It’s a Tuesday morning around 11:00, first Tuesday after the most-talked about fashion event (SA Fashion Week) South Africa has ever seen. I’m told it was a great success, seven years after its inception. Themba of the clothing label Darkie has given me directions to his studio. I have never seen him in the flesh and I’m waiting in anticipation near the premises. I give him a call and he tells me exatcly where he is, and I see him just next to the door of the half-built studio. Greetings are shared and he welcomes me in. We go up the stairs where the creative juices flow. When I enter, I didn’t actually expect a glamourous place since I know it’s a place of work, but I was impressed by the way things were organised. I look around and say, “so this is where it all happens?”. He responds, “pretty much so I guess”. He offers me something to drink and I thank him. He offers me a seat on a cushion on the floor.. we start chatting, for real now.
Please tell me about Themba… just a brief background.
My name is Themba Mngomezulu.
Alright, are you Zulu?
No, I’m a Swati. I was born in Pretoria somewhat years ago.
Any special somebody?
I’m pretty much single and still looking.
Is that so?
I’m actually eyeing somebody. (we both laugh).
Alright, great stuff, so when and where did it all start? Did you just wake up one morning and decide “I want to be a fashion designer”?
It all started in the year 2000, just after 1 year after I moved in here in Durban. It’s not a matter of waking up someday and deciding to venture into this field. I have been involved with working with clothes since an early age. I used to help my mother (she was selling second hand clothes), and the passion grew from there. I also have worked for quite a number of clothing shops around South Africa.
Why Durban, why did you leave Pretoria?
I don’t like being around one place for too long. I came here in Durban and I’m here to stay and when I feel it’s time for me to move on, I will.
Do you have any formal training at a fashion school or technikon or it’s just pure God-given talent?
No, I did not engage in any formal training. I derived the ambition from the passion for clothes.
What has been your highlight in your career so far?
I cannot say there has been a highlight, I’m still in the journey of reaching my milestone, which encompasses my business growing bigger than it is now. I have been involved though with DDC, the Durban July, Nedeburg, and recently, last week, with the SA Fashion Week.
Are you alone in the label Darkie and why did you decide to call it Darkie?
And you find designers, saying, I get inspiration from the earth, etc.. what inspires your designs?
No, there are three of us. Me, my pattern lady, Sli – who also designs, and Charmaine, my machinist. My designs are inspired by old things, everything that is old. I go back with the times, look at colours, textures and the fabrics, and that’s basically it. Darkie just came about as a title for the people I want to wear my clothes, people I associate with clothewise, and I must emphasise that it has nothing to do with colour.
I was about to talk about that and my question was, who is your target market? And don’t you think it (brand) will affect your market since the name darkie is mostly associated with black soulful people?
My clothes are for people who share my passion for clothes. I sell my clothes to underground people. It’s all about underground, that is why I’m not really interested in marketing myself that much.
But, don’t you think marketing yourself will get you to achieving your goals, making your business grow, as you said earlier?
For now, I’m not that much into doing that, maybe somewhere along the line, that will be on the pipe line. But for now, I’m just making clothes and I know, obviously, that to grow I need to make money. I’m just underground as I said, and it’s all about creating what people want me to.
Do you supply your clothes for any clothing shops, I know for a fact you do for The Space in Gateway, I’ve been there and checked your stuff out. Which are they?
Yes, I do. I supply for Scar in Cape Town, DDE here at Musgrave in Durban, The Space at Gateway and outlets are welcome to stock my label if they want to, I have no problem with that.
Are there any famous personalities that you have dressed before, maybe for special functions, like Miss SA e.g.? Who are they?
Not exactly that type of scene, but I have people requesting me to do garments for them and have seen people wearing my stuff and I just say, Oh, that’s great. For instance, this past Saturday, I was suppose to dress Babalwa Mneno, but apparently, my garment was too revealing, according to her.
But we mostly know her for those types of clothes, sexy, revealing numbers.
Yeah, I know.. I don’t know what happened. Really, I don’t know. Maybe I took it to the extreme..
I know this past mid-week to weekend was the SA Fashion Week. Please just give me your views about the event and tell me if there is anything to improve in the whole engagement.
