East London's Sandisiwe Dani is nearing the end of her internship with top fashion designer David Tlale and her future looks bright.
Her main goal is to use her latest experience in the fashion industry to help young, aspiring designers in Eastern Cape.
"What I want to do is take whatever I have learnt from the big cities and bring it back home. I want to start in my city; we don't get the recognition that we deserve," she told HuffPost, after showcasing her beautiful garments at Tlale's bold bridal collection fashion show on Thursday evening.
She says it is important for black people to understand their roots.
"My ambition right now is to teach black people about who we are, where we come from, what we have achieved. We need to know who we were, to know where we are going."
[I want to] build Eastern Cape, make it big, so that they have this designer Sandi Dani from Eastern Cape who made it big.
That is why the theme for her line was "Black People In China" — Dani says it was based on her newfound interest in the origins of black people.
"Well, the inspiration around that... lately I have been doing a a lot of research about black people, our history, where we come from, all our contributions to society, all our inventions — all of that stuff.
"I found out that black people were the first people in China," she said.
She also wants to represent her province and show people the talent there.
"[I want to] build Eastern Cape, make it big, so that they have this designer Sandi Dani from Eastern Cape who made it big," she says enthusiastically.
'Having David Tlale approve your work on its own is like, wow!'
Dani was among 80 hopefuls vying to be chosen to work with Tlale and she says being picked really boosted her confidence.
Tlale was in East London for a workshop for the Buyel'ekhaya fashion development programme in 2016 and Dani was one of three designers chosen for the internship.
"Just being part of that — at least you're on the right track. Just having David Tlale approve your work on its own is like, wow!" Dani said.
"Being his intern is amazing. He is the best, not because he is my boss. When you look at his work, he thinks out of the box. He's not scared to try new things," she chuckled.
What the young designer will most try to emulate, she says, is Tlale's commitment to work and discipline.