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Tafadzwa Zimoyo and Bornwise Mtonzi
Dressing has always been one thing that is of great importance to women of style, and one cannot talk of fashion if she never gets to set foot in “POSH”, a new ladies’ wear shop at Joina City where you find all different types of custom-made designer outfits.

A girl should be two things: “who and what she wants,” once said Coco Chanel.

The hardest thing in fashion is not to be known for a logo, but to be known for a silhouette.

Today it is not about labels that counts when it comes to fashion and style, what matters is the originality of the material that you are wearing.

Dressing has always been one thing that is of great importance to women of style, and one cannot talk of fashion if she never gets to set foot in “POSH”, a new ladies’ wear shop at Joina City where you find all different types of custom made designer outfits.

Owned by controversial socialite Nomathemba Primrose Ndebele and Claris Mukombachoto, the shop is destined for success when it comes to meeting the elegant, exquisite stylish and royal look.

The duo has been in the fashion industry for the past 10 years and their vast experience has made them give the silver lining on the clouds.

Walking into the shop, one can be left astounded with the quality and top of the range garments.

Nomathemba said they chose the name “Posh” because it associates with their target market, those people who are not afraid to spend money on good things.

“Our shop is for the elite, those ladies who can afford and are fashion conscious,” she said.

The shop that recently opened will give women of taste the variety of fashion that they never imagined to find in Zimbabwe.

What is of interest from this shop is that it majors in custom made designs rather than the always expected label shops where you find designer labels like Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Polo, to mention but a few.

It’s not that it’s bad to have these labels in the shops but according to Nomathemba it is no longer about these popular designer labels that matters, but it is the type of materials that matter.

She said the problem these days is that it is now difficult to identify which is the original label and which is not as these can now be found in each and every shop that opens in the city centre.

“These designer labels are now difficult to identify on which is original and which is not these days, walking in most of these boutiques the fake ones are there,” she said.

The name of the shop one can easily tell that this is for the people of high class, those who earn well and not for every Tom and Dick.

“The clothes that you find here are tailor made and not designer labels. They are one-off events type of fashion and you never see them being worn by many in the streets,” she said.

The prices of the dresses will just give your position in the society as the most expensive one is pegged at $400 whilethe cheapest thing there is at $120.

Nomathemba said she buys most of her stuff from Turkey as her target market prefers things that are unique and not found in most shops.

“Women of class don’t want to wear things that are shared by everyone, they want something that catches the eye especially when they attend functions and don’t expect to find it worn by someone else.

“These are the type of clothes that we sale. Remember those are the same ladies who travel to China and see the fashion, so why give them items from China when they can get them for themselves?”

On competitors she said: “One blooming flower never affects another. Flowers can bloom all together in a beautiful garden.”

She vowed to be hands on at the shop since she wanted to give her clientele personalised tailor made services.

“Joina City has got this life and flooding hope, it resonates with malls I see on my international trips. It’s central to everyone,” she noted.

She further added that most of her orders are from customers with events as well as the corporates.

“My fashion is for professionals, travellers and those who want to buy here should work first as you can see the type of clothes here are of high class.

“As most of my clients are also travellers, I make sure that stock is different from others as they can also buy some of the labels from the countries that they visit,” she explained.

Nomathemba said the shop has clothes for sale not hiring out.

“Who would want to wear something that has been worn by someone else, especially with the type of clientele I deal with they prefer buying than hiring.”

The dreadlocked make-up enthusiast said the shop is a one-stop business.

“What women of class need is time so we chose to give them what they want. Our range are from ladies’ suits, ball room gowns, handbags, shoes, and jewellery for all sizes,” she said.

However, with the economic challenges that has continued to hit the country the business comes with some challenges that these people cannot run away from and has some effects on these big spenders.

“Due to the economic challenges that we have, currently our businesses are not all that rosy as most customers have so many responsibilities like taking care of their extended families.

“So it would be hard for them to be seen buying these expensive clothes while relatives are languishing in poverty and this is a very big disadvantage to us,” said Nomathemba.

She said although they are trying to move with fashion, Zimbabwean people are slow to change.

“Zimbabwean people are cold when it comes to fashion, they move slowly and they end up becoming the last people to get to these fashionable clothes, maybe it’s because of this proliferation of similar products on the market.”

Many people are venturing in to this clothes business making it difficult to note the originality of the designer clothes in Zimbabwe.

She added that her ability to study people gives her the idea on which clothes to buy for her target market.