the basics and became a great designer, adding that talent comes after school because it was where one learned of all proper foundations of making a garment.

He said with education one would never be lured into copying and imitating other designers; explaining that education in fashion meant one learned the history of fashion and how it evolved to date.

Known for showcasing timeless high end collections, Tlale said “as an artist you cannot succumb to pressure, but rather you need to set trends and let others follow.”

He said when an artist got pressure they lose the plot and their focus drifts away from their vision and end goal.

He said when they were able to stand the test of time, with experience they were then able to reinvent themselves.

On fashion and culture, he said Africa had a long way to go because Africans did not believe in themselves. He quipped that Africans were stuck in old days even though they believed in today’s trends.

He added that designers should rather use such trend platforms to innovate and change their creativity and craft.

He challenged designers to use technological devices to improve their craft, adding that there was a lot in the Internet, rather than checking social media and misusing it.

Botho Chalebgwa, a local designer who started her career fresh from college, said although there were not many opportunities in Botswana, one needed to be prepared at all times.

She said even with the challenges in Botswana, hard work and passion would always take one to greater heights.

Chalebgwa added that Batswana should be proactive and aggressive on what they needed and stop expecting government to provide opportunities for them.

45 Minutes with Emmanuel Kayenda came into being to help develop and grow the fashion industry in Botswana.

The show was a two session of fashion show and talk show with local and international fashion designers.

Kayenda said the show helped to equip local designers as well as models, and exposing their craft and sharing ideas with the likes of Tlale.

The show was held under the theme: Building a fashion brand. Ends