THE much-talked-about return of the Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) finally came to pass and it is interesting to note they have somewhat provided an important chance for Zimbabweans to critique all the other various awards ceremonies. SILENCE CHARUMBIRA ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
The reason being celebrities the world over are opinion leaders and the trends they set on the red carpet are emulated by many. Fashion designers are busy all year round preparing outfits for celebrities to look glamorous and unique in every way possible.
Those designs inspire the populace and the competition that appears to be happening on the red carpet cascades to the fans of the same celebrities.
To say that has been the situation with Zimbabwean celebrities setting trends for their fans would be utter mockery; of the fans that is.
Popular figures in Zimbabwe have not shown any interest in fashion for the greater part.
When they have proven to be fashion conscious, the bulk of them have often looked like clowns forcing ill-fitting attires.
Yet at Zima, even if not all attendees grasped the concept that was introduced this year, the organisers deserve top marks for their effort.
Zima flew in Durban-based Thembani Mubochwa into the country to take care of the red carpet and he did wonders.
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Among the personalities that Mubochwa was responsible for dressing were organiser Caroline Nyadzayo, Chamu Chiwanza, Selma Mutukudzi and ZiFM’s Mis Red who all looked stunning.
According to Mubochwa, the work he did at Zima is part of his ground work towards the launch of his brand in the country.
“I am hoping next year I will have a side show off the main stage at Zimbabwe Fashion Week where I will launch Mubochwa’s Designs which will take care of the celebrities and important personalities and TZM Fashion House which will cater for clothing shops,” Mubochwa said.
“Mubochwa will cater for the high end of the market and we have already set the ball rolling with Zima where we dressed presenters and important delegates.”
The designer said he got his inspiration from British designer Ozwald Boateng who has dressed people like United States President Barrack Obama, actor Jamie Foxx, musician P Diddy and footballer Didier Drogba among several others.
“Boateng has done wonders and in the long run we can do that too. My idea is there is no reason for our celebrities to look ordinary when we have thousands of designers around. Designers must get to work and the celebrities themselves have to step up because what has been happening all along is a disaster,” he said Caroline Nyadzayo, one of the organisers of the awards ceremony, yesterday said she was pleased with what Mubochwa had done at the event.
“Thembani is brilliant with what he does and we are definitely going to have him on board next year as well as encourage artistes to engage designers,” Nyadzayo said.
She said they would keep the momentum going and continue encouraging nominees and celebrities to engage designers.
“We got the ball rolling that is what is important. Some did not understand the idea of engaging a designer and dress up for an awards ceremony, but I think we can definitely do more. It was nice to see people dress up,” Nyadzayo said.
“It is unfortunate we did not manage to get the proper lighting at the entrance of the venue because of lack of funding, but we are hoping to maintain that same glamour on the red carpet as well as emphasise on the luxurious cars. Celebrities have to know these are all important aspects of an awards ceremony.”
She also took the opportunity to clarify the cut-off time for the entries and said they had specified from the outset that since the awards had not been held for seven years they would take music produced between August 2012 and August 2014 to ensure that they reward artistes that have produced good music.
