How a healthcare insider reinvented SA’s shapewear industry

Best known for her work in wellness and as the founder of Supported Shapewear, Palesa Maleka has carved out a distinct space by redefining what it means to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin.

Before entering the competitive world of fashion and apparel, Maleka built a career in the health and wellness sector.

With years of hands-on experience as a clinical dietitian, she helped clients navigate complex relationships with food, weight management and holistic health.

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Through her digital platforms and personal practice, she sought to demystify nutrition while prioritising her clients’ physical and mental wellbeing.

However, conversations with clients also revealed a quiet battle some of them had with their health goals, body confidence and comfort in their daily attire.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Maleka put her dietetics practice on hold and turned her attention to shapewear, drawing on what she had learnt from her clients.

“When I started Supported Shapewear I didn’t think it would be as big as it was, and I always want to give everything to anything that I start,” she told the Mzansi Business Podcast.

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“I knew if I continued with the dietetics then I wouldn’t be able to give my all to my professional space, so I decided to pause on that. It’s like having a baby – you wait for a baby to turn a certain age so they can walk by themselves and then you move on to the next.”

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Maleka says she has evolved as a businesswoman since running her clinic and launching Supported Shapewear.

“I don’t even think I defined myself as a businesswoman back then. I was just an ambitious girl, I was young but I just had a fire in me that I couldn’t explain. Now I know that it was the entrepreneurship.”

She says the brand’s core mission goes beyond aesthetics: it is about helping women feel supported, comfortable and confident.

Building a store front

At a time when retailers are increasingly moving online and cutting costs by closing physical stores, Supported Shapewear has taken a different approach by opening a new storefront in Midrand, Johannesburg.

While retail trends continue to favour e-commerce and automated logistics, Maleka says the physical store is a strategic, customer-focused decision.

She believes the in-store experience is one of the brand’s key selling points.

“I did a lot of pop-ups before and it was very unprofessional. We would just wing it. My friends would come and help me sell. Sometimes we wouldn’t even count stock because those are people you trust, but you get to a certain place when you want to professionalise it and put systems in place.”

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She believes the showroom also addresses a trust deficit consumers have with online retailers. With that, she adds, sales have increased.

“We are still pushing online sales, but when you have an online store, you’re also building trust.”

Maleka has also partnered up with like-minded women to house a range of brands at the showroom.

The new store is set to launch in October.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

* You can listen to the full podcast above or download it from iono, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

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