Matabeleland Fashion Week Awards Nominees

Matabeleland Fashion Week which will launch on Saturday, the 1^st of November 2014 at the Heath Streak Academy, is going to honour Models, Fashion Houses, Designers and Outstanding Fashion contributors towards the end of the night on that day.

The event which will start at 17:30pm with a Red Carpet , Fashion Show and end with an awarding ceremony, is set to be one of the best fashion highlighted events of the year in Bulawayo. 13 Awards will be given out on that night, the categories towards models are Best Female Model, Best Male Model & Upcoming Model. The Best Female & Male awards will be given out to outstanding models, due to runway performances, photogenic attributes and also designers feedback on workmanship. These 2 individuals will automatically become the faces of Matabeleland Fashion Week 2015. The Upcoming award is given to a young model, below 18.

We have models varying from all different age groups, with the youngest being 16 years old. These are new faces in the industry and they need to be awarded for their contribution to the Launch and also for representing other younger people in our society.

On the Designers and creative side, we will honour the Best Female, Best Male Designers and Outstanding Display of designs. Through a Quality Assurance process done by external officers, the Best Male & Female Designer will be awarded. A Quality control check will be done prior to the event; this also allows designers to improve on their skills. The best display will be given to those that would have demonstrated good conduct and presentation skills. The Oustanding Hair Stylist, Make-Up Artist and Sponsor of the Fashion Week, also the above mentioned, will be selected by a separate panel from the team involved in the fashion week.

The final group of awards is the Outstanding Photographer, Male & Female Style Icon of the year Awards.

The public was asked to submit their nominees for each of the above categories. We received a lot of emails, facebook inboxes, comments and twitter mentions. It is exciting to know that they are individuals that are game changer in the Fashion industry, especially from and within the Matabeleland region.

The final 3 Nominees for Outstanding Photographers are KB Mpofu Photography (Khumbulani Mpofu), Le Cyril Photography (Cyril Ncube) & Tasha Creations (Natasha Mhone). Conversely, the Final 3 Female Style Icon of the Year Nominees are Nyasha ‘DIVA’ Mtamangira (a ZBC TV Presenter), Mbo Mahocs (Actress/Singer/TV Buddy) & Nkanyeziyethu Malunga (Fashion Designer/Fashionista who recently showcased at the SADC Fashion Week)

The final 3 Male Style Icon of the Year Nominees are Crox ( Head Designer of Crox Designs), Gilmore Tee (Global Citizen/Social Entrepreneur) & Craig Zoowie (Stylist & Winner of this years’ Style Icon of the Year at the Zimbabwe Fashion Week Awards). “This category is really interesting as we have some of the City’s best male Style icons going head to head. Crox is a renowned street wear personality and has a lot of following with the edgy individuals, Craig on the other hand just WON an award at the Zimbabwe Fashion Week Award as a Style Icon and Gilmore is one of Bulawayo’s & Zimbabwes’ best dressed & ideal male representative for many fashion designers. All these individuals are relevant, just like in the female category, we only hope for the best to win.”

The last award is an honorary to an individual who has contributed immensely to the growth of the local fashion industry and also brought international recognition to the industry, as a whole. Each year, the Matabeleland Fashion Week team will search and reward individuals that have either contributed as being coat hangers to designers, facilitated capacity growth or platforms for fashion designers and models.

This award represents go getters and all round contributors. The winner for this years’ International Fashion Contributor award has a proven track record and will work with Matabeleland Fashion Week closely in developing models, designers and the fashion industry as a whole. This individual will be announced on the night of the Launch of the fashion week. We already have emails and facebook inboxes from people suggesting who should win this award & again it is encouraging to see that there are individuals that have created awareness of the existence of fashion as a business out there.

Matabeleland Fashion Week Presseer