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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Acting Entertainment Editor

Fashion, fashion, fashion! Fashion is life. It is emotional. Fashion and beauty are inseparable. And, it is undisputed that the fashion industry contributes to the full well-being of society and leaves an indelible footprint on the planet.

Lo and behold! A new baby was born in Zimbabwe last Friday and was aptly named the Fashion Council of Zimbabwe (FCoZ).

The Herald’s Acting Entertainment Editor, Tafadzwa Zimoyo (TZ) caught up with FCoZ chairperson Joyce Chimanye (JC) a renowned fashion designer with the label Zuvva and shared the vision and outlined the programmes ahead.

 Below are the excerpts of the interview:

TZ: How are you madam, and congratulations on the launch. Can you briefly explain  what the council is about and its importance to the country? 

JC: Thank you Tafadzwa. Well, to begin with, after years of struggling and trying to get recognition in a country where most people think music, film and television are the only disciplines in the arts sector, finally we have launched our fashion council. Like sports or music they have their bodies, so why not us.

We started planning this, years back in the early 2000s but it wasn’t fruitful. Then with time we met some designers who had their group and we sat down to share the initiative and they were welcome. We formed groups, having a database of relatives and related personnel who are into fashion. 

The fashion council is so important in the sense that it governs and protects the fashion personnel in the country on laws, events, shows and helps in promoting and nurturing them. 

TZ: So like other entities, who heads the organisation and what is the calendar like?

JC: The FCoZ board members are as follows, Joyce Chimanye (chairperson), Paidemoyo Chideya, Karin Coric, Patience Lusengo, Tafadzwa Moyo, Tapfumaneyi Munenge, Marshall Malikula, Tafadzwa Zimoyo, Sharon Dingilesi, Langelihle Sibanda, Danayi Madondo, Eglet Mtengwa Nyabvure and Butholezwe Nyathi.

Already we have started working, our calendar is so important because it is the leading scheduling resource for dependable and consistent information on the most exhilarating fashion events around the country and the world at large.

 TZ: We have noticed that since July, together with your group you have been vying for a local campaign to promote local content. Kindly share the details. 

JC: This year we decided to work it in full force and started off with a campaign “Wear Zimbabwe”every Friday where we were encouraging locals to embrace our local designer’s products. 

Some of the board members during the launch

We engaged everyone and was happy that it was appreciated although we still have a long way to go. We then started the process of registration and had meetings with local arts bodies who welcomed us. The organization seeks to represent the interest of fashion creatives in Zimbabwe by harnessing the talent in the space.

What we want to do is to unlock high value from the sector in the rooting and emerging of a powerful viable sustainable creative industry through use of collaboration, programming and training.

Our goals include training to impart skills and scale up, showcasing and amplification of creatives to local media, establishment of designer retail space  for easier access to locally designed and made garments for the Zimbabwean public, funding of national campaigns to promote designs made in Zimbabwe, using local textile and innovations.

We also want to work with the private sector, NGOs and Government for the purpose of enabling designers to have easier access to local textiles and establishment of yearly fashion shows and showcasing Zimbabwe designers.

TZ: Are there any sponsors or partners on board?

JC: We would like to thank the following sponsors for making the launch a success, UNDP, Zimpapers- The Herald, Intexco, National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe, Cleo’s beauty Addicts, Lusengo- Estate wine, Kidd Hunta, Xago Africa and Zuvva among others. So far we are still working on the strategies and synergies which will help the council to grow and develop the nation and economy. We are working towards conquering Africa. As we speak we have been in talks with some countries and authorities to expand the board. We are happy that for a start the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe are on board and now recognise us. We hope to be added also on the awards platform.

Some of the board members of the FCoZ

TZ: What is in store 2023?

JC: We want to start off with a meet and greet with designers, stylists, photographers, models and bloggers among others in some provinces. We are bringing back the Harare Fashion Week and want to give local designers upcoming and established, a great opportunity to showcase their talent. With the help of UNDP who also are on board courtesy of the friendship and partnership we have created, we hope to achieve some goals we have lined up. 

As a board we are not much of beneficiaries like any other boards but we would like to make sure the fashion enthusiastic are well represented. We are more of  a parent body just like in the family –  not to compete with your child  but rather help him or her grow to be a better person.

TZ: Is the council about fashion business management? And share also the scope how this will help those in the field?.

JC: First and foremost, look at our designers. They struggle to have their works in shops or have shops for example to go into a GUCCI or Prada shop where you have the garments under one roof. It should be a thing of the past to engage designers when you only want a dress for an awards show. 

We will be having fashion business management courses where we engage those with knowledge to train students about both fashion and management by developing their analytical, marketing, leadership, organisational, problem solving and decision-making skills. The course focuses on aspects of fashion market, leadership, global supply chains and innovations There are a plethora of career opportunities that one can opt for after the completion of a fashion business management course. 

The different career paths one can aim for while pursuing this course are, fashion buyers where they travel to different fashion shows and production houses all over the world to buy garments and accessories based on the latest trends, sales managers as their job is to take care of the logistics process the orders, manage the stock and the distribution chain, fashion brand managers: their jobs to develop the brand value by incorporating different strategies after analysing the consumer demands and communication skills which is regarded as one of the greatest and most important skills required to be successful in the fashion business industry. 

The individuals need to have good verbal and written communication skills in order to express their ideas and take inputs from the consumers. There is a lot on the plate.

TZ: Thank you for the time and wish you a Merry Christmas and fashionable New Year.

JC: Thanks to you for the opportunity, you know we have been longing for this and I am happy the media is now tapping into the sector to help promote and push the genre. It should not be a social media thing but we should respect and treat fashion as it is a profession that can sustain livelihoods.