26 Jun 2022

The National Arts Festival fashion show segment encompassing hair dressing, dress making, modelling and fashion design failed to live to the adjudicators’ expectation during the competitions held at Oodi College of Arts on Friday.

The competition coordinated by the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture was established  with the aim of growing the arts industry.

“I did not see growth as a judge and also a model,” observed one of the judges Norah Mc Aslin.

Mc Aslin, a former model,  said it was disappointing to see how some models had dropped standards.

“I do not know what could be the problem, because even those who have been regulars in this competition have dropped,” she said.

Mc Aslin said in their quest to establish the cause of the decline, they discovered that some models were facing mental health issues due to COVID-19 pandemic.

She said some models admitted that they had not been having it easy due to no livelihood, while some also lost loved ones during the pandemic. She said it was evident that they entered the competition just to make ends meet.

 “They have been out of the season for a long time and you could tell that most of them were in it for the money,” Mc Aslin said.

Regarding male models, Mc Aslin said the male participation was not satisfactory.

“We only had 11 males and had to select only 10 to go through to the nationals,” she said.

She said a contributing factor to the small numbers of male models could be the lack of clothing lines available for male models.

The judge urged designers to make men’s wear to lure male models into the industry and/or the category in this competition.

“Males will feel encouraged to enter the competition if more male clothes are showcased,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Leslie Mmokele who was judging fashion designers said they noted little growth as most competitors were not new to the competition.

“There is improvement because some people who competed have done it before,” said Mmokele adding that the designers had the fighting spirit to do better in their craft.

Mmokele however noted that the ministry needed to improve on the organisation, planning of the fashion and model categories in the competitions.

“It would be great if the ministry engages experts in this field and let them run the show to deliver it to the desired standard especially as we are thriving for commercialising the arts,” he said.

However, he said the ministry managed to pull off the show as they engaged Black Trash designers in organising and planning this event.

He challenged the ministry to use more experts in order to deliver a professional and desirable  standard fashion show.

The fashionista said there was need to improve and change the criteria used for the competition by separating old and young designers to give all fair competition.

“Having an older competitor and younger one together is not fair given the disparity between them.  

This gives young designer an upper hand as they are well acquainted with the latest trends,” Mmokele advised.

Position one to three winners in all categories will proceed to the finals billed for Francistown in July.  ENDS