It’s a nice show to be involved with. You also get involved with many famous designers around the country. Nice shows are organised, allowing people to experience the fruits of what we have created. With improving the show, I’m afraid sponsorship suck. If they could have more sponsors, it would really be great.
I also know that you were one of the designers showcasing your stuff on the displays, and I presume on the ramp as well, how was the whole experience for you?
As I have said, the show was nice. However, the hype around the whole thing doesn’t do it for me. It’s just a place where we showcase our collections, in this case, it was our summer collections. We just showcase what’s coming out for the next season, being it winter or summer.
Do you feel this has given you the exposure you need?
Not really. In a way it has, because I have shared my work with my fellow designers, but I have done many things, as I have said earlier, being at the Cape Town Fashion Weeek in Nederburg, DDC and other fashion events. I could say that if you are an up and coming designer, then that’s a great opportunity for you, which doesn’t necessarily mean that you should only rely on this event.
Now, do you think that Durban has what it takes to compete with the other big cities in SA?
Durban is outstanding man, it’s just that poeple sometimes do not belive in themselves that much. People here are narrow-minded, they just don’t believe they can do it. They do not want to explore, and its very sad because there’s a lot of talent. I wouldn’t actually dwell that much on comparison. There are a lot of designers, who are from Durban, but because they want to explore themselves, they move to an environment where they will be able to achieve just that. For example, Thando from Sun Godde’ss is originally from Durban, but moved to Jo’burg for more opportunities.
What do you think of the fashion industry as a whole?
It sucks broer, I’m telling you, it sucks. There is an exception though, I’m sure everybody loves the glitz and glamour part of it. As I have said earlier, it’s not only Durbanites that are narrow minded, (sighs), just the whole spectrum of fashion. People have this mentality that if they share ideas, those ideas will be stolen. They don’t talk to each other and even if you have thought of something, you are hesitant to come up front with that innovative idea, because you do not know how people will react to it.. that’s just how people are man.
Do you feel those that have and are still successful, the likes of Stoned Cherrie, Loxion Kulcha, and Ephymol, Sun Godde’ss, to mention but a few, are in a way not giving the other newly established brands a good chance?
(Smiles) We are all the best. The only difference is that they have been in it for much a longer period than those up and coming designers. They just starterd and with time, they’ll also get to that level. With the newcomers, as well, they don’t believe in themselves. It’s all about dreams, yes, but it should lie on how you get to reaching those dreams. Facing hardwork, they have a problem with that. They would concentrate more on the nice things, the glitz, flashy cars, beautiful houses, and forget that glitz is just a reward of hard work. Work hard first, focus, do your best and you’ll get to where you want to get to.
How do you feel about the fashion industry globally?
It’s kinda similar to what I’ve just said now, globally as well. South Africa is brilliant, it’s just that they have designers in other countries have been in this industry for a long time and they have established themselves a great deal. (Smiling again) All I can say is that, we are correctly and deservedly better than them, just give us some time, and we’ll be there.
Why does fashion keep coming back, you get people say this was in fashion in the 1960, and it’s back again? Why is that?
With fashion, and other things for that matter, there comes a point where ideas are exhausted. So, you find that there’s nothing else to do, it’s all finished, and it sort of repeats itself. The important point is this repitition though is that when it comes back, it must have some changes, improvements or alterations. A person must for example, come up with new textures, prints, fabric, etc. The thing about fashion is that, the more it goes back, the more it develops.
What are your plans now, where do you expect to be seen in the next 5 years?
I’m gonna keep on working and working. In 5 years time, I want to be sitting on top of my empire (laughs).
What are your words of wisdon to other people (fashionista-wanna-be’s, literally) who want to follow this career?
Work very very hard, focus and dedicate yourself to what you are doing. To build a house you need people, but be careful as to who you bring close to help build that house. Also watch out for the media, (he says, “People like you”, pointing at me, and I’m thinking, am I part of the media, alright, that’s not too bad, I think), they break and make you.
That’s a wrap. The man has a zillion things to do, I thank him for his time and he walks me out of his studio. I think I have had some insight on Themba, who I believe is going and will continue to go places with his craft. I hope you have also learnt a few things about this outstanding designer, although he said he doesn’t see himself as a designer, but a creator of excellent clothing.
