Pictures from Olympia de Maismont. Video by Celine Clery
Growing up in a rough town outside Johannesburg, Tshepo Mohlala was made fun of for wearing skinny jeans before they became popular.
More than a decade later, ridicule has turned to admiration as the 32-year-old is now a successful fashion designer who makes jeans praised by global celebrities including Beyonce and Meghan Markle.
“The municipality was never ready for my sense of style,” he laughs, sitting in his studio in a modern converted industrial building in Johannesburg.
The South African entrepreneur has made a name for himself in recent years with custom-made jeans aimed at African women who, underserved by Western brands, have struggled to find a perfect fit.
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“A lot of African women have a tiny waist and big boots, big hips and tiny feet,” says Mohlala, a slender man with close-cropped hair and a goatee framing a broad smile.
“We’ve created a range of jeans using raw, stretch-free denim that’s super tailored for women.”
Before becoming customers, women were a source of inspiration for Mohlala.
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The logo of Tshepo Jeans, his company, is a stylized three-pointed crown representing the three women who marked his life.
His mother taught him resourcefulness, his grandmother taught him to act like a gentleman, and a stylish aunt introduced him to fashion.
Later, when he ran out of money and had to drop out of fashion school, it was a fourth woman he was dating who helped him set up his business in 2015.
“He was like, ‘Hey man, listen, I see you’re obsessed with this thing, here’s access to 8,000 (rand) and go ahead and start your business,'” he recalled.
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“I took this loan and went to buy some fabric and created the first line of jeans.”
The series gained traction as it cleverly promoted it on social media, building anticipation — “Something big is coming” — and telling its own story.
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Now about 10 tailors sew behind large windows under the high ceiling of his workshop.
Tshepo Jeans high-end denim is made from cotton produced in neighboring Zimbabwe, which is then sent to a mill in Japan before being cut and assembled back in Johannesburg.
Many local customers like a lightweight denim “with a bit of stretch” that is “comfortable” and “breathable”, making it suitable for Africa’s hot weather, he says.
Personalized pairs sell for around $375, a small fortune in South Africa.
But the orders come from all over the world.
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In 2019 the brand received a huge boost from Meghan Markle, who bought a pair during a trip to the continent.
“A lot of South Africans at the time were saying, ‘why should I buy Tshepo?’ and then you have the Duchess of Sussex coming here, actually calling me and begging me, ‘I’ve got to get a pair of jeans from you before I leave the country,'” Mokhlala recalled.
A year later, American pop star Beyonce listed Tshepo Jeans among the brands she admired.
“The celebrity endorsement really helped build our brand and opened doors for us on a global scale,” says Mohlala, wearing a denim shirt and leather shoes.
“It’s winning hearts overseas and in South Africa,” says denim fanatic Thando Made, who runs a denim fashion blog.
Decades ago, jeans were considered workers’ clothing in South Africa, as miners wore overalls when digging for gold, copper, coal and other minerals, he says.
Things changed after the advent of democracy with the election of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994.
The country opened up and American and Italian brands finally established themselves, turning jeans into urban wear.
“Jeans are like religion: you choose what suits you,” says Made.
“In this space that Tshepo is in, he speaks to someone who wants to embody the pride of being South African.”