Establishing a fashion brand in Zimbabwe is one of the difficult things to do due to the economic crisis the country is facing .But for Nkosi Nkomo he has managed to face all the odds,and established an exclusive fashion brand 'Hombyo' and also he has created an annual fashion show hosted monthly.
In an interview with Aftv Nkosi tells us more about the uniqueness of his brand and how it has managed to be where it is today!
TR:Its not easy to have a strong,exclusive fashion brand in an economy that you have in Zimbabwe,how do you manage to survive in such situation?HM:It's all by God's grace that Hombyo designer brand is surviving in this hard economy. The idea is to work more, be consistent, resilient, patient and relavant then God takes over...
TR:One might wonder how did your brand got where it is today?
HM:God has been good to me. I 've been blessed i understand and trust my craft very well that confidence and faith in the work of my hands has kept me going.
TR:How do you manage to convert your fashion designs or products into a productive language?
HM: Just like a musician who produce music song by song and every song has a different feel and sound.
I produce my pieces one by one with a different feel and design from each and every other piece just like a musician and songs, so as Hombyo designer brand pieces
TR:Do you mentor upcoming designers?
HM:Not yet but Hombyo has been involved in community development by empowering the youth in sewing and tailoring skills for sustainable livelyhoods that has seen some of the youths in ward 22 in Nkulumane,Bulawayo,Zimbabwe benefiting from this social corporate responsibility from Hombyo designer brand
TR:Who are Hombyo's major clients ?
HM: My pieces are for everyone, the idea is to celebrate Africa and express the Morden African fashion style inspired by the life, love, joy and piece in Africa.
Now anyone who wanna identify with the above is my major client.
TR:What ways do you engage in to make sure your clients as they leave your studio they leave with a smile?
HM: I try to explain each and every piece in the studio to my clients so they understand the difference of each and every piece and how the pieces were conceived from an idea to a product. All my products are different and peculiar from each other and what you get at Hombyo designer brand is the one and only piece and design under the sun. People want to dress different and percuiliar so I try to capitalise on that to put a smile to my client.
TR:Besides being the founder of Hombyo you are also the brainchild of Umceco fashion show?
HM:Umceco The Show is a live fashion talk show which aims to expose and document Zim fashion stakeholders, discussing and unpacking their fashion stories to a live audience with the aim to create dialogue between fashion stakeholders and the audiences, creating business opportunities and awareness of local fashion stakeholders.
Some advantages of hosting Umceco the Show are that our audince/community has got a chance to know, learn and understand the stories and products of our Zim fashion stakeholders and to bridge the gap that is there between fashion stakeholders and the community.
This will create more opportunities for local fashion stakeholders
TR:Hombyo in 5 years to come will be ....
HM: Hombyo designer brand will be one of the best home grown local designer brands to have a global market with global clientel offering a wide range of fashion products.
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By Rubaya Tapiwa
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