Clothes and shoes maketh the man
Mashego takes smart fashions to next level
Although he admits his love for shoes inspired him to venture into designing shoes for men, Tshepo Mashego believes his desire to create employment is the main reason behind his growing business.
Mashego was born in Kanyamazane, Mpumalanga, 30 years ago. In 2015 he founded Relevance For Man (RFM), a clothing brand that makes tailored suits, formal shirts and chinos trousers. His shoes range between R2 500 and R5 000. “I am always
thinking about strategies to uplift others. Last year we launched our first shoe range and that decision was not solely influenced by my love for shoes, but I did that because I wanted to create jobs for our people,’’ Mashego said.
“Making shoes was an addition to the product range that we offer at RFM ... our core business is the tailoring of bespoke suits for men. Our products celebrate men who are successful in different areas of expertise and careers.”
Mashego is also no slouch when it comes to fashionable wear as he does not mind investing money buying proper suits.
His love for fashionable suits encouraged him to recruit more fashionistas like himself to buy into his own products.
“I’ve always loved the whole dressing up and looking good lifestyle. In 2012 I started collecting suits and my love for suiting up grew. In 2015 I decided it’s the right time to start dressing up other gentlemen in suits.”
Mashego did not study fashion.
He is an accountant by profession and holds a BCom degre. As much as he is content with what his business has achieved, Mashego said he still yearns for more success in the fashion industry. He is currently employs eight people and hopes to expand.
“We are planning on opening our first official shop where we’ll only offer our shoe range while we keep the bespoke tailoring at the current studio.
“We [are] also releasing our first celebrity sneaker range ... I can’t release the name of the public figure [yet],” stated Mashego.