Fashion
1. I wear my culture is a research project which used fashion and film to document the decorative ways, colours used, motifs, unique symbols, and sustainable fashion of 10 unique ethnic groups from Zimbabwe and 2 UK ethnic groups. The project had 11 young fashion designers (10 female and 2 male) participating in the process which involved them having an in-person conversation with Zimbabwean Historian – Pathisa Nyathi, who zoned in on what culture is and the importance of archiving it. In his session, he deliberately touched on ethnic groups, their different motifs, their meanings, and archiving.
The young designers went on to have another online session with Dorota Stumpf who a is UK fashion designer who focuses on using fashion to capture heritage. She elaborated on the importance of fashion in arts, culture, and heritage, immensely sharing how she has been doing that for over 2 decades in the UK. Her session was filled with best practices on things to look out for when going on-ground for research, prior to interpreting findings into a sketch and later, a garment. As a result, the project has an Award-winning documentary, Fashion Film, 22 Garments and archived pictures of the garments.
This project is delivered by Paper Bag Africa collaborating with Gilmore Tee, Creative Mice Films and Val Juma Photography.
2. Haus of Stone is a Zimbabwean slow-fashion brand made for the conscious wanderer. Founded by Fashion Designer Danayi Madondo, the brand continues to expand its territory by creating new avenues for people to experience its products. Danayi Madondo, a Zimbabwean fashion designer, textile artist, and visual storyteller, engages with multidisciplinary practices that embrace an immersive storytelling approach, seeking to archive & evolve cultural design traditions, ultimately expanding cultural discourse through her traditional experimental designs.
Danayi's textile works emerge from an intuitive and contemplative process that prioritizes the sensory experience. She interweaves diverse global and local traditional handcrafts, resulting in texturally rich textiles crafted through a regenerative design approach that minimizes textile waste.