If you’ve been on social media lately, chances are that you’ve probably seen Tara Courtené Cannon pop up on your feed. And if you paid a minute’s attention to her content, you were likely drawn in by her energetic and always-vibrant personality.

And why not? She is a self-confessed drama queen and was born for the screen. However, life did not put her on this path immediately, but with the advent of TikTok, especially, and being an online content creator becoming more mainstream, it was as if the stars aligned for her to live out her many passions.

But it wasn’t that drama and acting was what she wanted to do from the beginning, though. Learning from her grandmother and watching how she’d design and make dresses, Tara took up fashion design for her tertiary education and thrived in the environment.

Still, the drama bug did not release its bite and she had to shelve her dream of performing. At least for a while (without her knowing it at the time).

Birth of Bernali

Tara makes no secret of the fact that her grandmother was influential in her becoming a designer. It was where her love for fashion was fostered, and it made the decision to take fashion design over drama easier.

And she’d go on to become one of Cape Town’s most renowned and influential designers; making dresses for a variety of clients. Her name and reputation grew, leading to her launching Bernali – her very own label.

“So, Bernali started in lockdown,” Tara explains as she delves into the why she opened the store.

“We were a CMT (Cut, Make, Trim manufacturer), and because obviously now everything was closed, we needed to keep the doors open for the ladies to still work and bring in income for them. So, we decided to start our own label, thereby still being able to feed ourselves and our households.

“The brand actually took off very well and it was successful.”

These days, says Tara, with all her responsibilities and the various directions her life has headed in, Bernali is on a break while they’re “rerouting a few things”.

But she still finds time to design the occasional dress between juggling family and content creation.

Living the dream

With TikTok reigniting her passion for drama and acting and providing a platform for creators to live out their best selves, Tara has taken an immediate liking to the app.

Entertaining her 108 000 followers (and the many more who are watching without following), Tara says she loves how she can talk nonsense without getting judged or frowned upon.

“I love the fact that you can use a voiceover from a movie and you can act it out.
You know, like it’s okay to do that. It’s not frowned upon; I love that,” she says.

“I don’t think the transition (from designer to influencer) was difficult because I’m a talker, you know. I can talk a lot of nonsense. And people seem to love it.”

Making Tara’s content different to others’ is that she involves her family, and they love being involved. Whether it’s husband Wade hilariously expressing himself or her children getting in on the action, everyone is eager.

Tara says it’s a relief to know that they are so onboard with her career as a social media influencer and a content creator, and that she can say with a happy heart she never forced them to do anything.

“So, my family, shame, they, they roll with the punches, hey! They are my brand on social media,” Tara says.

“You know, when we do videos, we do it together. Whoever is in the picture, they’re there. Like my daughter will always be like, ‘Mommy, I saw this. Can we do this dance? Can we do a makeup video?’

“She’s the one who asked me nowadays. And I’m just like, ‘Okay, babes, Mom’s tired, but let’s go!’

“You know, they actually keep me on my toes. My husband also.”

Going from full-time designer to full-time content creator may have been a transition too tough for some, but Tara has made it work. And with her family’s support and an energy second to none, this social butterfly has the world hanging on her lips.

Clearly, then, dreams do come true, even if you have to detour.