COLIN RATISAI'S GIANT BLUE DRESS.

Yes HIFA (Harare International Festival Arts)came and went however the Giant blue dress which was won by Zimbabwe's Mbira Princesses is still the talk in everyone's mouth.
The Gigantic Blue dress was won by Hope Masike during the opening of HIFA.
Tapiwa Rubaya (TR) caught up with the man behind the concert of the dress Colin Ratisai (CR) who reveled how the Might Victoria Falls inspired him to come up with the concept of the dress.

TR:Colin can you tell us about yourself?
CR: My name is Colin Ratisai. I'm 34 years old.i was born in Harare and I am the third child in a family of 3.

TR:What led you to be part of the fashion industry?
CR:I've always loved putting together different textiles and to know how good they can work on people's clothes.
From a young age I've liked 'over the top' decorated garments. My sister was the first to get into fashion and
during my school days I always would prefer to work with her n her fashion studio than doing my
homework.My love for fashion has been with me from as long as I can remember draping fabric on dolls.

TR:Zimbabwe has faced economy downfall as a young business designer how has that affected you in the fashion industry?
CR:Growth in the industry has been stagnant. I certainly have no control of the graph as it escalates and descends,
never constant. It is really difficult in this economy to open up a specialised boutique offering high end fashion
and designing for specific occasion or event. The theatre and entertainment industry,which are natural
strongholds for fashion have also suffered making it difficult for artist to have a budget for wardrobe or
costume. I find myself struggling to find new business but at the same time having built a name over the years
there are people who seek me out & order clothes from time to time.

TR:Kindly state some fashion shows that you have showcased your brand ?
CR:I honestly have not show cased my collection in recent years but I used to represent & participate in the many
different fashion weeksin Zimbabwe and regionally including Zambia, South Africa&West Africa.

TR:Recently during HIFA you dressed 'Hope Masike' during the Hifa and the dress took everyone's attention?
CR:I did the Styling and Costume for HIFA opening' We Count' concert .Actually I have had the pleasure of
dressing the Princess of Mbira, Hope Masike for the last 3 years of Hifa & in different shows.

TR:Your brand hasn't been producing collections lately why?
CR: There is a price to represent your work on the different platforms, subsequently for the collection to sustain
itself there is need for buyers, magazines ,Bloggers etc to get the collection out there to the world so that as a
designer I can get a return on the investment made.

TR:Who came up with the concept of the giant dress which was woren by Hope Masike?
CR: CR.For the opening concert HIFA 2018 I worked with director James Blazsko who came up with the concept of
the show.He worked with different teams, stage, technical, choreography etc including me who did the
costuming.
The idea was to depict one of the things that we are most proud of as Zimbabweans,hence the Majestic Victoria
Falls. The Giant Dress had to represent the effect of the falls .

TR:Take us to the story behind the giant dress?
CR:The Blue dress, with its contrasting color tussels, was meant to signify the water fall. All this was supposed to
be viewed in the most artistic of ways rather than having a literal Victoria falls advert on television. So all the
different elements on stage where to be apart of the production. The lighting, the smoke that thunders, ballet
dancers and Derrick Mpofuslive song 'Chisikana changu Zimbabwe'.

TRWhat did it mean to you dressing the Mbira Princesses?
CR:I'd like to share that Hope Masike is amazing Human Being her hard work is brilliant.
She is wonderful in that she acknowledges and appreciate the works of other artists and she is going further.

Tapiwa Rubaya