Celebrated South African fashion designer David Tlale has slammed local celebrities, accusing them of being free loaders who do not pay for his designs, yet, they were willing to pay an arm and a leg for luxury global brands.
Tlale said most Mzansi celebrities did not want to pay for his designs, offering him trade exchanges in exposure or public relations instead - a payment form he said could not pay his staff, his bills and his suppliers.
Tlale made the comments during his interview on the latest episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG.
“People have the nerve to go to Diamond Walk and drop R200,000 in one day buying two items,” said Tlale.
Tlale scoffed at the payment in exposure saying he has to buy fabrics, pay his design team and pay rent, yet that is not taken into consideration when celebrities asked to design a dress from scratch.
He continues to point out that when these celebrities share their behind-the-scenes videos they focus more on the designer bag they actually bought rather than his garment that they didn’t even pay for.
“They give free PR to these brands who don’t give a hoot about who they are,” he said.
During the episode, a few celebrities were called out for not wanting to pay for his designs.
Snippets of the interview have popped up on X and here’s what people have to say about it.
“It’s true though, we don’t embrace our South African designers enough. We have to value them more because there is great creativity like @Imprint_ZA and also we keep money at home. We still have a long way to go to change our mindset to stop seeing local brands as inferior,” wrote @tholo_motaung.
@AfrikaMonate wrote: This is worrying to know that some black ppl don’t believe in quality and professionalism when presented by their own ppl. David Tlale showcases on the ramps of the new York and Paris fashion week. Please let’s support and respect ourselves and spend more on our own.
* Editor's Note: A previous version of this story named Savita Mbuli and Basetsana Kumalo as some of the celebrities David Tlale was referring to. Tlale did not explicitly name anyone. IOL apologises to Mbuli and Kumalo and regrets the error.
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