Friday, 30 October 2015

Day One of Mat Fashion Week

Day one of the much anticipated Matebeleland Fashion Week has come and gone and I would  like to apologise profusely folks as I got there a bit late. But well for those who did not attend at all, we'll give you a bit of what we saw.

We managed to get there in time for the 3rd showcase of the night by a young man named Gift Tsingano with his label Tribes. Loved how he combined shades of polka-dot in his designs with some garments having black lace. I thought that was really brave. To describe those designs, I would simple say "simple yet chic



Next to showcase, last showcase of the night by the way, was a young lady Talent Ngwenya with her label Crocky. Really nice designs I should say. She managed to combine colours that one would dread to combine (black and red,, black and yellow) and yet brought out garments with a touch of sophistication. But well that's were the creativity comes in after all



Well I was a bit sad though that the turnout was a bit low but was quick to forgive folks as its a week day. We hoping day 2 will have a better one and we looking forward to it

Sunday, 25 October 2015

Right Frame, Right Make-up For Your Face

Well folks admit it or not, we've had some who've felt negative when that optician prescribes spectacles. Folks get worried that they spoil their looks or hear some say specs make them look geeky. Well I've felt the latter and yes I put on specs but thanks to some tips I've managed to overcome this.

As StyleArchivezw we always here to help so we made some research and we can safely say you don't have to worry anymore. One can now rock those specs by choosing the right frame for your face and with the complimentary make-up, you'll be ready to rock the world with the perfect view. The most important tip is for one to know their face shape for this to work so here it is folks;

HEART-SHAPED FACE
Lightly oval or square shaped frames will work well for you as they would best suit your forehead and chin.
Make-up Tips
Bronzing the outside of your temples will soften your face lines yet bringing out the more oval shape. A pretty dust of pink or apricot blush and some bright lipstick will leave you looking amah-zing.

RECTANGULAR FACE
Small rounded frames will be advisable as they would soften those hard square features.
Make-up Tips
A bit of blush is recommended to reduce the appearance of length on your face. Some eye-popping eyeshadow will do you good as well as a thickening mascara. You'd do well to avoid lengthening mascara to avoid your lashes from touching your lenses.

ROUND FACE
Rectangular frames will definitely suit your large forehead and rounded chin.
Make-up Tips
To lessen the appearance of your round face, apply your blush under your cheekbones. Angular eyebrows are important too and try some highlighting powder to give them that VA VA voom.

SQUARE FACE
Oval or round shaped frames might work well for you to compliment your equally wide jaw and forehead.
Make-up Tips
Soften your jawline with a dot bronzing powder. A good coverage foundation is a definite must then finally define your eyes with a liner.

OVAL FACE
This shape is the easiest to frames as anything you comfortable with or in can work quite well.
Make-up Tips
A coloured liner will definitely liven up your face. A little gloss will add that extra sparkle and finally powder your face lightly.

So there you have it folks. When the doctor prescribes those spectacles, it's not the end of the world. So lastly here are some tips to always consider also when choosing your glasses,
1) If you are short-sighted, avoid rimless specs as it will make the thickness of lenses visible
2) If you to go for coloured frames, choose a pair that sends a stylish message.
3) If you allergic to metal, go for titanium frames and they are light and flexible as well.
4) Lastly make sure your specs fit over your ears to avoid them falling off.
Best view!!

Friday, 23 October 2015

White Cotton.. The Next Big Brand!

A couple of days back I published an article about how much the fashion industry in Zim is growing. With the number of designers increasing rapidly, we have those that are exceptionally good. That's where we bring in the term "gods of creativity" to define three gentlemen who form the label White Cotton.
For those who loyally follow us, they'd remember we once featured their head designer, Blessed Nkosi for one of our Fashion Friday editions some time back. Now we had an amazing chance to talk to his partners to get to know one of the posh brands in Byo.

