A CREATIVE fashion designer can create exclusive outfits out of mundane things. One such person is Jasper Mandizera of the popular fashion brand Ivhu Tribe who designed an environmentally friendly outfit from a baobab tree.
The baobab tree is widespread along the Zambezi valley, Matabeleland North and South, Mashonaland central and the dry woodlands of Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces. It is abundant in many dry areas of the country.
Mandizera designed the national costume for Miss Earth pageant model Courtney Tadiwa Jongwe who represented the country in Vietnam.
In an interview with NewsDay life & Style Mandizera said the idea behind the baobab dress was centred on the need to push for eco-friendly costumes.
“The pageant title was Miss Earth, we needed to bring out a costume that would resemble life coming from earth itself hence the baobab masterpiece,” he said.Mandizera described the creative process of the outfit as an interesting yet challenging journey from sketching to implementation.
“Talk about making a dress that you can eat. It was a whole different challenge we had to face from all the other costumes we have made. We cracked the fruit to make sizeable fragments, a bit of eating here and there, we boiled seeds to separate them from the nutritious white powder which we had as a healthy African juice to the drying process,” Mandizera said.
He added that every costume made at Ivhu Tribe carries a story and without a story, there is no message, without a message, there is no art. He said they loved to tell stories through art.
“Every project at Ivhu Tribe pushes us beyond our expected capabilities. Each project comes with a different challenge and different kind of passion. It only shows how much we are pushed beyond the limit with each and every project that comes,” he said.
- Mother pushed me beyond my capabilities: Mandizera
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The self-taught fashion designer acknowledged his mother for pushing him beyond expected capabilities.
“A lot of people know me as Jaspizy, a nickname I got for my busy nature so to say, “just busy-jaspizy”. I used to be quite experimental. You could find me ripping my own jeans to create a design which was an inspiration I got from epic movies and fashion television shows. My mother pushed me beyond expected capabilities, challenging me to do things to prove if I could do it,” Mandizera said.
He added that he believed every person had a different drive, character and passion and these play a huge part when it comes to designing.
Mandizera noted that he came from a place and environment where he had to push himself to exceed the limit and follow his passion against all odds.
He added that when fashion was not in the picture, he would turn his room into a different world. Set and interior design was and still is one of his specialties.
Mandizera also said that Ivhu Tribe had collaborated with several talented artisans, adding that he was looking forward to spreading his wings beyond borders.
