More than fashionably late for Tlale’s sparkling show
● He’s known for making guests wait an eternity for his fashion shows to start — but I can claim that last weekend I got David Tlale to wait for me.
It wasn’t on purpose: with a flight delay and mix-up with my shuttle from, er, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela International Airport in Cape Town to Franschhoek, I was close to an hour late for the David
Tlale X Boschendal Experience on Sunday afternoon.
Rushing in to the event, held in a treelined courtyard on the winemaker’s estate, I had missed starters including risotto balls with truffle mayo, lamb koftas and beef tartare on bruschetta. But luckily I was able to quench my thirst with a refreshing flute of method cap classique brut before models waltzed through in breathtaking bridal designs from the talented designer.
The point? To celebrate the launch of Boschendal’s demi sec MCC with David designing a one-of-a-kind dress inspired by the tipple.
In typical Tlale style, drama came at the end with the arrival by horse and carriage of the designer who draws as much scandal as he does praise (take the financial tussle with the initial winner of his reality-TV show or the payment debacle with a Manhattan publicist the last time he showed at New York Fashion Week).
Asked about using that particular mode of transport for his entrance, David simply tells me: “It was there.”
Sadly, not there were a few of the guests I had been promised would be attending.
However, that didn’t stop me from savouring the rest of the afternoon, when we retired to another part of the estate to enjoy a sumptuous picnic of melt-in-your mouth roast chicken, baguettes, salads and mouth-watering desserts, finished off with that not-too-sweet, freshly launched sparkling wine.