SA man’s niche jeans brand
Tshepo Mohlala’s humble beginnings inspired a high-end denim brand that fits in all the right places – and now he’s hoping to go global
THERE are few changingroom experiences as pleasing as pulling on a pair of designer jeans and realising they’re a perfect fit. The way they flatter your butt and make your legs look longer and slimmer, the way they nip in your waist and disguise your love handles . . . worth every cent, you reckon.
This is exactly how Tshepo “the JeanMaker” Mohlala (27) wants his clients to feel when they don a pair of his jeans.
“What sets my jeans apart is the fit, attention to detail,” he says. “It’s all about the right fabric, the right rivets and all the attention to detail.”
Tshepo’s studio in Lorentzville, Johannesburg is a hub of creativity and industry. Sewing machines hum as clients come and go, placing orders for their custom-made pants.
Pair after pair of jeans hang from the wall, representing Tshepo’s journey from the creation of his first pairs in 2015 to the way the design looks today.
His jeans are made from locally sourced fabric but the buttons and rivets are outsourced because Tshepo wasn’t able to find anyone locally to do the unique moulding of his signature crown emblem.
Despite the loving care he puts into his products, Tshepo came under fire recently from Twitter users who said he charged too much for his creations – R950 a pair. “Get real, dude. This is a local brand, not Levi or Diesel,” on wrote.
But he hasn’t allowed the haters to get him down. In fact, he considers the backlash a blessing in disguise.
“I think it showed me that I got something right – that I got something going,” he says. “Art is meant to make people talk. True art is provocative. We’ve been working for three years to get people talking and buying.”
TSHEPO’S story is one of rags to, well, denim. He grew up in the township of Tsakane, east of Johannesburg, with his older sister, Pinky (30), and was raised by his single mom, Susan, a domestic worker who earned just R1 500 a month.
His grandfather George, a construction worker, and grandmother Liena, a pastor, helped to bring him up.
“I’m lucky I was raised by strong women. They raised a fine gentleman, even if I say so myself,” Tshepo says.
He’s always had an eye for fashion and recalls how, being the only boy in the family, the women would basically use him as their own dress-up doll.
“My gran always said to me, ‘Tshepo, you’re a pastor’s kid and you need to look presentable because you’re representing your family’, so fashion was always a big deal for me.”
After he finished school his mom used her savings to send him to study filmmaking at the performing arts school AFDA. But he soon dropped out – the pull to fashion was nagging at him.
He enrolled to study fashion design at the University of Johannesburg in 2011 but dropped out after a year – this time for financial reasons. He started working as a blogger, stylist and fashion buyer and in 2013 linked up with two friends to start a brand of high-end jeans.
Two years later, Tshepo decided to branch out on his own. He borrowed R8 000 from a friend and set about making his dream come true.
“I always wanted to make something timeless and classic – jeans that an ordinary guy from the hood can wear to work and then wear to the mall after work. Something you can dress up and dress down,” he says.
He soon became known as Tshepo the JeanMaker and officially launched his brand in November 2015. He started out with 100 pairs of jeans – the beginning of his Presidential Slim Fit jeans for men. But growing the brand wasn’t easy.
“Now that I had stock, people were sharing [the brand] on social media. We were in magazines, but people weren’t buying. The brand needed to grow in people’s minds. It took us about six months to sell 100 pairs of jeans and from there we started doing collaborations with other local brands,” he says.
Three years down the line and he’s growing his endeavour slowly but surely, working with celebrities such as comedian Donovan Goliath and TV personality Hulisani Ravele as well as corporates like Nando’s.
He employs a full-time tailor, two parttime tailors, a store assistant and an administrator.
Tshepo Jeans has developed from a range of simple slim-fit men’s jeans in 2015 to a premium range of jeans for men and women, custom-designed to clients’ specifications. He also has a range of denim aprons, shirts, jackets and T-shirts.
AFTER the Twitter backlash Tshepo was humbled to receive plenty of support from others, including local personalities. “It made me feel good and gave me hope that I can do this.”
He believes South Africans need to be proud of their heritage and that people of influence should support local products.
“Celebrities will celebrate Gucci but never an African brand. They’ll never put it out there in their songs or post it on their social media. Then they come crying on social media, saying ‘you guys don’t support our music’. But they forget that, when we support their music, they don’t back us,” he says.
He hopes to go global with his brand as well as increase his range so he can sell jeans that cost less. But in order to do this, less shaming and more support for local products are needed.
“Eventually we’ll have entry-level prices more people can afford.
I believe this product is for all people, rich and poor. Everyone needs to own a pair.” Tshepo isn’t the only local entrepreneur feeling the lack of support from local buyers. Eustace Mashimbye, CEO of Proudly South Africa, the buy-local advocacy campaign, urges the government, businesses and consumers to support local businesses as a way of boosting the economy.
“If we buy locally grown and produced items we create jobs,” he says.
He describes how one of the vendors on the Proudly SA online shopping store has come in for flak for the price of his T-shirts and sweatshirts. He’s had to lower his prices, despite his products being exclusive and designer-made.
This perpetuates the belief that local products are more expensive than imported ones. “It’s true that for many South Africans price is a primary consideration, but if you pay very low prices you may get an inferior product,” Eustace adds.