South Africa’s most well-regarded fashion designer, David Tlale, made his debut in Hollywood last night, when actress Florence Kasumba walked the red carpet in one of his dresses at the Los Angeles premier of the film, Black Panther.
Words: Marc Le Chat
The Marvel-produced “Black Panther” is one of the year’s most-anticipated films and Kasumba has a prominent role alongside the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, as well as South Africa’s John Kani.
“It all happened on my birthday which made it even more special. Florence is an amazing actor and I am honoured that she asked for me. This is an exciting moment not only for me but for African fashion,” says David.
The form fitting, showstopper dress with a high front slit, is made from dotted lace, pleated tule and velvet finishing, corseted with beaded lace.
“It fits her body like a glove. She was so excited to receive it and when she did the fitting in Berlin on Saturday, they face timed me and it looked beyond phenomenal! You can never go wrong with a black dress on the red carpet. We wanted to give Florence a timeless look and favourite colour is black – a perfect match.”
Amongst other films, Ms Kasumba has appeared in the likes of “Captain America: Civil War” and “Wonder Woman” and will also be lending her voice to the role of Shenzi in the upcoming Disney film, “The Lion King”.
