Gert-Johan Coetzee
Gert-Johan’s celeb styling rules the red carpet
WHILE his classmates were tackling each other on the rugby field in the small town of Koster, in the North West, nine-year-old Gert-Johan Coetzee was making his first blouse.
Twenty years later his dresses sell for up to R80 000 and he is one of South Africa’s top designers. He has dressed celebs such as TV presenter Bonang Matheba, actress Sophie Ndaba, public protector Thuli Madonsela, reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian and Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland.
This week Coetzee celebrated 10 years in the business by showcasing his latest collection at SA Fashion week, and launching his line at the opulent Luminance in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.
“When I started, I was making blouses and skirts for tannies and matric dance dresses for young girls in my town.
“Back then I could have never imagined I would dress some of my heroes from television and even politicians,” Coetzee said.
By the time he was 16, his farming business father Gert and physiotherapist mother Hesti had noticed how much their youngest child loved fashion, and enrolled him in the North West School of Design.
In 2006, Coetzee was offered a job by Vukani Fashion Awards owner Sonwabile Ndamase, the man behind the Madiba shirts. This is where he met TV personality Sandy Ngema, who asked Coetzee to make her an outfit for the Durban July in 2006. Before he knew it, Coetzee was dressing Ngema on SABC2’s reality show Strictly Come Dancing. Then he met socialite Uyanda Mbuli and the two teamed up to start Diamond Face Couture.
At just 20 years old, Coetzee had celebs lining up to be dressed by him, and the pair opened a boutique in The Zone in Rosebank.
It was around this time he met Matheba. The Front Row radio show host said when she met Coetzee she “was still transitioning from child television presenter and he was just finding his feet as designer”.
“We were at the perfect place, individually, to combine our fashion growth and take each other to where we both are today.”
By 2010, Coetzee’s collaboration with Mbuli had fizzled out, prompting the 22year-old to register his own company.
With Matheba as his muse, his brand and clientele grew.
“I had to learn the business, know how to care for the books and so much more. It was overwhelming at first, but I asked around. [Jewellery designer] Jenna Clifford and [singer] Lira taught me most of what I know about business,” he said.
Internationally, Coetzee’s dresses have been worn by the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, at the People’s Choice Awards, and by The Hills star Kristin Cavallari.
In February, he dominated the red carpet at the state of the nation in Cape Town. Noma Gigaba, wife of Home Affairs Minister Malusi, wore an embellished gold gown while Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Bheki Cele’s wife Thembeka donned a blue, layered dress. But it was Madonsela who stole the show in a canary yellow gown. “He seems to know how to make something for somebody who is in public office. He is able to experiment, taking into account that in my world I am not a fashion person,” Madonsela said.
Success hasn’t made him complacent — he is working towards going international and aims, within the next five years, to become “bigger than Dior”.