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Lifestyle Writer
Some say the month of May is pure magic.
While the past month of April was full of surprises, a mixture of cold, dreary days and sunny ones here and there.
Well, May is a month of rebirth, inspiration and excitement as the globe is about to close out the first two quarters of the year and preparing for winter.
In Africa, the month of May is when the continent celebrates Africa Day.
On May 25 Africa commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, back in 1963.
The continent over, multitudes of people come together to celebrate unity and pride in Africa, a continent which is home to millions of people.
Apart from celebrating their pride and unity, there is also the fashion aspect.
On to fashion, the month of May will also see the international fashion exhibition dubbed Met Gala.
It is scheduled to take place this Monday hosted by the Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, running under the theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, featuring approximately 250 items drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, many of which have rarely been seen in public before.
According to the organisers of the event, the dress code is “The Garden of Time.”
Spanning over 400 years of fashion history, the pieces will include designs by Schiaparelli, Dior, Givenchy, and more. Some garments that are too fragile to ever be worn again—such as a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877—will also be displayed via video animation, light projection, artificial Intelligence and CGI in film, and other forms of sensory stimulation.
Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, added that the exhibition will be shaped around three main “zones”—Land, Sea, and Sky—that pay tribute to the natural world. “It is very much an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion,” he said.
Enough of the Met Gala in Europe, Africa has its fair share of fashion shows and exhibitions.
To celebrate this Africa Day in style, Zimpapers flagship newspaper, The Herald is hosting the ‘Africa Day Fashion Extravaganza and Exhibition’.
The glamorous event will be held at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in the capital. Radio and television personality Rebecca Muchenje affectionately known as Becky K, fashionista and style consultant Lillian Madyara (Hollywood Lee) and fashion icon and The Herald Entertainment and Lifestyle Editor Tafadzwa Zimoyo also known as The Boss will facilitate the programme.
The show under The Herald Lifestyle section will start in the morning and ends at 10pm.
In an interview, Zimpapers Public Relations and Events manager Pauline Matanda said they are happy to host the prestigious event.
She said that she is overwhelmed with the corporate and stakeholders’ response to the event and is calling for more partners and designers to take part.
“The event will have an exhibition in the morning where ‘everything to do with fashion,’ will be exhibited. The exhibition will last until 4pm and we are calling anyone who wants to take part to get in touch with The Herald Lifestyle Events team,” she said.
“The exhibition stands are going for US$350. Designers who want to take part in the fashion show which is scheduled to start from 6pm will pay US$50.”
Matanda said there is also a series of entertainment apart from the fashion show and exhibition.
“We are in talks with various local artistes and we are happy to announce that so far jazz sensations Agga Nyabinde and Taffie Matiure have confirmed their participation.”
“This is a big fashion event and we are looking at those aligned with our theme. Our hosts are fashion personnel and we are happy that we are in the right direction,” she said.
“We are also inviting some of the African embassies to take part in this initiative as we are celebrating Africa Day. They will also exhibit and contest at the fashion show.”
The public relations and event personnel said the event is a red-carpet affair.
“Guests are expected to dress in their African attire wear and there is a prize for the best dressed which will be facilitated by our local designers.”
“Like we said, the event is centred on Africa hence guests will also be treated to various African cuisine which will also be on display courtesy of our African embassies and local restaurants who would want to exhibit,” she said.
Matanda added that through the partnership of Style Icon Awards of Zimbabwe (SIZA) and Fashion Council of Zimbabwe (FCOZ) there is going to be an awards ceremony for our local designers.
“SIZA is releasing the awards nominees next week and winners will be awarded at the event. It is like the Met Gala event but celebrated the African style and tradition,” she said.
Commenting about the event, The Herald Editor Victoria Tapfumaneyi Ruzvidzo said the preparations of the event are at advanced stage.
“We are happy to host this event and my team is running around to put everything in place. We are kindly inviting everyone who is interested in fashion, to come and celebrate Africa Day,” she said.
Online Reporter