On Thursday night, acclaimed South African designer, David Tlale hosted a fashion show to celebrate Africa Month.
Titled The Veterans Pursuit, Tlale’s collection was launched at Melrose Arch, where his customers, friends and family came in full support.
About the inspiration behind the collection, Tlale says: “The collection is inspired by the military, that’s why it’s called Veterans Pursuit.
“We looked back at the journey of David Tlale, how we play around with fabrics. We are here today, appreciating the journey that we’ve taken. The silhouettes are very ready to wear.
“We’re saying to people it’s time that you wear a David Tlale on a daily basis. We take you from a street bash, to the office, to a red carpet and we’ve used all our techniques that we’ve learned over the years.”
Also drawing inspiration from the Victorian Era, the Veterans Pursuit features winter pieces – from well-tailored coats and fads amplified with the David Tlale signature prints. It also combines the Victorian Era with the African notion of the baSotho blankets.
While many businesses took a hard knock in the last 14 months, the Vosloorus-born star was fortunate to be able to expand his brand. He opened four stores in Melrose Arch, Riboville, Menlyn, and Cape Town.
For him, being able to pull such big moves was a huge blessing.
“We had to take a leap of faith. We had to make a choice of opening these stores by faith. As an entrepreneur, I take a lot of risks.
“Like any other brand, we made masks for a good five months with very minimal income but we trusted God that if we take this leap of faith things will work out. Here we are, we are growing. We’ve done the first show of fashion week, we’re doing solo with all our partners,” he says.
