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Kundai Marunya Art Correspondent
MODEL Floret Chikomwe is enjoying a purple patch in her career after she recently joined the elite in the modelling industry, and received huge endorsement from various local and international brands. From receiving local endorsements from retail shops, financial institutions and beauty parlours, Chikomwe received calls to catwalk for celebrated international brands in China, Italy and France.

She started her modelling career at the age of 15.
“I was walking with my mother from church when a lady complemented my structure and encouraged me to venture into modelling,” she said. Since then, Chikomwe has not looked back.

The 24-year-old model said her success story was written with the help of Jan Malan, Africa’s leading fashion show producer.
“Three years ago, Jan Malan saw my pictures on Facebook and liked them,” she said. “He then saw me walking and was impressed, prompting him through his production company Umzingeli, to push me into doing more global work and sending my images to various agencies in South Africa. “The industry challenges one to be strong. It is definitely not for the weak as there are constant challenges one faces each day.

“Locally, one does not usually get work and when you do, it is not always well paying, which then calls for the demand of international market.”

The model recently cat-walked at an African Fashion International and Jo’burg Fashion Week, where she came second among 600 000 African models, who participated in the Look of the Year competition.

Her long list of successes also include cat-walking for South Africa’s David Tlale at the Edgars Fashion Extravaganza, modelling at the South African Plat Africa Awards, cat-walking for Philippines’ John Ablaza as one of the top eight models selected and cat-walked at the Musica Fashion Festival under the Italian Embassy.
Chikomwe is dreaming of establishing a fashion empire.

“I am currently working on developing Floret handbag line,” she said. “I have already done my first collection with different designs whose actual concepts were done by Kuda Chihungwa.