White Cotton, a name that came after one of the co-founders picked up a white cotton string and because of their spontaneous and creative minds, the name came up. So in 2011,Blessed Nkosi, Sean Sita and Nhlonipho Tankwa decided to create their signature clothing line after they realised the frustration that peeps went through and even them to get great clothes. So instead of crossing boarders or paying high prices in local boutiques for these clothes, they decided to make these clothes and they've not looked back. One can see this has been the case as they've showcased in a number of big events around the country like The Blue Carpet Event, Miss Zim Environment and Matebeleland Fashion Week to mention a few. This really shows these gentlemen are not a force to be reckoned with.

Because of their stance to cater for everyone, all shapes and sizes it has made this label a famous one. The designs always carry their signature of class and fine details yet bringing out the persona of the one wearing it. So I asked what they really enjoy about designing clothes, "Everything", replied the head designer Blessed, "it is all an adventure for us and we love to see what our crazy minds come up with each time and simple stuff like a contrast in buttons can make an outfit wow for us". Only the créatives I'm sure understand this better.

As much as these créatives are doing an amazing job dressing the fashionistas of Bulawayo they have some challenges they face. "There are many challenges, the foremost being that the economic environment does not give enough room to accommodate fashion. Face it, when peoples worries are reduced to basic needs, day to day living and hand to mouth earning fashion is the last thing within most peoples reach. We appreciate that we have continued to exist and build our brand over the past 4 to 5 years but its not enough, we do not have enough affluent clientele to have a steady income and build the brand to its true capacity",mentioned Blessing. He also went on to mention the issue of local boutiques not supporting local products. I kept on thinking it's high time I pay those boutiques a visit and tell them how what exactly they missing.

This trio always manage to bring the gentlemen look onto a whole new level. I mean who are the best people to form a trio than guys who have the same fashion sense? One would swear they were born together in their designs even though they, "switch it up a bit to suit each other's look ", as they would say.

As we all know this industry can be a bit harsh, so I had to ask how have they survived all these years in it? " We keep doing what we are doing for the love of it and the vision which is bigger than what most people see. There is nothing like having knowledge of where you are going and knowing that you are on your own path. Also we dont compete, we congratulate those that are doing well but we believe we are in our own league and so we are the best because we are the best". Without a doubt folks, this trio is out to conquer the world and I'm sure you got that, they are the best
.
So finally folks for those who have dreamt to be successful fashion designers, here's some advice from the experts in the industry, "Find yourself and let that be prevalent in all your work, be vigilant, stay true and never stray from the original goal. If your goal is to make money you will have success in your lifetime but if your goal is to build an empire you will leave a legacy", said by Blessing.

So there you have it folks. If you don't own a garment from White Cotton I'm going to ask you this "what are you waiting for".

Sunday, 18 October 2015

Zimbabwe Fashion Industry,, Challenges and Improvements

Fashion. One word that has been on people's mouths so much of late. In the past couple of years we've seen Zimbos appreciating fashion to a higher level. Be it on the screen, newspapers or social media, one can tell that this is industry is slowly taking over. We've seen the number of fashion designers increasing. Fashion photographers, Fashion stylists, runway models, Fashion bloggers and also retailers have increased in a tremendous way.

As much as this industry is rising at a fast rate, there's definitely a lot to do for us to reach the greatest levels. I had a chance to talk to some of the great and popular names in the fashion industry, asking them of some of the challenges they are facing and how we can improve our industry and this is what they had to say.

Renowned Stylist and producer of Zimbabwe Fashion Week Haleema Mekani had this to say, "The main challenges that we face as the fashion industry is firstly, the deserve attitude whereby people feel they deserve to have things done for them. Also the fact that people have ideas but they don't implement them and it ends up being all talk no action. Lack of quality, knowledge and creativity also affects the industry as there's so much repetition of designs". Asked about how we can improve the industry, she says "People working in the fashion industry need to stop waiting for someone to revive or invest in the industry as we are the ones who understand the challenges better. We should focus on creating a value chain that will begin to sustain us as creatives and setting structures that can lead to a successful industry later in the future ".

Much truth was said there and yes as the ones working in the industry, it's our duty to take it to those heights that we want it to be. 

Managed to get hold of Bulawayo based designer Annie Gonyora of Annie G Couture also on the challenges and improvements of this growing industry of ours. "As a highly academic country, little is invested in the arts as they haven't realised that it's one of the leading revenue generators in other countries. Lack of variety in resources has also made fashion seemingly monotonous. Culture has also played a part as it becomes a barrier in limiting creators the ability to fully express themselves. For this industry to improve, we need more institutions that create fashion gurus instead of seamstresses. The country also needs to start producing it's fabric locally".

