Supermodel breaks new ground

The actual fashion exhibition starts today at the Harry Margolis Hall in Kensington, Harare, and ends this Saturday.
Chigariro, who is the founder and executive producer of the fashion week, said the ZFW is “a local platform that is proudly Zimbabwean, aimed at creating a definitive voice in fashion on the continent and in the world”.
Fashion weeks are a popular and regular thing the world over and attracts fashionistas, socialites and businesspeople who get a taste of what is to come in terms of fashion trends. It is where the fashion industry doyens, celebrities and beautiful people meet, so to speak.
“Fashion weeks are very popular on the international scene; this I have seen and encountered first-hand. It is because of this that I realised how our local fashion industry was lacking exposure and a platform to be celebrated. I believe that it is about time Zimbabweans create a self-sustaining fashion conscious nerve centre with the guidance of a well-informed group of local designers,” said Chigariro.
Twelve local designers, including Chigariro herself, will kick-start the first fashion week event ever to be hosted in Zimbabwe. The others are House of Yemurai, women and men’s wear by Yemurai; Alpharose, by women’s wear designer, Yvonne Watadza; Ahute Couture designer Sabina; Zuva by women’s and men’s brand designer, Joyce Chimanye; the Krislusive range by Chris Goredema; Chipo Bespoke by Chipo Sibotshiwe; Countess K women’s wear fashion by Alice Knuth; and also Trish Carmen; Ashley Nyagumbo, Terrence Chipembere and Briaton Takundwa.
For the catwalk queen, the launch of the ZFW, a non-profit trust launched in October last year, was a “long dream of giving back her fashion and modelling gift to her birth country and establishing a solid fashion platform from which to spring off new design talent” . . . which will “help rekindle what was once a thriving textile and fashion industry”.
Ultimately, “our aim is not only to become a world-class fashion event, but also promote Zimbabwean art, culture and economy,” said Chigariro at the launch event.
The event is aimed at rekindling the fashion flair that characterised Zimbabwe before the economic melt own and as signs of economic growth and investment opportunities continue to flicker, there could not be a better time than right now to introduce ZFW and kick-start the vehicle of re-construction.
Chigariro boasts of 10 years experience as a professional model in a successful career that started with her clinching the “Super face” title of 2000 in the then annual Supermodel search run by African Sun Hotels (then Zimbabwe Sun).
The title made her the automatic runner up to represent Zimbabwe in the Face of Africa competition the following year. To date Priscilla has worked on campaigns, advertisements and shows like the Vukani Fashion Award Show, SA Fashion Week, Guess Jeans, Virgin Mobile, Coca-Cola Lite as well as securing shoots in publications such as Destiny Magazine, True Love, Elle Magazine, Cosmopolitan and YMag.
Chigariro — born in Zimbabwe in 1981 — won a contract to model with G3 Model Agency via the Face Of Africa in South Africa, when she was only 18, which she only took up in 2001. Since then she has modelled in Paris, France, Milan, Barcelona, Spain and South Africa.
She told an online fashion magazine, Jucy, that 10 years after breaking into the cut-throat modelling industry, “I decided modelling was not the only challenge I wanted to conquer, I also wanted to leave an indelible mark on the African fashion scene, hence, the decision to host Zimbabwe Fashion Week.
“Along the way I have picked up many skills and developed many talents, namely interior design, project management and administrative skills. All of these I feel will contribute greatly to the successful execution of this project.”
Chigariro has her own collection, Chrome, which will also be part of the ZFW exhibition.
Jucy contends that Chigariro does not want to position ZFW as a strictly Zimbabwean event, but is also finalising a list of industry heavyweights from South Africa who will be guest judges and also present their collections to emphasise the spirit of oneness.
The Zimbabwean fashion industry flourished in the mid to late 90s with names such as Creed Katsande, Sonny of Savor Makolinsky and David Gwaze who specialised in the Savile Row tailor-made suits and graced the prestigious Supermodel event annually.
New school names like Brenda Sibanda and Peter Rakubva took the spotlight in the early 2000s, hence, the spirit of a fashion conscious and dynamic society never really died. This is why there is an optimism and confidence on bringing a focus to Zimbabwe, a country blessed with a collage of successful catwalk stories like Jonathan Denga, Langa Sibanda, Lenah Zinyama, Rachel Stuart, Debbie Jones and Chigariro herself, acknowledges Jucy.
The exhibition hall will be open from 2pm till the last show in the evening.