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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Lifestyle Writer
We are not yet quite there but finally as a nation we seem to have awakened to move with global trends when it comes to dressing for the occasion.
Not that we were a totally backward bunch, but if the truth be said, when it came to dressing for red carpet events and occasions, we appeared to have no clue.
But with some of our celebrities, artistes, politicians, socialites and businesspeople, fashionistas travelling some parts of the world for various reasons and access to media channels highlighting such events, we are now on our way to becoming masters and mistresses of the trade.
We have rivalled our brothers and sisters from South Africa who know how best to look presentable on the red carpet, and this includes the artistes, celebrities as well as the presenters themselves.
Like South Africa, and to some extent Hollywood, we have become so adept at adding colour to the glitz and glamour associated with events like the recently-held Miss World Zimbabwe as well as The Sunday Mail Bridal Gala, Castle Tankard, album launches and corporate functions. Most of the people, from organisers to the audience are well-attired and would easily fit into the best Hollywood glamour party.
If ever there is one person who knows how to present himself well in public, in as far as formal gentlemanly-dressing is concerned, then it is none other than prominent businessman Phillip Chiyangwa, who seems to have taken some notes on dressing etiquette from some top international fashion and business-savvy personalities like P Diddy and Donald Trump with their formal suits, whenever they appear for red carpet events.
Many people are now taking a leaf from such socialites, celebrities, famous people when it comes to dressing for such events and these include most politicians who in the past were not serious about dressing for red carpet events.
What we need to understand is that the most expensive clothes will not always be the biggest hit. As one fashion fundi advised a million years ago, dressing is about what suits an individual not what they like. So just as even the most iconic red carpet dressers like the late Joan Rivers of the Fashion Police sometimes chose disasters, even locally we tend to see some choices that do not work out.
To mind comes the Miss World Zimbabwe pageant when event organiser Marry Chiwenga’s choice of bold floral prints was roundly criticised by most fashionistas. Unfortunately, none of them wanted to go on record but they were all in agreement that the dress looked good but did not cast the right note for the night. One said it would have been more appropriate for a church social night or kitchen shower rather than a night of supposed haute couture.
And then of course, there are the National Arts Merit Awards and the Zimbabwe Music Awards, where a lot still remains to be done when it comes to dressing for the red carpet events, which have become one of the biggest events on our national calendar.
The organisers, artistes, celebrities and personalities who are associated with these two brands should take a leaf from the South Africa Music Awards (SAMA) and up their game in as far as red carpet dressing is concerned.
We actually don’t have the controversy or the wow factor at this prestigious events.
In the United States, celebrities who feature at events like the Oscars and Grammys are always dressed to kill.
The likes of Kim and Chloe Kardashian and Kanye West, among others, always leave heads turning.
Although they have loads of money to buy some of the clothes they wear at these events, some of these outfits are sponsored.
“The Academy Awards is filled with actresses who look like a million bucks. But in truth, the star might actually be worth more than a million bucks, and pay almost nothing at all.
“An Oscar-worthy actress will typically don diamonds, gold, rubies, sapphires and emeralds worth between five hundred thousand to a million dollars. But most of the time, these goodies disappear in a POOF!
“The celebrity returns their dress, shoes, jewels and handbag. Celebrities usually don’t pay anything out-of-pocket for their outfit, unless it’s a pair of shoes or something they are dying to keep,” said one US-based style expert Lindsay Albanese, in an article.
“This is something that our Zimbabwean celebrities can learn from by approaching the companies that deal in fashion-wear to dress them for the big day on a similar arrangement.
“In Zimbabwe, we now have shops that can dress or hire out dresses, tuxedos which are reputable and have dressed many celebrities for such occasions and more of this should be done in order to bring lustre to the big events,” said a local fashion expert Maryline Marangwanda.
She added that by dressing the celebrities, the designer will be deriving a lot of marketing mileage since people will also want to be dressed in similar clothes to those their celebrities wore on the night of the red carpet event.
Cyrpus-based Zimbabwean-born musician Pambayi Kapenzi known to most as Kay-P, said that getting it right is about self-confidence and deliberately giving due importance to the matter of your wardrobe.
“At a red carpet event in Cyprus, where I was collecting my award for the best entertainment group, I had to make sure I was the best dressed. I dressed as plain as possible not trying to have too many bright colours in something comfortable and smart. I have noticed that people nowadays have headaches too on how they can impress the next person rather than express themselves with clothes,” he said.
One fashionista and designer shop owner Rumbidzai Chigova of Designer Closet says demand for high class event dressing has risen. She has opened a line where she hires out women’s clothes for different functions.
Rumbidzai imports clothes from Dubai, Spain, Italy, Canada, USA and Russia and is now connected to some top international shops where she gets orders that are similar to those seen on television.
“I started this business selling wedding dresses, but have seen that people nowadays want to dress up for the red carpet. I then ventured into the business and later on was approached by some prominent celebrities to dress them. I started with the bandage dress which was popularised by Kim Kardashian and bought it for one socialite, which later turned heads at a corporate function. From then business has developed and I now also do shoes. I can’t lie to you, a third of women in some of the prestigious functions I have dressed them,” she said. Of course she was not at liberty to disclose the names of her clients.
She supports the notion that people now know how to dress up for occasions, but warned of the danger of blindly following trends.
“With the pace at which we are moving, you need to have your own style so that you won’t end up wearing the same outfit as other guests at the same event,” she said.
Online Reporter