Fashion shows to spice up Musica Festival

Lovemore Meya Arts Correspondent
This year’s edition of the ongoing Musica Festival will include fashion shows to be held at concerts with a total of six local and international fashion designers showcasing their works mainly on recycled materials. Speaking at a press conference in the capital on Monday, Italy’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Enrico De Agostini said there will be an entertainment galore and fashion will spice the event.

“This year’s edition is different from the previous years because it also incorporates fashion. We have many aspects of Italian culture, mainly fashion. And this year in collaboration with Zimbabwe Fashion Week, we will be having fashion shows between concerts with six designers taking part, two from Italy and four being Zimbabweans.

“The idea is to get these designers work together especially when it comes to a sustainable way of producing fashion. Any recyclable item you can think of has been incorporated into some of the items,” he said. Ambassador Agostini said Musica showcases the very best of local, regional and international arts and culture through innovative artists who dare break barriers to create fresh artistic products.

“This year’s event is set to be bigger than previous editions with the participation of 54 international artists and more than 100 local artists. “Local artists include Oliver Mtukudzi and Josh Meck among others while international ones are Konshens, Marco Maggiore, Pietro Tonolo and many more,” he said.

Priscilla Chigariro of Zimbabwe Fashion Week was at the conference and expressed her gratitude ahead of the festival. “I am delighted to be here and witness the growth of the programme. It shows the growth of fashion and gives Zimbabwe designers some additional platform to showcase their work.

“The focus of the fashion programme is here and the name to the fashion show is ‘Fusion and Fashion’. “We are basically fusing the Italian aspect as well as the Zimbabwean fashion designs into one concept. This shows that we can work together and learn from each other’s skills,” she said.

“In addition, recycling and ethical fashion is also our focus. Everything that we will be showcasing at the shows has been recycled, meaning it has been used already and has been reused to make a new garment,” she said. Chigariro said the designs to be exhibited are ready-to-wear. “We also have a shop where everything showcased will be available for purchase, so if anyone is interested in anything they can buy it straight after the show.

“For the four days we are going to exhibit, which begins today, local designers that are taking part are Collen Ratisai, Alice Kumiti, Tatenda Chidzidzi and Rudo Nhondo. “All these designers are extremely experienced, have quite a long history here in Zimbabwe, so they have a lot to offer,” she said. The annual festival organised by the Embassy of Italy kicked off with a show at Megga 2 last Saturday and will run until October 10.