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Fashion 263 with Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Today, Zimbabwe joins the rest of African countries in celebrating Africa Day. People commemorate the day in different ways across the continent, bound by a common aim of celebrating Africa’s heritage. On this day, Africans also display their various traditional outfits and special attires. Countries will be competing against each other in displaying their national dresses.
African clothing and fashion is a diverse topic that gives a useful insight into the various African cultures.

Clothing varies from brightly coloured textiles, abstractly embroidered robes, to colourful beaded bracelets and necklaces.
Since Africa is such a large and diverse continent, traditional clothing differs from country to country.
I am 100 percent sure that our local designers and tailors had a busy time designing outfits for the day.
On an interesting note, we are ending the month of May with good news.

Something exciting for fashion and beauty buffs as countdown to the annual Fashion and Beauty Expo begins!
The annual event will be held on June 1 at the Christian Counselling Centre in Mt Pleasant, Harare, running under the theme, “Be unique, Be Divine” in a bid to bring all fashion and beauty experts under one roof to enable them to reach out to their target customers at once.

Event organiser Chipo Mangwayana said she was excited about the event.
“It is a must-attend event. The beauty industry has been on a rise for years due to the high demand of beauty products.
“This is because every person wants to feel and look good,” she said.

The bubbly Mangwayana said they have also invited stylists, models, celebrities, fashion consultants and hairdressers among others, to take part.
“There will be specialists in showcasing and marketing fashion such as catalogue companies, modelling agencies, fashion show professionals, fashion experts, photographers and makeup artistes.

“The event is being held courtesy of BoldAds Events, a member of the Zimpapers Group, and it gives these groups a platform to engage their audience, exhibit and sell their products,” she said.

Exhibitors will pay RTGS $200 per stand while entry to the expo is free to the public.
The fashion shows season is upon us.

My brother in South Africa, Ngugi Vere is doing his best as he is set to host the Soweto Fashion Week.
Vere is the producer and creative director of the show and we just heard that our three local designers are set to showcase at the event.

The three, who are Tapfumaneyi Munenge of Coco brand fame, Ishmael Tsakatsa (Zarguesia) and Diane Deadol of Didi are set to join other 12 designers from across Africa.

The fashion show will be held from May 30 to June 1, under the theme “Cowhide” where 15 selected designers are expected to showcase their creative talent on how they interpret the theme.
Now, let’s turn to our winter wear.

This week on our checklist must-have is the scarf.
Picking out the right scarf to match your outfit can be tricky.
Your choice of handbag, earrings, suit, jacket or headwear can literally make or break an outfit.
Taking note from fashion’s gurus like Trish Carmen, for this winter, the one accessory trend that no one will be wearing is handkerchief scarves.

Sorry but before you get all upset about getting rid of your beloved scarf collection, let me explain.
Not all scarves are out for 2019.
Scarves as an accessory category are still popular this year.
It’s just one certain scarf style that is no longer fashion-forward for this season.

You can still wear your blanket scarves, silk scarves, winter scarves, and neck bandanas with pride—those are still trendy.
When I said the handkerchief scarf, I was talking about the thin, ugly printed scarf, usually with fringe on the end, that you probably looped around your neck one too many times back in early 2010.

These scarves were worn as the focal point of an outfit, not as an outerwear accessory like most are now.
If you still own any of these unfashionable and outdated scarves, you should probably get rid of them ASAP as we don’t expect them to come back into style anytime soon.

Instead, shop for a trendy, chic scarf that will draw attention to your ensemble in a positive way.