BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER
FASHION designer Chenesai Mukora-Mangoma has joined hands with the British Council and Nataal Media to host the Fashion Futures, an all-female-led multinational project pencilled for Bulawayo.
The fashion extravaganza that would be curated by Mukora-Mangoma is expected to feature both local and international artists, among them virtual artist Lucia Nhamo, British-Ghanaian writer, curator and visual anthropologist Adjoa Armah, Malawian beauty and wellness expert Thokozani Phiri and Namibian design and fashion creative Leah Misika.
In a statement, Paper Bag Africa said the event was meant to foster creative engagement for change and encourage collaboration by bringing together four content creators from varied artistic genres, including fashion, beauty, visual art and anthropology.
“The Fashion Futures project falls in line with British Council priority areas, which include promoting collaboration, urban youth development and empowerment. As the content creators journey through their research process, youth engagement will be a key component in exposing young people to the importance of developing sustainable fashion sectors,” read part of the statement.
“Fashion Futures also hopes to highlight that a well-established creative sector boosts culture and tourism. The artists will carry out ground-breaking research on sustainability within underground fashion industries. Each of them is tasked with producing content for a country other than their own — Lucia for the United Kingdom, Adjoa for Zimbabwe, Thokozani for Namibia and Leah for Malawi.”
The statement further stated that in March, cultural producer Lorraine Bgoya would host roundtable discussions with the project research team and local content creators at the Moto Republik Hub in Harare.
This will be followed by various activities in Bulawayo, where content creators would explore tanneries in the vicinity, before exhibiting immersive, multi-media installations incorporating film, sculpture, textiles, photography, crafts and written texts.
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“A group of local creatives have been brought on board to collaborate in support of the project. Rudo Nondo, the country coordinator for Fashion Revolution, will conduct sustainable fashion training for value chain stakeholders during the content creators’ immersion programme in Harare and Bulawayo.”
“Graffiti Art Collective ‘Calligraph’ would employ their knack for colour to create the official project banner, while Adrian Zhou and Tatenda Kanengoni would oversee documentation of the project engagements through photography and film. In Bulawayo, content producer Gilmore Tee will utilise his knowledge to ensure that the team fully taps into the undiscovered local fashion talent.”
According to the statement, the culmination of Fashion Futures would be final works by each creator published on Nataal and other digital media, and social platforms that document new narratives for sustainable fashion.
