Tshepo "The Master Jean Maker"

If you’re here to learn about patterns, stitching and re-threading a sewing machine, you’re in for a few surprises. This is no ordinary Playbox. This is the Playbox of kings and kingmakers – where fundamentals form the foundation, and everything that follows gets you to the crown. 

With a passion for fashion, and the drive to take his name to global heights, Tshepo Mohlala takes you beyond the sketches and into his story. A real South African story, for a real South African hustler. Learn how Tshepo “The Jean Maker” got his name, earned his fame, and why denim is his designer legacy.

Sometimes what you see is not always what you get. Most times, there’s so much more. When it comes to building a brand, a destiny and even a great pair of jeans, there are many things that are invisible to the eye: from hands and hope to pain, passion and people. 

In this episode, Tshepo takes us behind-the-wings of his atelier to crack the misconception that machines don’t make clothes: people do; and, in understanding more about the makings that maketh the man, we learn how when each of us is given the space to dream, we’re given a chance to weave a new story.

For Tshepo, working as a South African fashion designer is about more than making clothing. It’s about hope. It’s about telling stories. And uniting people with both. But there’s something more – something that drives a man to become the ‘King of Denim’; something that ignites as it mends; that hems as it hustles. Something that starts with a woman. 

Learn the story behind Tshepo’s crown, and the women who raised and shaped him into a local icon with global designs.

Whether you’re lending a hand, stitching by hand or changing hands, trailblazing Tshepo believes the ability to make a dream a reality is in YOUR hands. And when it comes to his own story, he’ll tell you straight, “My hands are the reason I’m here, man.” 

Learn what it takes to start (and re-start) designing your dreams, and how the potential of your own success may well lie in the palms of your hands. Literally. Tshepo breaks down the needle points of putting his hands to work, and the pride that can come from creating things from scratch - your legacy included.

In order to weave magic with his hands, a master denim maker and designer has a small arsenal of tools always at-the-ready. 

From the one item he always keeps handy in his cubbyhole, to the right pair of shears to cut certain weights of fabric, and of course, how to use the almighty iron to shape (not burn) denim into the right detail, the man with the golden hands talks us through the tools and tricks of the trade — both in and out the box. Wannabe designers, tailors, magic-makers: take note!

In a first-class, backstage, VIP pass, we get up close and technical with Tshepo the Jean Maker, who takes us deep into the heart and art of denim, his studio and the three Fs: Fabric, Fit and Finish. 

Walking us though the A-Z process of cutting, shaping and perfecting a pair of jeans fit for royalty and the runway, he guides us through the step-by-step processes that makes good jeans your crowning glory. Zip up and pay attention: This one’s for the denim-heads!

If your first taste of bankruptcy was in Grade 5, it can take guts – and R250 – to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back at it. Born with the heart of a trader, setbacks, disappointments, and changes of plan (MANY changes, MANY plans), never kept Tshepo down for long. 

In this episode, the fashion week wave-maker walks a catwalk of harsh and helpful business experiences; highlighting the importance of investing in the right relationships; and how, if you want to build a 70-storey building, you have to dig deep and give it all you’ve got.

Something happens when a product becomes not only something you feel with your hands, but a service that touches your heart. It forms a connection, a conversation, a little crack of electricity, and creates the holy grail of what every brand owner strives for: W.O.M (Word of Mouth). 

How did Tshepo achieve this? Where was this inspired from? And, most importantly, where is it taking him? In this episode, the King of Denim shows us how when you put service — and people — first and centre, it opens up dreams, doors and contacts you never knew existed.

When it comes to the question of what can uplift a nation, few would guess the power of a pair of jeans. Tshepo isn’t one of them. 

Motivated by South Africa and its iconic Constitution, his ‘We, the People’ collection honours the nation-builders, freedom fighters, and extraordinary people, of past and present who raise their hands for the greater good. With it, he echoes the sentiment of the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

What does it take to transform what began as a childhood daydream in Tsakane into your name blown-up in lights, and visible from the William Nicol? Does it require a college degree? No. Does it require a trust fund of money? No. Does it require a lot of courage, passion and the belief in yourself to blaze your own trail? Yes, yes, yes — and, as always, a little help from your friends. 

From zero to hero, Tshepo takes us through the hard yards and big breaks that put his name in lights, homes, hearts and South Africa’s lips.