Grand finale of ‘earth friendly’ fashion

Zimbos in search of designer items may visit Mupedzanhamo, the second-hand clothes market, while others seeking imported fabrics or unusual designs, will scour weekend flea markets. Finally, however, local fashionistas can look forward to Zimbabwe Fashion Week, a festival dreamed up by beautiful model and designer, Priscilla Chigariro, who is also founder of Zimbabwe Fashion Week Trust.
The objective of the trust is to develop and foster fashion and design industries in Zimbabwe, and this year’s theme is “Think and Live Green”.
Six young designers have been invited to compete in a fashion show, each showing off a collection of five “earth friendly” garments. Prizes include bursaries to study at Studio 05 School of Fashion in Johannesburg, and at Harare College of Design, sewing and overlocking machines, and a variety of i-Pods.
Venues for the fashion shows include the 14th floor Joina City and the iconic Harare City Library, which, thanks to energetic members of Zimbabwe’s literati, is currently undergoing restoration.
The grand finale will take place at the Harare mayor’s mansion. Tickets for all these exciting events can be purchased in advance from the Alliance Francaise and the Zimbabwe German Society (ZGS).
The six young designers who have made the cut for this year’s fashion fusion programme are brimful of enthusiasm and talent. Twenty-one-year-old Znzorzi Adby (his professional name) started off studying chemical engineering at UNISA in Johannesburg. Astounded by the street fashion and avant garde designs he observed in this vibrant city, Znzorzi packed his bags and headed for Chinhoyi University of Technology, where he enrolled for a four-year degree in fashion design.
Znorzi’s ambition is to “realise the Zimbabwean dream” and if he responds to his fashion lecturer’s call to “unleash the animal in you”, his collection should excite and captivate.
Among the numerous partners and sponsors who have made this event possible, special mention should be made of Charles Houdart, director of the Alliance Francaise, and Roberta Wagner, director of the ZGS.
Thanks to the Treaty of Elysee, an agreement that ended centuries of rivalry between France and Germany, generous funding awarded on merit has been made available for arts and culture projects that bring the two countries together. Zimbabwe Fashion Week has thus benefited from the arrival of designers Nadege Cezette from Paris and Christine Wolf from Berlin.
These international designers will conduct a 10-day workshop at ZGS for the young Zimbabwean designers, focusing on pattern drawing, sewing and collection development.
Wolf, whose designs reflect classical and architectural influences, will inspire a fusion with earthy African styles. Cezette, who is particularly interested in recyclable fashion, has brought with her sewing and knitting machines: These include a machine designed to stitch fabric created from banana leaves.
The Zimbabwe Fashion Week is set not only to build bridges between Zimbabwe and the rest of the world, but to allow designers to exchange techniques, create beautiful clothes, and to allow Zimbabweans to enjoy the wonderful world of fashion.