Of Mudiwa, Stunner fashion war at Hip-hop awards

Tafadzwa Zimoyo

Let me begin by wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I hope those with children have managed to buy them new clothes and the young ones cannot wait to show off to friends.

December is my favourite holiday because it is liberal, you can do whatever you want at any given time and sometimes dress freely.

However, it is the season for awards, fashion shows and parties. It will require you to dress for the occasion.

Last week I attended the Zim Hip-hop Awards as part of the fashion police.

This was my first time attending an event without a suit. Not that I was not dressed for the occasion, but

I played the undercover job of looking closely and analysing the fashion statements.

This year the glitz and glamour event ran under the theme, “Culture over Everything”.

As usual drama and controversies are expected in Hip-hop.

According to the theme, guests were supposed to portray how the genre dominated their society.

Fashion was part of the statement and it was a chance for designers to show their prowess.

Unfortunately, Zimbabwe is still far from that.

There were a lot of track-suits, inscribed-shirts and casual attires. In their circles, they can get away with it, but somehow some missed the point.

It ended up looking like a high school variety show for some, while others looked like car dealers.
Please, bear with me, I am not dissing their fashion senses, but I am trying to analyse the situation at hand.

For those who wore suits, well, they had a hard time leaving a lasting impression.
Suits make a gentleman and for some reasons they can suit any environment and give you the respectful look.

I witnessed a lot of different designer suits on the red carpet and the ladies had a difficult time trying to impress too.

Remember, it was not a ball gown, Cinderella type of event.

Still on the suits, controversial rappers and on-off rivals Stunner and Mudiwa decided to wear suits at the event and on the red carpet.

Their suits divided the opinions of fashionistas as to who wore it better.

For a start, as mentioned before, a suit is classy, but both artistes seemed to have chosen the wrong attires for the event.

Culture over everything; they were supposed to accessorise their suits, to show us the Hip-hop side.

I can say Stunner tried because he wore a shimmer glittering suit, which was best for a night event and as usual he wore his sunglasses.

Mudiwa chose to wear a gold and black designer tuxedo.

Yes, he can defend that Hip-hop is all about swag and bling, but all the same he acted like he was going to the Grammy Award ceremony.

Hip-hop is a free culture, they could have worn those expensive suits with sneakers, have a gold chain or some bling accessory.

I think we still need more time when it comes to dressing for the occasion because some of the wannabe designers are lying to us, exposing us to ridicule.

The debate between Stunner and Mudiwa rages on on social media as there was no conclusion on who was the best dressed.

I would advise the two that, since again it is a wedding season, why not try the look at one of the weddings as it will come out better.

Get me right, I didn’t announce the winner, or neither did I say their outfits were outrageous, but was just giving a clear analysis on how best they could have pulled the look.

Then on Monday saw songstress Rachel J and musician Enzo Ishall dropping their video song “Ngoro”.

I am not focusing on the song. Main focus today is on the fashion side.

I think local musicians are now taking the aspect of good fashion sense on music videos.

Good examples are Cindy Munyavi, Ammara Brown, Queen Vee, Toki Vibes, Seh Calaz and Winky D.

We all need to know that fashion and music are expressive avenues that showcase our personal statements.

The perfect outfit can visually express an artiste’s mood, tone, and emotion and clothes can help us materialise how we feel within, expressing our deepest thoughts without saying a word.

For example, Callisto Nyamute in his 90s video “Special Meat” wore a shiny silver baggy suit to attract attention.

You too can showcase your opinion by the way you dress just like what Rachel J did in the “Ngoro” video.
Several celebrities have used their celebrity spotlight as a way to express their opinion on what they stand for, like Beyoncé, Baba Harare, Iyasa, the late Micheal Jackson, MC Hammer, Lady Gaga, Winky

D, Jah Prayzah and Beverly Sibanda.

These artistes can influence fashion trends that penetrate our everyday lives.

This week’s fashion tip and blunder to watch out for this Christmas is having a disorganised wardrobe. Christmas is time for travelling too, hence you need to have the right clothes and a well-organised wardrobe.

To those who do not know, a disorganised wardrobe indicates a life in chaos.

Do not be caught up in this syndrome of being disorganised, remember you have guests at home too.
Enjoy the holidays!