Style icon and social entrepreneur, Gilmore Tee had the same sentiments. "The fashion industry is overlooked like most artistic genres yet it's an industry everyone is involved in. For whatever event one is going to, they think of what to wear and that alone should make people realise that it's an industry that needs  enough support to also sustain our economy". On improving the industry, he had this to say, "Designers need to partner with big fashion houses and cooperates hence commercialising their work. Local fashion people need to invest a lot in quality so as to reach maximum levels and it'll be easier to penetrate the global market with our works".

"Designers seek more exposure, knowledge and schooling for their brands to work for them", said Style Icon and Stylist of the Year 2015 Craig Zoowie. "Resources are also not readily available for designers to work with. Some designer's social circles are limited and yet they all have a separate and distinct niche market of their own to target. To improve our industry, more workshops are needed to school designers on art of fashion. Networking is also important especially with organisations that can help with sourcing resources  from fabric to social media marketing".

I also had a chance to talk to Ngugi Vere, the creative director for Soweto Fashion Week on this sensitive topic and he had this to say, "I think there are two main challenges faced by the Zim Fashion industry,lack of togetherness for one common goal and the promoting of local designers for local retail. To improve this, Fashion engines in Zimbabwe need to come together and create a solid and effective fashion council that will manage all things that got to do with events, designer development and industrialisation then retail takeover. We need to create products that are Zimbabwean but appeal to the world. Proposing our strategy to the government can make them to back the industry and invest in it".

Bulawayo-based Stylist Welshman Sibanda had this to say, "I feel there's lack of support from the arts ministry especially when it comes to the fashion industry. For us to improve our industry we need big brands like Edgars and Truworths to push local brands and utilise designers. People in the industry also need to work together and understand that they can't flourish without the other's input. There needs to be a fashion committee too to make sure that unity is instilled then we'll be taken seriously".

Last but not least I talked to Tendy Kamusikiri, fashion blogger at SignatureToscie and Fashion editor at Infinite Magazine. She had this to say concerning the challenges and improvements needed for our fashion industry, "There are a lot of challenges that our industry faces. One can talk of lack capital and good quality fabrics. There's also some levels of ignorance from the general public and some lack of professionalism. Cheap imports and second hand bales also crush our industry. Room for improvement will include more collaborations where all parties can gain".

So there we have it folks. Yes we might have the challenges but that doesn't stop us from bettering our industry. Let's support each other locally and if we stand united , we can do this.

Till next time fashionistas

Friday, 9 October 2015

Summer Tryouts!

It's been a while folks since we last talked about one of our favourite topics, clothes. When it comes to this departments folks, some have had difficulties and even me, in making making that perfect combination for some of our clothing pieces. So let's see how these three can be of help.

Patterns and Prints. These have been some of the best attention grabbing items as they make such a huge statement. We love them as they are bold, fun and yes, playful. You own one of these, you definitely guaranteed for a splash of colour in your wardrobe. Be it a clothing item or an accessory piece, all you gotta do is combine them with that plain and simple piece and voila,electric and super fashionable look.

All White. Ok don't chop off my head as yet. I know all white can be tricky but please don't push the idea away so fast. Try the all-white approach and then incorporate some printed accessories. Be it that gorgeous bag and or a chiffon as long as it's printed, it will definitely complete your all-white look in a way that's gonna leave you feeling confident and sexy. Style icon and Stylist of the year Craig Zoowie always says "with all-white, choose your undergarments properly and go with linen and you good to go". Who are we then to go against the fashionistas.

Black Top. Plain colours are a must have in your wardrobe especially if its black. We've loved this colour for centuries now. It's neutrality make it stand out as it can be combined with almost everything and anything. Get that black top, pair it with some patterned skirt and throw some colourful heels and you good to get them drooling. In all this, it's always wise folks to choose the best material.

So folks if you own any of these pieces in your closet, try the above tips and get back to us with those positive comments. Till next time