Gilmore Tee Moyo
Organisers of the Intwasa Fashion Show – a fast growing fashion platform, have started preparing for this year’s edition slated for October 1 – the last day of the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo which begins on September 26.
Unlike most local fashion shows, which only start preparing a few weeks before the event, Intwasa organisers have already begun calling for local and international fashion designers to submit their applications in order to be considered for this year’s showcase. Designers are being urged to submit their material for consideration before the April 30 deadline.
Asked why they were calling for submissions so early, the show’s director, Gilmore Tee said: “The early call allows us time to fully prepare for the event way ahead.
“This will give us ample time to do model castings and development workshops with designers,” Gilmore Tee said.
Now in its third edition, this year’s show will run under the theme ‘No Colour’.
Gilmore Tee explained the theme saying: “This year, we’re going to use fashion as a tool for challenging society to alleviate stereotypes among people from different racial or tribal backgrounds. Just like we take water in its colourless form, we should allow our art to be that liquid and touch as many lives as possible.”
He said young up-and-coming designers would be incorporated in this year’s showcase as they have introduced a session specifically for them.
“We’re planning to incorporate young designers in schools so we’ll be having a session for school where they’ll be tasked to design an outfit collectively as a school. Ten schools are expected to participate.
“The whole idea is promote collaborations among students and also cultivate talent within schools.”
Last year, the Intwasa Fashion show was held at the AMTEC Garage in Bulawayo and saw top designers such as Thembani Mubochwa, Ara Kani and Nkanyeziyethu Malunga showcasing their designs. Three designers from South Africa also participated.
Apart from designers showcasing their works, the fashion show has established a relationship with Edgars Stores Zimbabwe where designers are further trained by the departmental store.
“We’ve had designers being trained through Edgars Stores. Some use the opportunity to submit their samples to the store for stock consideration.” – Zimbojam/Showbiz Reporter.