David Tlale's journey from accounting to fashion design success

Designer Story

Now the Whole Team Here: How David Tlale Started from the Bottom and Worked His Way to the Runways

The Future Accountant

David Tlale thought he would become an accountant, specializing in internal auditing. It was something he just happened to be good at, never mind the lack of passion. He hadn't yet found anything that turned him on, so he did what came naturally to him. That was, until his life changed. At Tshwane University, David started hanging out with what he calls the "crazy fashion students." Their suitcases full of sketches and fabrics intrigued him, and David wanted to learn more. The more he learned, the more he knew that fashion was his life's passion and purpose. Fashion, not accounting, was going to be David's future career.

Changing Courses

The shift from accounting to fashion design did not flow well for David. He transferred from Tshwane to Vaal University, entering a four-year fashion design program. His first year, he was just an average student. Yet year by year he improved, putting tremendous pressure on himself to achieve the highest status of being named best student based on an annual fashion show. This inner drive and determination is what propelled David Tlale into the big leagues.

Breaking Points

Although his mother was unsupportive of his decision to be a designer, David persisted through the lean times. One day, he spotted an ad for the Elle New Talent Competition. He started to apply, and then realized that he needed to submit full storyboards and materials overnight. Like a scene from Project Runway, David pulled an all-nighter and made it happen. Three days later, he was in the top twelve. Three months later, he was in the finalists, and then…he won.

Winning the Elle New Talent Competition launched David's career in earnest, but it did not mean instant success. He still had no full-time, dependable clients. As he considered returning to teaching, David had a lucky break. The House of Montiac called him to work in Cape Town. Rather than leave his budding business in Johannesburg, David decided to work part time for the House of Montiac and commute every other week. He did this for two and a half years, before he realized that his work with Montiac was eating too much into his ability to build his own label. Returning to Johannesburg with newfound determination, David became 1 of 4 designers with Africa Fashion International to present in Paris Couture; he won Fashion Designers of the Year Arise Africa Fashion Awards; he became the first to secure a standalone slot to showcase under his own name at the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, and his brand started to build itself from the ground up. As Drake puts it, "Started from the bottom, now the whole team here."

The Dresses

David was the first to have coins featured on a dress, which is stunning in the way it blends fluidity with solidity.