South African denim brand TSHEPO has opened its first Cape Town store at the V&A Waterfront, marking a new chapter for a brand built around denim, storytelling and local craftsmanship.
Founded by Tshepo Mohlala in 2015, TSHEPO began with a pair of jeans and a belief that clothing could carry stories. In its early days, Mohlala sold his jeans from a bicycle on the streets of Johannesburg. Eleven years later, the brand employs 50 people and has expanded its footprint to Cape Town.
At the heart of the brand is the Crown, inspired by the three women who raised Mohlala: his mother, grandmother and aunt. His grandmother, a pastor and storyteller, also helped shape his understanding of the power of stories to bring people together.
That sense of connection extends into how TSHEPO makes its clothes.
At the brand’s Atelier at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg, a team of 12 tailors and seamstresses develops, cuts and constructs its high-end denim. Eight live in the surrounding community, keeping both skills and economic opportunity close to home.
The Atelier’s expertise is also passed on through an ongoing upskilling programme, ensuring specialist denim-making knowledge can reach a younger generation.
“I want TSHEPO to grow, but I never want growth to mean forgetting the people who helped us get here,” says Mohlala.
“If we can grow the brand and create more opportunities for people to grow with us, that’s what matters.”
A new home in Cape Town
The V&A Waterfront is TSHEPO’s first permanent Cape Town home, giving the brand an opportunity to connect its distinctly South African story with both local shoppers and international visitors.
Mohlala said visitors had already been walking into the store, asking about the story behind the brand and leaving with pieces to take home.
“It’s a beautiful story to take home,” he said.
The store carries the brand’s familiar codes, denim, the Crown, natural materials, craft and storytelling, while introducing the TSHEPO experience to a new city.
And some of Johannesburg has travelled with it.
Tea and rusks, inspired by Mohlala’s childhood memories of his grandmother’s home, are served in TSHEPO stores. For the Cape Town opening, Victoria Yards collaborators also made the journey south, with Storm Ceramics producing the cups and saucers and Pulp Paper Works creating handmade denim-covered notebooks for guests.
For Mohlala, these details reflect something bigger than a retail experience: the relationships and community that have helped shape TSHEPO from the beginning.
Now, that community has a new home in Cape Town.
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