PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday launched the National Dress Fabric at a colourful event at State House, marking the first time that the country has been able to settle on a national dress style since 1980.
First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa spearheaded the search
for the National Dress after embarking on comprehensive consultations with
various stakeholders and different ethnic groups from all the country’s 10
provinces.
The National Dress encompasses national symbols such as the
Zimbabwe bird, the National Flag and the Chevron pattern. Various designs of
the dress were showcased at a glamorous fashion show held at State House.
Speaking after launching the National Dress Fabric,
President Mnangagwa lauded the First Lady for spearheading the milestone
achievement that is crucial to promoting and preserving national identity.
He said the National Dress also promotes unity among
Zimbabweans, in light of Unity Day, which will be commemorated on Tuesday.
“The fabric plays an important role in the preservation of
national values and cultural heritage and helps create unity among our people.
I challenge the citizenry to conceptualise our apparel as more than just a form
of identity. It must be a bridge, joining communities with the uniqueness of
their heritage, more so that this launch is happening two days before our
country commemorates Unite Day.”
The President said the National Dress will contribute to
convey Zimbabwe’s culture, ways of life, values and belief systems.
“I am enthused that fashion and design now plays an equally
important role with other artistic fields in our national development
discourse. I therefore want to appreciate all the fashion designers and
stakeholders in the textile industry for this achievement,” President Mnangagwa
said.
He said Government would set aside days when people would
wear the fabric.
“Going forward, as Zimbabweans, both here and in the
Diaspora, let us now promote our country’s sovereignty and national identity
through this National Dress Fabric. On our side as Government, we should
designate days when our people wear attire with the National Dress Fabric,
inclusive of those in the education sector,” President Mnangagwa said.
The President implored the media to popularise the National
Dress while encouraging the fashion and arts sectors to do the same.
“In addition, the Zimbabwe Fashion and Textile Industry and
Creative Industry are challenged to draw inspiration from this National Fabric
by blending the designs into contemporary fashion, art, film and music trends.
This will ensure that the National Dress Fabric is immortalised and passed on
to the next generations.”
In her remarks, Amai Mnangagwa, who is patron of the
National Dress Fabric, said she intended the national dress to depict the
country’s traditions, history, national heritage and aspirations while being
appropriate to all social and religious gatherings.
In addition, the fabric had to embrace all ethnic groups and historic backgrounds while embracing submissions from all the country’s 10 provinces.
Consultations involved various ministries, researchers,
academics, traditional leaders, designers, historians, various women and church
groups.
The First Lady said she decided to take up the matter to
come up with a National Dress Fabric as many Zimbabweans had no idea of what to
wear during national events, leading many to adopt foreign styles.
“I considered countries like South Africa and Malaysia with
complex cultures but had national dresses and I said Zimbabwe with its more
unified culture should find it easier to have one of its own.
As a woman, in my own mind, I thought of a national dress
for Zimbabwe which included a wraparound cloth, headdress and ornaments,
including necklaces, earrings and bracelets. But I decided to consult with
experts on how to go about it,” she said.
The First Lady assigned the Minister of Women Affairs,
Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, to
oversee the work for her. “I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate
the work that has been put in by Honourable (Sithembiso) Nyoni and her
ministry, King Fisher, the Fabric Designer, Fashion designers and the
multi-stakeholders who have been critical in ensuring that this process comes
to fruition and that Zimbabwe can finally launch a national dress.
“Today, we witness the launch of the National Dress as well
as the Fashion Show where various designs of the national fabric are on
display. We also look at the way this fabric can be designed so that it aligns
well with the drive to instill nationalism among Zimbabweans near and far.
We want to encourage all Zimbabweans to fully engage and
participate in the promotion and popularisation of the national dress and
national fabric,” Amai Mnangagwa said.
While the initial search for the National Dress fabric
started in 2005, it did not yield any results prompting Amai Mnangagwa to take
it upon herself to ensure the programme succeeds.
Yesterday, the President and First Lady toured stands where
the fabric was being exhibited in various designs.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, Cabinet Ministers
and senior officials from the Government and Zanu-PF attended the event. Sunday
Mail
0 comments:
Post a Comment