Fashion & Pageants
RATISAI EDGY AND EXTR
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SKIN-TASTIC SUMMER STYLES BY COLIN RATISAI
olin Ratisai’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection as shown at Zimbabwe Fashion Week was inspired by just that - SUMMER! Featuring sheer and short dresses and bursts of colour, the winner of last year’s Young Designer competition at Zimbabwe Fashion Week said he’d been looking forward to the end of winter and warmer weather, to cast off all the layers and show off beautiful skin. The collection started off with polka dots and stripes in exaggerated long trousers and edgy wrap dresses but was anything but cutesy in bold blues and magenta, with long slits and exposed sides that stayed true to his vision of maximum exposure. Only-for-the-runway sheer dresses with strategically placed hand-crafted fabric flowers followed, preceding a range of evening dresses including strapless floor length gowns in ethnic prints and an ethereal creation in white and ice-blue featuring a cheeky back slit. Ratisai then went green (literally) with a floral finale featuring fresh flowers, modelled by Miss Teen Zimbabwe 2012 Soraya Vallabh. The collection featured men’s wear too, including knee length shorts paired with fitted shirts in coloured cotton, and more revealing designs with toga style tunics topped with live and fabric flowers. Fabric flower tattoos adorned the models’ bodies to cover little more than the bare essentials, which could only be described as going back to basics. Colin Ratisai can always be relied upon to put on quite a show and didn’t disappoint this time around. While we don’t quite see the average girl strutting down the street in a see-through dress, he’s never designed for the average girl - and we would n ot want to see it any other way! ?
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EDGY AND EXTRA BARRIER-BREAKING FASHION FROM YOUNG DESIGNERS
Commentary by Mellisa Muzingi Page 76
Day Tw
February 2013
he thing about youth is that it makes you a little braver and a little less afraid – perhaps something to do with having less to lose. Either way, brave designs were the order of the day on the Young Designers catwalk at Zimbabwe Fashion Week this year. The line up included repeat entrant Bridgette Pisirai, as well as new faces Graham Chibvanepero and Kim Masimbe (check out her Before Fashion Week interview here), and the young designers took the “breaking barriers” brief seriously with ever-so-slightly avant-garde offerings. Graham Chibvanepero showed new silhouettes with billowing shoulders and bulging skirts. Dominatrix-style necklines and exposed midriffs added a different kind of sexy, coupled with above-the-knee hemlines. Ismail Tsakatsa’s collection included bold, bold, bold colour in red, yellow and purple satin and featured ruching and yet more ruching. Exaggerated bows and eccentric shoulders were anything but ordinary, if somewhat reminiscent of 80’s style funk. Growth in design from Bridgette Pisirai showed bias-cut hemlines and mid-length dresses with added detail in trim. The prize went to newcomer Kimberley Masimbe, who showed slightly more elegant styles in luminescent floorlength gowns and peplum hems whose techno-vibe stayed true to the breaking barriers theme. We’re excited to see what’s next for this young designer who designs under the label House of Kiki M.?
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