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Tsitsi Ndabambi
Growing up, Tawanda Marere had a dream of becoming a fashion mogul.

The breakthrough came in 2013 when Judith Williams, from Model Management saw his height, macho build and invited him to join her agency.

He then became one of the runway princes in several major fashion shows including the Priscilla Chigariro’s Zimbabwe Fashion Week and the annual Soweto Fashion Week in South Africa.

His talent led him to be signed up for commercial advertising by major corporates and his first breakthrough was when he was engaged by one of the country’s mobile operators

Inspired by the designs showcased by designers and the talent in the models that he witnessed at these fashion events, he then started his own show titled, Mudhuri Fashion Week in 2016.

Models showcase the different designs on the ramp

“Mudhuri Fashion Week came about as a bridge in our fashion industry. I noticed that we had a lot of models and a very few fashion weeks in Zimbabwe thus the need to have more fashion events so as to accommodate most models. We need to create platforms for upcoming models where they can start from,” said Tawanda.

“So, instead of waiting for these events to be made for us by corporates or someone else, I saw it as a challenge for us as models to create something for ourselves, otherwise we would wait forever.”

He noted that the response was encouraging when the idea was launched in 2016.

“When we launched the idea in 2016, we had an overwhelming response from the models and designers but unfortunately our economic situation was not favourable and we could not produce a show,” he added.

The love and passion he has for the fashion and modelling industry kept the fire burning and he would not let financial constraints stop him. He says he decided to bring back the show with or without a sponsor.

Tawanda and his team then hosted the “Support Local Fashion Show” on April 27, at a local hotel in Harare as an appeal to the corporate world to help uplift the fashion and modelling industry.

The audience witnessed modelling talents donning designs by Mudhuri, Abiot Malawa’s Nandi Fashions, Kuda K7, Fungai, Susan and Tyrone Havnar.

The designers who availed themselves to this idea brought fashion that Zimbabweans from all walks of life would appreciate and understand or wear at different occasions.

Mudhuri was the first to introduce his casual look of ripped or printed T-shirts, sweaters in all forms of shape, moving away from the “normal” T-shirt.

Nyasha David’s melodic vocals entertained the audience

The other eye-catching work was that of Nandi. The models wore unique couture black and white polka dot flowing or body fitting dresses and jumpsuits blended with black material.

The models complemented the collection with hooded clocks of similar colour and for the rest of the male look, he dressed them in safari coloured long clocks, hoodies and jackets.

Some of the most outstanding showcases were that of Abiot and Kuda K7, a proof that they were a step ahead of others in creating haute couture.

On the other hand, upcoming designer Fungai who had a brilliant casual collection for all sizes brought her own inexperienced models who were not probably briefed on how to carry themselves on the runaway ending up making it all look like a circus.

Nyasha David’s melodic vocals entertained the audience with his natural talent.

The successful Mudhuri Fashion Week is predicted to soar as he continues to pursue and improve his vision in a bid to uplift local models in the hope of catching the international eye.