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Valerie Mpundu Arts Reporter

Local fashion designer and visual artist Moline Katiyo-Mayhew has been selected to showcase at Austin Fashion Week in the US running from tomorrow until April 20.

Katiyo-Mayhew will showcase under the “HB & Rontowdar” brand and this is her debut on the US runways.

The fashion week is the biggest show in Texas and fourth biggest in the US.

It will run under the theme, “Emerge” and the collection is called “The African sun has risen”.

In an interview with The Herald Arts, Katiyo-Mayhew said this year’s collection incorporates men’s wear.

“All garments are exclusively designed and ethically made by me and a talented emerging menswear designer, Ronald Zulu of RonTowdar, whom I have supported to showcase his work.

“The designs focus on sustainable fashion and are an infusion of different fabrics and scraps to create exclusive, wearable pieces for versatility and comfort.”

Katiyo-Mayhew, with no formal training in fashion, said she was inspired by her mother, Rachel, a dental nurse by profession, who also sewed, knitted, embroidered and crotched.

“My career spans across different sectors. I am a skills development consultant, a grants advisor in girl and women empowerment projects.”

“In 2019, I won a fashion designer award at the PPC Imaginarium which is an ambitious art and design awards programme promoting creative talent in South Africa and Zimbabwe,” she said.

Katiyo-Mayhew has encouraged young designers to start at home before making iton the big stage.

“I encourage young designers to start marketing their brands at home, in their communities even though this is a competitive industry internationally,” she said.

She has showcased in South Africa at Tswane Fashion week, at the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) and Zimbabwe Fashion week.

In 2021, she launched the first national digital fashion and hand crafts show for women and youth entitled “Our Handcrafts on the Catwalk”, under her non-profit organisation,  Chengetedza.

The project was selected under the Culture Fund’s Creative Actions programme supported by European Union and the Zimbabwe-Germany Society.