you are here: | Top Billing Features Designer Orapeleng Modutle
Top Billing Features Designer Orapeleng Modutle
We catch up with A-list fashion mogul Orapeleng Modutle.
When it comes to the A-listers of the fashion world in South Africa, you could probably count the big names on one hand and Orapeleng Modutle is sure to be on the list.
His work is easily recognisable from across any room and if you were to take a closer look like we did you would realise that the success trend runs through his family as well as industry mentors who have become like family to him.
Orapeleng is the driving force behind his successful brand OM Style Avenue, a label synonymous with names such as Thando Thabethe, Minnie Dlamini and Pearl Modiadie all of whom have been dressed in his creations.
He is also one of Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 Young Creatives alumni and one who utilises his opportunities to properly leverage our continent as a source of fabrics and as a consumer market for fashion.
At the very core of OM Style Avenue, his approach to his work is having a clear, well-thought-out identity of the kind of woman who represents his brand.
For fashion editor Binwe Adebayo, Orapeleng’s work is of a standard that stands apart from a saturated market by having a clear, different brand identity.
Radio & TV star Azania Mosaka has also in the past described his creations as fun, whimsical and magical.
While many fashion designers fail to establish their brands due to financial issues, Orapeleng is quick to credit Nkhensani Nkosi of Stoned Cherie, who attributes as a mentor who taught him a great deal about running his fashion brand. He works as an intern for her and thereafter was employed by her as a pattern maker.
It was his hard work, sleepless nights and her mentorship that ultimately led him to start and establish his brand which he runs together with his business partner Kabelo Mothapo.
OM Style Avenue has a great reach with clients calling up all the way from Nigeria. Orapeleng is an entrepreneur who sees himself as a game changer in the industry and his creations bare a stark element of daring.
The success that OM Style Avenue has achieved might never have come to fruition had Orapeleng remained a member of a teenage gang that he was a part of in Kimberley.
His success can also be attributed to the love and good upbringing that he had from his now-deceased mother, Kedibone Bosvark. It helped to have friends like Neville Masondo and Ditje Shikoane as well as his brother Gideon who invested in him and provided him with the support he needed.
In addition to his love for fashion, Orapeleng is a man who loves reading, cooking, motivational speaking and jogging while remaining focused on his success.
