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Majoni donning his “Rozvi” design

Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo Arts Correspondent
The local fashion industry has witnessed birth of a new label that takes pride in African heritage called “Rozvi”. The new clothing line, which comes in different designs in form of T-shirts and body tops, is an initiative of University of Zimbabwe Creating and Writing Press Club. In an interview, co- founder of the brand Lonias “Rozvi” Majoni said the purpose of the brand is to promote culture and heritage among the youths of Zimbabwe.

“We are happy with the new baby that we have launched in the capital. The main reason why we came up with this idea is because we want to capture the youths in a language of fashion that they can understand. It is a way of celebrating our own culture and heritage by revisiting our history” he said. He said the brand’s name, Rozvi, was derived from history and reflects on the defeat the Portuguese in the country in the pre-colonial era.

“After the label is Rozvi, we are going to launch more T-shirts with names like Ndebele, Munhumutapa, Great Zimbabwe and so on under the same trademark, the brand is growing bigger,” he said. Majoni said the ultimate vision is to have a national dress after concerns were raised at a cultural festival held in Malaysia attended by UZ students on why Zimbabwe does not have a national dress.

“We decided to launch the brand after getting inspiration from a cultural festival at held at Linko Wing University in Malaysia where it was noted that a national dress is important for a nation. So our vision is to become one of the pioneers to introduce the national attire as it is relative to pan-Africanism,” he said. According to their plans they wish to make the T-shirts available at all local tourists sites as a way of marketing Zimbabwean heritage.