Behind the seams of 'Gqeberha The Empire'
See what went into creating the dazzling looks of the latest local telenovela
Costume designer Kgomotso Dipholo is no stranger to crafting looks for iconic South African characters. From the dangerous streets of Refilwe in The River to recent seaside soap Gqeberha: The Empire.
The telenovela follows the empire of affluent moneymaker Luzuko Mxenge (played by Mbulelo Grootboom) and his wives. One of the matriarchs is played by Zandile Msutwana of The Queen fame. Her character finds herself in a pickle when she colludes with Luzuko's best friend Msimelelo (Anele Matoti) to kill him.
For Dipholo, it was important to capture the spirit of the eponymous city through its characters to help differentiate them from the Johannesburg-based TV programmes we all watch.
Watching the people of the city, she was able to pick up the unique styles of the coastal area that helped her bring them to life.
I have worked on most of the villains we have seen, especially ones like Lindiwe in The River. It would have been such a shame for her to be a villain and read like all the others who came before her.
She's all about class, you'll think she has never set foot in a township. I was thinking at the back of my mind that I have worked with so many villains where there is a lot of drama in their clothes so I wanted to carry Gqeberha without any comparisons being done somewhere else. So I wanted to keep her clean.