WINDHOEK - In partnership with the British Council and Nataal Media, Chenesai launched a new body of work, Fashion Futures, last week. Chenesai is a brand that houses three portfolios: fashion anthropology, community upliftment, and international trade and investment law in Africa. The collaborative project debuted in four countries – Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the United Kingdom (UK), with unique installations simultaneously showcased live from each country.

Over the past year, four diverse storytellers – Zimbabwean visual artist Lucia Nhamo, Ghanaian writer, curator and visual anthropologist Adjoa Armah, Malawian beauty and wellness expert Thokozani Phiri, and Namibian designer and fashion creative Leah Misika – conducted ground-breaking research on sustainability within the fashion industry.

Each of them produced stories for a country other than their own, working closely with
global media brand Nataal to produce compelling multimedia reports. These new narratives explore emerging fashion sectors across Southern Africa and the UK to successfully uplift and connect these fledgling ecosystems.

Misika, who represented Namibia, did a presentation and small exhibition that showed the
evolution of her findings. On the same day, her work was also presented to the fashion sector in Zambezi region because the Fashion Futures journey inspired a new direction for
her and her fashion brand.

Zimbabwe will be next to host a Fashion Futures mixed live installation that will
celebrate the articles of Nhamo and Armah, incorporating a traditional braai, spoken word and a model presentation. The installation will be led by Natai Natai, Soul’D dreams, Chenesai brand and creative consortium Domane.

The multinational launch of Fashion Futures reflects the nature of the project, which aims to build capacities in fashion sectors across the continent and beyond. The final works are published on Nataal, together with a project overview written by Tatenda Kanengoni, who was part of the project documentation team in Zimbabwe.

“Fashion Futures puts into perspective the trading value of the fashion sector, which is often times overlooked, particularly on the African continent. We are excited about the multinational launch because it is reflective of the future of work, a future that acknowledges cross sector collaboration to harness and advance talent,” says Chenesai.