Highlights of the year 2014

As 2014 comes to a close, it’s that time for the blog to reflect and look back at the year that was. This year was the year of growth. I discovered a new side of myself that wanted to know more, understand more and define myself as a woman. I moved from a stage of being a student to being a graduate. I longed to find recognition and acceptance for my passion in fashion and I filled that void by editing for two online digital magazines; Infinity Magazine and Induna Magazine. I also took a deeper plunge and exercise my power to style in local photoshoots, model in one and start something of my own, from personal challenges I have faced, bringing you Fashion Bloggers Association of Zimbabwe. 2014 has been an interesting and fulfilling year, and I can only imagine what 2015 has in store for Signature Toscie.

Induna Magazine

INDUNA is Ndebele for “Leader”, first of its kind as a pan African Female based magazine in Zimbabwe. Induna was founded by Zanele Mhlaba, a fashion lover, fashion blogger and African feminist. The debut issue introduces you to a summer edition that covers a variety of topics from some of Zimbabwe’s young and influential women, with three Ladies gracing the cover issue; Lorraine “LochNation” Bgoya, Samantha “MisRed” Mussa and Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa – all from ZIFM Stereo. I contributed to the magazine in the Fashion section, where I covered Fast Fashion Retail in Zimbabwe, summer trends feature on this season’s top skirts and an interview with Women’s Couture designer Paidemoyo Chideya-Mazhandu. If you can recall, Paidemoyo launched a RTW collection of her label DeMoyo early in the year which you can read here. Induna magazine was a great opportunity to exercise my power to write and better understand what contexts truly make it into a magazine. The photoshoot alone helped me to better understand what really goes on behind the scenes of a magazine cover shoot. Find INDUNA Magazine online here.

        

Infinity Magazine

Infinity Magazine is an urban culture magazine, aiming at empowering the youth with features on the young and upcoming entertainers in the business. Sharing their stories of growth, success and obstacles they faced whilst going after their dreams. I jumped on board with Infinity Magazine from the get-go and what I love about it is it’s my platform to write about anything fashion related for the young and modern millennia. It also goes further as being that first magazine that gave me a full page column to write just about anything I wanted and desired, which in turn helped to exercise my wording and knowledge of current fashion trends. Infinity magazine’s editor Sophia Chitemere is also a former model, a growing powerhouse in PR Management and a young achiever at heart. Check out Infinity Magazine’s profile on ISSUU here and twitter page here.

                                 

Ngosikadzi/Signature Toscie Collaboration

Ngosikadzi blog and Signature Toscie did an exciting collaboration mid-way through 2014, that gave you six different looks from two Ngosikadzi local dresses. First of it’s kind and first for the blog, the collaboration paved way for the popular African print trend on a smaller blogger scale in Harare. Two of the dresses to mention where a paisley print tent dress and a floral print wrap dress that where given interval looks of day to night, and winter to summer. During that time you may recall the collabo being labelled under The GLAM Project ZW, which has now gradually shifted to Signature Toscie Styling – still the same concept and vision but with a more blog aligned branding. Check out all the Ngosikadzi/Signature Toscie Collabo posts right here.

Fashion Bloggers Association Zimbabwe (FBA ZIM)

I always had a broader vision, and this was one of them. Fashion Bloggers Association Zimbabwe came out of the frustration that there was no proper body to represent the growth of bloggers. Sure there is @ZimFashionBlogs on Twitter, but I felt there was no physical preference, no board that can solve the challenges that bloggers faced in Zimbabwe. Sure there is Blogger of the Year under Zimbabwe Fashion Week, but that’s pretty much it! So with a little thinking, a lot of my frustration and a couple of bloggers on board, we launched FBA ZIM in September 2014 and had an official strategic meeting on 20 December 2014. With FBA ZIM it’s really about growth; growth of the digital sector in Zimbabwe that can accommodate the digital media of fashion! Early 2015 will be the official press conference/seminar launch, and I openly encourage every blogger community in Zimbabwe to engage with us. Find us on Twitter here, with our Tumblr blog here.

Graduation Day

I saved the best for last – my graduation day! When 2014 came I knew this was it! After a good three years of studying, with ample amounts of blogging on the side; I graduated with a BSc Hons in Sociology and Gender Development under the Women’s University in Africa. I love my degree because it answered a lot of the questions onto society that I had which no one around me could really explain or understand. Best part about it is that I’m a scientist, which suits every arena of my current environment in women’s fashion, digital media, FBA ZIM and my feminist advocate. Of course on my graduation day I had to pay homage to the Zimbabwean Fashion industry by wearing a locally designed dress with a pattern I chose. The day couldn’t have been more lovely, as for one day a year I was the centre of attention and my hard work had paid off!

So 2014 was the year of growth – I challenged my fears, conquered my goals and met new friends along the way. Thank you 2014.

xo

Tendai!