Our Team – Zimbabwe Fashion Week

Our Trustees

Priscilla Chigariro

Founder

Priscilla Chigariro is an award-winning, creative and goal driven professional with comprehensive entrepreneurial and collaborative skills. She has been nominated for several awards and was in 2016 awarded the country & SADC regional winner for the CEO GLOBAL South Africa’s - AFRICAS MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS & GOVERNMENT, Entrepreneur of the year award in the category of arts & culture. Priscilla founded Zimbabwe Fashion Week in 2009 with the aim of creating an annual platform that would help educate aspiring designers and resuscitate the fashion and creative industries in Zimbabwe. With over 20 years experience and expertise in marketing and development of African Fashion, Priscilla organised and produced the first ever Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association, Clothing Indaba in 2012 and structured and published the manufacturing industries magazine, Stitch Magazine in the same year. In 2016 and 2017 she produced the Italian Embassy (Zimbabwe) event, Musica Festival Fashion and created the curriculum and structure of the fashion development extension to their program. This saw professional Italian designers collaborate with local young designers to create a collection that was exhibited during the festival. Priscilla went on to create another initiative to promote and create new markets for African visual arts, fashion and food, AAFFF which she hosted for the first time in Moscow, Russia in 2017. She is also the founder of The Space Harare, a popular concept space in Harare which carried luxury African fashion and housed a vibrant upmarket restaurant who’s menu she created. In response to the pandemic, Priscilla created and launched a mobile app DRIVEN which offered chauffeur and food delivery from her own restaurants amongst other services. Priscilla began her career as a model in 2000 then went on to study Interior Design in Johannesburg, South Africa and Plant Based Culinary Arts in the US.

Marshall Mutsamwira

Trustee & Director

Marshall Mutsamwira is an experienced and multi-faceted working professional with over three decades of working experience in building brands, laying corporate structure and managing operations in the following industries - fashion, NGO, financial services, advertising, telecommunications, information technology and hospitality. Focusing on his creative industry experience, Marshall’s “fashionable” career highlights include him working with Zimbabwe Fashion Week (ZFW) as a Director in 2015 and 2016. Marshall was the driving force behind ZFW’s 2015 very impressive show that included the late music superstar Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s “Restrospective Show.”

Samuel Chigariro

Trustee

With a vast knowledge base in Marketing, Insurance and Project Management, Samuel Chigariro has been an asset to the many firms and brands he has worked with. He quickly rose through the ranks of the insurance industry in pre - independence Zimbabwe, becoming one of the first managers of colour at Colonial Life Insurance. Along the way he was awarded a myriad of performance awards including the coveted Million Dollar Round Table Award who’s association he was a member. Working through a very turbulent era of our countries history, Samuel Chigariro serves as a valuable and insightful Trustee on our board, and his business experience has been pivotal in the formation of the Trust. Samuel Chigariro is currently a successful commercial farmer.

Advisory Board

Tinashe Murapata

Entrepreneur & Economist

Tinashe is an Entrepreneur, Economist, podcaster, essayist and CEO of an investment holding company based in Zimbabwe. Before this he worked in London in financial services and as treasurer for a not for profit youth advocacy firm in rural Africa. The combined experience has led to a life long passion for venture capital, start up’s and economic education. Connecting the two worlds in outsourcing work from UK and placing it in Zimbabwe through business process outsourcing targeting the youth in Zimbabwe.

Farai Bayai Ncube

Regional Arts Director, Sub Saharan Africa · British Council

Farai is an individual powered by determination and flexibility. She had an opportunistic and positive personality, which always looks at the bigger picture. She is a seasoned programme design and strategist with experience in the field of international development in the cultural and creative industries (CCI), working within the international cultural relations approach. Over the course of her career, she has earned a reputation as a thoughtful, creative problem solver and innovator. Her ability to see the bigger picture while also focusing on the details, has helped many small organisations and entrepreneurs develop effective and sustainable businesses.

Tiago Valente

Creative Director & Professor - Parsons School of Design - The New School

Tiago Valente is a Creative Director, Designer & Global Strategist, with a focus on Innovation and Sustainable Practices, geared towards Diversity, Equity and Social Justice initiatives. He also holds a professorship in Fashion Design and Social Justice at Parsons, The New School in New York. His unique ability to mix multiple disciplines and mediums has allowed iconic brands like Missoni, Zara, Lane Crawford, Google and Unilever to realize a distinct voice in a variety of creative manners. He helps brands, teams, executives and individuals to develop and articulate their voice in a creative, unique, solid and efficient manner, in a variety of mediums and channels, throughout physical & digital landscapes.

Dr Verity Muzenda Ncube

Dean School of Art and Design
Chinhoyi University Of Technology

Dr Verity Muzenda currently serves as the Executive Dean at Chinhoyi University of Technology in the School of Art and Design. Being the Strategic Anchor at the helm of the School of Art and Design, she is actively at the fore-front of creating opportunities for excellence in art and design as well as clothing and textiles needed in Zimbabwe in particular and the world at large. Over and above nurturing creative, proficient and versatile artists, designers, art and design scholars and researchers, Dr Muzenda is committed to promoting the application of technology in Clothing and Fashion Design. Dr Muzenda is actively involved in research focusing on Sustainability in Fashion; Aesthetics; Grooming and Deportment and Social Psychology of Dress. Her on-going research dissects the impact of climatic changes on fashion.

Elvas Mari

Educator, Cultural Advocate
(Previously National Arts Council Of Zimbabwe Director)

Elvas Mari is a highly accomplished and visionary professional with extensive experience in education and arts and culture administration. Throughout his career, Elvas has established himself as a dynamic and results- driven leader. Elvas has successfully implemented curriculum development at high school level nationwide, published 9 books and 6 print media publications and has translated numerous handbooks and documents for local and international organisations and edited numerous novels as a Senior Editor Officer for The Literature Bureau. Elvas holds a Masters of Education (M.Ed) Curriculum and Arts from The University of Zimbabwe. His continuous pursuit of knowledge and his dedication to staying abreast of industry trends have equipped him with the tools needed to navigate the ever-evolving arts, culture and education landscape.

Charlotte Grace Philp

Fashion Entrepreneur

Charlotte has current and historic experience in administration, marketing and event coordination from exclusive and intimate, to much larger scaled events as well as styling for fashion photography and wardrobe consultancy. A great leader as well as a team player, not afraid of hard work in goal achievement and motivating others. She is passionate about re building the fashion industry in Zimbabwe. With the vision of job creation platforms in an under productive yet totally capable industry, Charlotte believes there is much opportunity for development and growth.