For 15 years, Ouma Tema has been creating fashion that gives fuller-figured people something the industry too often denied them: choice, confidence and the freedom to simply dress for themselves.
For designer Ouma Tema, fashion has never been simply about making clothes. It has been about making space. Fifteen years ago, when plus-size fashion was largely overlooked by mainstream retailers and media, Tema saw a gap that was personal to her as much as it was commercial. Where fuller-figured people were expected to find something that fitted, rather than fashion being designed with their bodies in mind.
So she decided to become the change she wanted to see. And PlusFab was born.
“I remember how invisible we were in stores and mainstream media,” she says. “Plus-size women deserve the same quality, confidence, and style as everyone else.”
What began with a handful of people who believed in the dream has grown into PlusFab, a trusted South African fashion brand that has spent 15 years challenging the idea that style has a size.
The journey has been anything but straightforward. Tema recalls starting from the boot of her car, moving into the garage of her apartment, then working from a studio at the State Theatre before eventually building a fully fledged factory where PlusFab designs, cuts and manufactures its clothing in South Africa.
Today, the brand is celebrating its milestone with its first tailored suit collection, aptly titled The Fit We Were Never Given.
The collection is more than an expansion of the PlusFab wardrobe. For Tema, it is another answer to a problem she has been trying to solve since the beginning: why should wanting something fashionable be followed by the disappointment of discovering it does not come in your size?
Her design process starts there.
“It’s always from a struggle. What is the struggle, and what is the problem we’re trying to solve?” she says.
That philosophy has shaped everything from swimwear and sleepwear to tailoring. It is also why the new collection allows customers to choose their fabrics and have suits made to their preferences, whether they want a tuxedo, African print, woven textile or something else.
There is something quietly powerful about that kind of choice.
For years, fashion has too often asked fuller-figured people to adapt themselves to what is available. Tema is turning that idea around, creating clothing that adapts to the wearer.
And her customers know the difference.
She speaks proudly of people who have told her they wore PlusFab pieces to their graduations and weddings, or who return for bespoke garments because they know that wearing the brand makes them feel confident.
“We are more than just our sizes,” she says.
That belief is at the heart of PlusFab’s story. It is about recognising that a woman can be an executive, an entrepreneur, a bride, a graduate, a traveller or simply someone who wants to look fabulous on a night out — and that none of those identities should be limited by the size of the clothes available to her.
Tema is also candid about the realities of building a business in South Africa. PlusFab has weathered difficult economic periods, operational setbacks, COVID-related job losses and the ongoing challenge of funding. Yet she remains focused on rebuilding, currently sustaining 10 jobs and hoping to grow that number.
“Our people are our greatest asset,” she says, describing a workplace built around respect, accountability, learning and excellence.
Looking ahead, her ambitions extend far beyond PlusFab’s 15th anniversary. She wants to build Africa’s leading inclusive fashion house, continue manufacturing locally, create jobs, develop young talent and take a proudly South African brand to the global stage.
But perhaps the most touching measure of her journey is what she would tell the woman who started it all those years ago.
“It really does get better.”
And it seems that, for Tema, better does not mean finished. There is always another ceiling, another lesson and another space to create.
After 15 years, she is still making room — one garment, one customer and one beautifully fitted piece at a time.
