Eastern Cape fashion designer, Thando Piliso, finds himself in a risky situation as he is about to be locked out of his fashion studio due to financial struggles and delayed payments.
The designer, known for his distinctive style blending traditional African attires with contemporary fashion trends, has been grappling with unpaid dues from Tshedza Pictures, linked to his work on the set of the acclaimed series Gqeberha: The Empire.
Thando told ZiMoja that he dropped all his clients to focus on creating a wedding dress for the final episode of Gqeberha: The Empire after the production team reached out to him, disappointed by a previous Johannesburg designer.
Unable to rework the existing dress, Piliso crafted a new one from scratch, working 96 hours straight without sleep. The dress, a masterpiece featuring pearl beads, a veil, and a beaded headband, also includes four layers of wavy trails. Thando highlighted the significant costs involved, particularly the R3 500 spent on bearing materials, leading to financial losses.
Thando further shared that he lent the production team accessories like steamers and additional dresses, which they did not use. Despite his efforts, he feels unappreciated, stressing the financial strain he faces with rent and staff salaries pending. Although the production team paid for the fabric, he gave them a discounted fee from R34 000 to R26 000.
“I gave them a discount on everything. I negotiated down from R34 000 to R26 000, I don’t like to usually put people on blast like this, but I have to, this has gone too far. They also owe the beading lady R3,600[..],” he explained.
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