The Fashion Council of Zimbabwe (FCoZ) has called designers, stylists, photographers, creatives, writers and bloggers, among other fashion buffs, to unite for the betterment of the industry.
The call was made during the second phase of the “Meet and Greet” event hosted by FCoZ at Alliance Francaise in Harare recently.
The event attracted the who is who in the fashion industry locally and was highly subscribed.
Speaking at the event, FCoZ chairperson Joyce Chimanye said it was time for all fashion enthusiasts to unite as everyone in the sector served a purpose to the finished project or product.
“We don’t have to compete or look down upon each other as fashion creatives,” she said. “We all need one another, you can be a designer, tailor or stylist, but for that garment to be appreciated, you need a model to fit in, that model needs a photographer to capture both the dress and model then we need bloggers and writers to chronicle that. The list goes on.
“That was the major reason why we are doing the ‘Meet and Greet’ events, so that we get to know each other. We will go to other cities and towns soon, depending on our data base. We have a membership where people pay subscriptions to the organisation so that we help them achieve their goals, be it to know the directory or to know the whereabouts of fashion shows, designers and stylists, among others, as we help them. This Meet and Greet served a lot of purpose and we are happy with the turnout.”
Chimanye said they hosted a similar event two weeks ago in Bulawayo, where they also met with creatives who shared their concerns and possible solutions in the industry.
“We flew to Bulawayo and met up with the fashion team,” she said.
“What we liked about the inaugural session is they briefed us about of some of their concerns and possible solutions in the industry. We are glad that some of them even followed us to the second edition in Harare.”
Chimanye, a fashion guru, said as the Fashion Council of Zimbabwe, they were shaping and helping to structure and formalise the fashion ecosystem in Zimbabwe.
“This is done by bringing all the talent we have on the market, as well as to ensure that we have Zimbabwean products being supported amongst ourselves and even in the diaspora,.
Chimanye said the meet and greet was meant to take the fashion industry to greater heights both locally and internationally.
She opened the floor to young and upcoming designers to discuss issues affecting them as an industry.
Designers were also urged to support local designs following the #WEARZIM campaign which was hosted by the FCoZ in 2022.
“The Wear Zimbabwe campaign serves to encourage Zimbabweans to support local clothing productions and do away with the habit of relying on second hand clothing,” she said.
Also at the event, British Council’s programme manager, Chipo Kanyuku, who was one of the guest speakers, expressed great excitement in their involvement with FCoZ.
“We are delighted to be a part of this initiative as the creative evaluation for the fashion industry,” she said.
“We have several programmes that we are availing to the fashion creatives that are in alignment with what the Fashion Council of Zimbabwe is trying to do. We have so much to offer and cannot wait to see how it goes.”
Former top model and designer, Jonathan Denga, applauded the FCoZ for coming up with the initiative.
“One of the challenges we are seeing in the industry is sourcing of raw materials,” he said. “We need to look at ways that create balance on supply chain and on how we can source the raw materials.
“It is very essential to sit together in the industry and to begin to lobby and create a voice that represents us in public forums or even to the Government to understand our shortcomings.” – The Herald
