Luzooy fast becoming coolest thing in luxury clothing rentals

The next time you need a red-carpet showstopper, remember the name Luzooy – the fashion rental platform that is redefining access to luxury style.

The go-to for Mzansi PYTs (pretty young things) Teboho “Caddy” Tsotetsi, Thabiso Bapela, Banele “Moghelingz” Ndaba and Lungelo Mdletshe, Luzooy is fast becoming the coolest brand in town.

Behind the rails is 36-year-old fashion entrepreneur and real estate expert Tshilisano Denga, whose lifelong passion for fashion has evolved into a rental business – dressing people for everything from major red carpet events to weddings and other milestone celebrations. “I’ve always loved fashion, though I come from an academic background,” he says.

“I knew that if I went for fashion, they [my family] were not going to allow me, as I was raised in a strict household. They kind of gently pushed me to do things the traditional way, so I studied for a normal qualification, which was property development.”

As a student, Denga’s passion for fashion never faded; he continued to explore, experiment and refine his personal style. “When I was in university, whenever my family would send me money for groceries, I’d take half and buy clothes because I loved fashion that much. I’d enjoy shopping and styling looks for myself,” he says.

“Growing up in Makhado, Venda, I inherited my sense of fashion from my grandmother. She was a housewife and ran a spaza shop but loved clothes and had a little machine she used for tailoring clothing. Her clothing venture never took off, but her good fashion sense rubbed off on my aunt and mother, and then I took from them as well.

“Years later, in 2019, I attended many award shows and events like the SA Music Awards and would approach designers to create a custom suit for me. The designer and I would collaborate on the design. I’d wear the outfit only once; after posting it on Instagram, it would sit in my wardrobe because I was not going to repeat the same look at another big event.”

Denga’s custom-designed outfits often cost upwards of R12,000 and over time, he built a collection of more than 30 of these standout looks that would likely never see the light of day again. “I asked myself what I was going to do with all these outfits, and when I spoke with designers about the option of renting them out, they told me they don’t do rentals.

“When I did my research on the clothing rental industry in SA, I found it was mainly bridal attire for the everyday person, and celebrity stylists had their own private collections. There were few options that offered accessible standout creations for special moments.

“So, I realised that was a niche market and put together a business plan and started with the outfits that I had collected. I started out by renting them out to my friends, and people started responding.”

Today, Luzooy has over 250 eye-catching pieces from Denga’s personal collection, purchased designer pieces, and fashionable garments that can be made and customised within three days.

The business has outgrown its current facilities and is set to relocate to a larger 200m² space in Wynberg, Sandton, in early April. “With the larger space, I envision Luzooy becoming the biggest rental warehouse in Johannesburg,” Denga says.

“It will be a space where a stylist, a public person, a designer... can come and drop the clothes. A stylist can come and shop for a fashion magazine. A TV production can come in and tell us we’re going to be shooting this, and we need clothes that look like this, and with my team, we will provide them with clothing, and they bring that clothing back after the show.” — Sowetan