Seventy years ago the first New York Fashion Week was held, with one main purpose: to distract attention from French fashion during World War II, when workers in the fashion industry were unable to travel to Paris.
The same revolution is happening in Malawi. On May 30 Malawi Fashion Week (2013) will be launched at the Bingu International Conference Centre. But what is involved in the fashion week?
According to organisers of MFW it will be a time full of fun, music and entertainment, runway shows which will feature latest trends among other activities.
Currently, 16 models of the fashion week are in Ntcheu undergoing training in everything that has to do with modelling, and which will end on April 28. Most of the models realised they didn’t actually know how to model until they were trained by Alice Musukwa model trainer from Zambia.
“Currently, there are three trainers in camp with the models, namely Alice Musukwa from Zambia andDawaLoga-Lemberger as well as Vitumbiko Kamanga from Malawi. So far, the models have gone through physical and image development, identity discovery, catwalk, branding and marketing, speech patterns, choreography, discipline and etiquette, among others,” said Kimpho Hastings Loka public relations manager for MFW.
In her words, Zambia’s top model and models trainer, Musukwa described the Malawian models as quick learners.
She said: “It’s interesting and at the same time a challenge to work with amateurs. It was tricky on Saturday and Sunday because they (models) didn’t know anything about catwalk and the reason why they were here, but now we have achieved something and we will come out with the best.”
Musukwa went on to advise the models to stay focused and be willing to learn more and she said she was in Malawi not as a teacher but a friend to the models.
