Thembani Mubochwa (right) with stylist Craig Zoowie
Robert Mukondiwa
When Thembani Mubochwa put together an iconic dress which he named the “Elephant Dress”’ and showcased its Zimbabwean debut at the premier Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) early this year, many knew he had sewn poetry in motion.
Yet few knew that this would mean a turning point for arguably one of the best and most decorated fashion designers ever to come out of Zimbabwe in the modern era.
At the behest of Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri, Thembani was commissioned a youth ambassador for the conservation of elephants in Zimbabwe and was looking forward to telling the elephant story through his works. But he hadn’t bargained for what the honour of ambassador truly meant.
After his first assignment, Mubochwa suddenly sees reality sinking in as he gives a brief of his work after returning from a fruitful Cites convention as part of the Zimbabwean delegation.
“I got the call and was told I had to do what I had pledged to do. What I was passionate about. And that is to tell the conservation story of the African elephant and the Zimbabwean elephant in particular, through my art form as a fashion designer,” says Mubochwa.
But the beeline, or probably elephant trail, that led to his exhibition booth under the Zimbabwean government’s auspices was something he had never expected.
“The response was overwhelming and I’m still tongue tied to this day as to how powerful the message that resonates from the elephant dress is.”
“Scores of people came to the booth to hear the interpretation of the dress and what inspired me. Many applauded Zimbabwe for coming up with a unique and innovative way to tell the story of conservation and the number of people I exchanged details with was overwhelming,” he admits.
That he can now be called “His Excellency Ambassador Thembani Mubochwa” in his ceremonial role and at a very youthful age in his mid-thirties is something that the boy who learnt his craft by accident from his uncle’s tailoring shop at spaceman in Glen Norah could not have ever fathomed.
That anybody can sew their way up to the high echelons of power, influencing dress sense, conservation as well as dressing the political and entertainment elite in the region is in itself a fairy-tale rise of the sweetest story of positive thinking and the never-say-die mentality of a Zimbabwean millennial.
He could have ignored his allure to a craft which was otherwise a job for the “girls” but he ignored stereotype in a largely patriarchal society and decided to be “different” according to what he wanted to pursue.
“I was the only guy at the polytechnic studying cutting and designing but the fact that my brother and mentor was paying for my course strengthened me. ‘If he could show faith in my choice and saw a future in my decisions then I must be on the right path,” I told myself.”
And he was on the right path.
Today, designing clothes for Minister Muchinguri, a host of South African stars including diva Lira and having worked with soapies Generations, Jika Majika and Muvhango, Mubochwa has seen it all with an A-list clientele yet he is only just beginning.
A journey that has taken him from street-wear to bespoke and beyond as he has tried discovering himself, Mubochwa is well on course to be the Zimbabwean face destined for world design history no doubt.
Thrice a winner for his collection at the Durban July Fashion event, he wants to lay down the needle for another heir from Zimbabwe so that a new person gets exposure — a selflessness that is very rare in the cutthroat world of fashion where people hardly get any prizes for playing the angel. —
@zimrobbie