Xela College meets David Tlale
OH MY WORD – WE MET DAVID TLALE!
by Alex Asman from Xela College of design, fashion and interior
As a fashion college bursting with young future fashion designers, one of the names that is on everyone’s lips is David Tlale. David Tlale is one of Africa’s greatest fashion designers. He has been called the King of Fashion and is a household name in South Africa. This homegrown, award-winning fashion designer’s work has been showcased at the Cape Town, New York and Paris Fashion Weeks respectively, and he has also designed collections for major retailers like Edgars and Spree.
When Xela College received a call from the offices of David Tlale on the 25th May, inviting our students to attend his small and personalised Masterclass…. we had to say yes! After the screams of excitement died down, we brainstormed on how to get to Johannesburg on the 1st of June for this exclusive two-hour class.
Nelspruit Ford immediately came to the party and offered us transport and a driver for the day; Dan the man got us there safe and on time.
David was amazing and the students hung on to his every word, and truthfully, so did I. He was interactive and had a way with the students, who almost fell of their chairs. I thought to myself, this is what it must’ve been like amongst Beatles or Elvis fans in the 1960’s. It was magnetic and electric.
As a principal and lecturer, it was awesome to hear what we have been telling the students daily, be confirmed and reaffirmed by their idol – it would appear we have been telling them the truth all along!
It gave me huge pleasure to realise that all of us in the industry are pushing for higher standards, a greater form of teamwork and the understanding that ALL people in the process of design and manufacture are important! It is a mindset and culture that we encourage here at Xela College of Design.
After introductions and photos, we extended an invitation to David and his team to join us in Mbombela in 2018! Watch this space……