Fashion designer, Thando Piliso is beyond himself with anger after he spotted one of his customised unique designs which he made for a client, worn by a random person on social media.

REPLICA

At first, he says he thought his client had borrowed the guy he spotted on social the outfit but then later on the social media post, the guy credited Cape Town designer Xolani Mawanda whom he contacted to ask about the design. "It is the exact design I made for a client in December for a wedding, right down to the finishing. Kwandokuhle Vin Xolile Mondie is a random guy that I am following on social media. I saw he was wearing my design which I had customised for a client. I thought he borrowed it," Thando says. "But it turned out Kwandokuhle got someone to make it for him and that is Xolani Mawanda whom I hold in high regard and would never expect him to make a replica. It's very disappointing for designers of that calibre."

Left: Thando Piliso 'sdesign Right: The design made by Xolani Mawanda

A LOUSY APOLOGY

Thando says it's not just any design that one can copy but a pattern and style. "I sketched, designed and created it myself to have someone just take my intellectual and creative property like that," he says. He adds that he commented on Kwandokuhle's picture on social media and complained asking for an explanation and an apology. They sent me a lousy apology saying they didn't know it was my work," he adds. "They said the client sent them a picture and it was a last-minute job which they did not research properly. I didn't reply to the apology, I was still mad. This picture is on my work page and that is where they got it, so how come they didn't know."

Designer Xolani Mawanda

XOLANI'S SIDE

Xolani tells ZiMoja they were not aware the original design belonged to Thando. "We were not aware. The client came with a picture and as per usual, we asked them to design something new for him and we asked where he got the design from and he said it was from a friend and he didn't mind since they are friends and we were not even aware that the friend is a designer," he said. We tried reaching out to Thando when we saw his friend tagged us on social media and he didn't reply." Xolani said, adding that the custom orders are usually done to a client specification. "As a brand, we always do our best to make sure that we do not duplicate another designer's work and you do that by either finding out if the client has permission to redo the item (which we did here, and he said it's his friend and he okay with it). Also, by making sure that we add our personal touch to the design, but in this case the person wanted it as is because he said his friend was okay with it." The client, Kwandokuhle, could not be reached for comment.

CONFLICT

Thando has been a designer since 2015. This is not the first time he has been involved in a dispute of this sort. In 2017, he was accused by David Tlale of allegedly stealing his design, and he was quick to show proof that a blazer he had made was sketched a few years before David made something similar. "Oh honey, not me. I am no copycat because I am quick to call out people who steal other people's ideas," he says. "David saw that the suit I made was my original work and that is where it ended."