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Nkosilathi Sibanda
UNLESS you have been living under a rock, you possibly have heard and  seen that music and fashion are inseparable.
It needs no counter argument that music and fashion have always been intertwined. Music has been inspiring designers for a long time. It is rare on earth to find a human being who does not have a taste to any kind of music.

While you engage in this conversation, stop and check the clothes you are putting on, probably they were first inspired by a music star.

Musicians and fashion designers have created a synergy that presents a huge influence to the fan. The effect is more pronounced in our consumption of music from other countries.

Walk about in Bulawayo and you will see pantsula fashion widely linked to kwaito, reggae wear and a little bit of American dress.

That is normal, for musical and fashion influence are universal.

Musicians that combine their works with fashion have forced me to conclude that they are masters of breaking the rules of fashion.

At a time when the fashion conscious say you can never put on a jacket and jean trouser, a hip-hop artiste will do the opposite and get the whole world doing the same.

A trend widely popular in Bulawayo and Mzansi is the conversion of the All Star sneaker. Here is a shoe made for work, but we are buying for leisure wear. Our musicians influenced this.

There are musicians that have taken fashion to the street and defined the fundamental idea of modern and casual lifestyles. I find it hard to put on a list of local artistes that have had a hand in what we wear. I single out Leonard Zhakata. The Mugove hit maker is the only one in my memory.

Back in the day our brothers would go at lengths to get those shiny shirts, baggy pants that were called opepe and the pointy shoes.

Zhakata made the 1990s a decade when Zimbabwean music and a fashion sense.

Fans of Ndolwane Super Sounds are easily identified because they dress like Martin Sibanda. The same goes with the “die-hard” listeners of sungura.

You can tell a Sulumani Chimbetu fan if they pass by. Fans would go ahead and ape their stars especially in the field of hip-hop and pop.

I am still to ask Zhakata about his style and find out who the tailor was. He is one of the few local stars who knew that fashion and music go together.

Fashion trends have accompanied the changing times of all types of music. One example is the fetish wear items known as isibhujwa.

If you watch WizKhalifa and some South African music videos, you know this well.

This fashion style has been immediately imitated by the listeners. The underlining premise is that fashion changes with the entry of a certain song to the music industry.

Where I come from, someone is considered fashionable when they fit the current dressing trends that are mostly popularised by musicians. Try to put on something that has never been seen on TV and you are welcome to ridicule.

Musicians have been taking on a bigger role in the fashion industry, creating namesake clothing lines or partnering with designer brands. But in Zimbabwe, that is not happening.

Is it a case that we do not have designers? The country has a lot of musicians but the fans are following foreign fashion styles. In every way possible change is inevitable.

Even in the entertainment movement, we anticipate a cultural revolt.

What would it take for one local entertainer to partner with a designer and create a fashion label that will lure fans?

In a manner our young people are so drunken crazy with Zim dancehall and urban grooves music, I would think there ought to be a clever designer to approach musicians to break new ground in fashion.

The popular Tommy Hilfiger has done it with  many record labels and individual artistes. So is the case with the relationship of Adidas and hip-hop.

I remember my fascination with Fubu.

There is no ghetto child who grew up in the 1980s and 90s who did not fancy a Fubu shirt or a Nike shoe. We saw it on music videos.

Tell me of a person who does not want to look and dress in their music idol’s style? Certainly, there is no one.

Acclaimed designer, Armani, in his many interviews, claims that he was able to find out that most of the fashion outfits he makes in music.

According to Armani, hip-hop music embraces the fact that one becomes more real and individualistic.

So, if you call yourself a designer and have not partnered a musician, then you are bound to remain unknown. For what good is fashion when Jeys Marabini does not wear it?

We yearn for a fashion label that we will follow because a local musician does so. There is no pain greater than wearing a shirt that has no link with entertainment persona.

If music and fashion are inseparable, so be it. Dress up and listen. It is the right thing to do!

Off the top shelf: It feels good to be ready for summer. I received comments about last week’s conversation and it was positive. People cannot wait to be entertained. That is a message to the DJs too.

With weddings and parties scrambling for space, DJs will make a killing. I pray this will be the case with all professional DJs.

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