I Wear My Culture ZW project has played a huge role in the world of fashion in and outside the borders of Zimbabwe by becoming a vessel for cultural storytelling.

Established in the year 2022, this has been through captivating film, photography, and design. This initiative has celebrated Zimbabwe’s rich mosaic of ethnic groups such as Shangani, Xhosa, Khoisan, Ndau, Chewa, Sena, Shona, Sotho, Kalanga, Tonga, Nambya, Ndebele, and Venda, while also spotlighting two United Kingdom (UK) communities.

The project is under the leadership of Gilmore Khumalo prominently known as Gilmore Tee. He is supported by the British Council hence it also garnered international acclaim, producing an award-winning documentary, a stunning fashion film, and a compelling look book that serve as archives of tradition and modernity.

This year kicking off the show is an exclusive fashion mixer on August 28th at the British Council in Harare. The event is set to unite fashion practitioners, cultural connoisseurs, policymakers, creatives, and arts enthusiasts.

The fashion weekend will run from August 28 to 30 in Harare and Bulawayo, featuring panel discussions on the business of fashion, the art of archiving through film and art, and the transformative power of research in creative expression.

On August the 30th, fashion designers will showcase a mesmerizing fashion gala, featuring 16 bold collections from designers who have spent five months exploring and interpreting their assigned tribal inspirations at Zimbabwe’s Natural History Museum in Bulawayo.

According to the organisers of the event during press briefing they foretold that the runway show will be a movement that acts as a bridge that connects one to their original cultural roots through fashion.

Designers who are set to grace the stage will each represent a different Zimbabwean tribe or community:
Charmaine Nziradzemhuka (Nambya), Penelope Lacha (Ndau), Brightman Dlamini (Khoisan),Mbongisani Dube (Tonga),Ray Enders (Chewa),Ropafadzo Mapira (Ndebele), Ncominkosi Sibanda (Venda),Kundai Mangena (Kalanga),Nonhlanhla Ncube (Shona),Nkululeko Ncube (Xhosa),Leeroy Mapungwana (Sena),Langa Ndlovu (Shona),Tadiwa Karidza (Shangani) and Noliwe Mhlope (Sotho).

In a powerful act of cultural exchange, designers were intentionally paired with tribes outside their own backgrounds.