FORMER model and organiser of Miss Curvy Zimbabwe pageant Mercy “Catwalk” Mushaninga has said this year’s edition of the pageant’s boot camp will be recorded on camera just like the reality show Big Brother Africa.
WINSTONE ANTONIO
Speaking to NewsDay, Mushaninga said the development was meant to allow people to know what would be happening in the Boot Camp.
“The local modelling sector has of late received a lot of criticism over some of the behavioural trends among the models during the boot camp by members of the society so we want the public to see what will be happening in the boot camp,” Mushaninga said.
“Contestants will troop into the boot camp on August 4 and are going to be on camera from that day for 18 hours daily for a week before the grand finale on August 9 at Moth Camp in Kariba.”
Mushaninga said they closed the registration of contestants on June 20 and had registered 46 beauties from across the country with Harare having 38, Bulawayo three, Gweru and Kariba having two models each, while Bindura has one.
“Our target is to have a bevy of 20 models that are naturally curvy who will take to the ramp. So on July 12, we are going to trim the number of Harare beauties from 38 to 18,” she said.
The pageant, which celebrates and recognises curvaceous African women, will be held under the theme Supporting Domestic Tourism through Beauty Pageants.
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Mushaninga said preparations for the pageant were going according to script and promised a red carpet event on the grand finale.
“A day before the finals [August 8], we are going to host a bush braai pre-party at the Grill, with lots of entertainment from various artistes including Roki, sound house Judgment Yard and BaShupi, among others who are yet to confirm,” Mushaninga said.
Unlike other pageants which celebrate slenderness and pretty faces, which is a more “Westernised” way of appreciating beauty, Miss Curvy Zimbabwe seeks to celebrate and recognise the curvaceous African women.
Mushaninga said she launched the pageant after the realisation that most curvy women shied away from modelling because of the perception that the profession was for tall and slender women.
“Most big women lack confidence because of the stereotypes, but a contest like this makes it possible for African women to take part showing that being curvy should not be taken as a liability,” Mushaninga said.
“Any woman with brains who has natural curves, physical beauty and keeps a flat tummy is eligible to enter the pageant as they do not need to have a serious modelling background.”
