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Yoliswa Dube-Moyo
MY appearance at this year’s Roil Bulawayo Arts Awards (RoilBAA) was my first since the event’s inception two years ago.

I don’t know why I hadn’t attended before. I probably had been busy or unavailable. Anyway, I made it this year and I’m glad I did.

I’ve never seen such diverse fashion at any event in this city.

It was truly Bulawayo’s biggest dress up event. Despite the chilly weather, people really went all out to look their best. Well, the majority of them.

There were a few who wore jeans and sweaters like one of the organisers Saimon Mambazo Phiri but I don’t really mind them at this point.

They were the minority.

I saw some really interesting things I didn’t know were even a thing.

One thing I still remember being surprised at is what appeared to be a glow in the dark hat.

Or were they Christmas lights folded into a hat?

I really don’t know, but I remember being shocked by it.

It wasn’t entirely bad but it wasn’t great either.

The girl who wore it seemed very confident, my eyes popped out when I saw it so I guess it was worth the fashion statement.

Some guy came in a pair of shorts and a Highlanders jersey.

I wonder what that was about! Statement or just being funny? Another wore a pair of heels.

That guy was easily the Lady Gaga of the events night. Some statement he made!

That’s what I saw at the awards night.

Lots and lots of fashion statements, which is a good thing I suppose.

The organisers said they were rolling out a red carpet and Bulawayo came ready for the carpet.

Fashion Designer, Yvette Ndaba of Eve-O Designs, had one of my favourite looks.

She wore what she calls the Sishebo Androgyne look. A lot of thought and effort went into the whole ensemble I could tell. I felt all fuzzy inside when I saw her, and believe me, I’m not the easiest of people to impress.

Although one of the MCs, Nceku, looked decent — I felt he kept it too simple.

He was in the safe zone but he could’ve done better considering he’s a fashionista of note in his own right. His co-presenters Samantha Tshuma and Lorraine Sibanda made fashion choices fit for the main stage.

They changed a couple of times and looked all the more stunning with each change. Remember the friend who didn’t want to attend the event because they didn’t have the perfect shoes?

The shoes were found and you could’ve mistaken her for the CEO of United Refineries! Yep, she was flames!

I looked like I was worth more than a million dollars by the way, if I may say so myself.

I’m still trying to figure out what went wrong with the people manning the red carpet.

Some had boobs spilling over while others just looked downright unflattering. It’s rather ironic.

They needed to be the best dressed but failed to impress. Someone should’ve been hired to police them before they started policing others.

It was only right.

Black seemed to be a popular colour.

It is rich and classy.

I said it.

If you want to look effortlessly elegant, wear black.

I was in black, radio

personality Samantha “Misred” Mussa was in black, model Ben Chest was in black, singer Sandra Ndebele was in black, fashion designer Yvette Ndaba was in black, make-up artist Praise Ncube was in black.

The list is endless.

The leopard print motif was also popular.

So was the mqhele, the African head dress.

I’m truly and earnestly looking forward to the next edition of the RoilBAAs.

I’m sure it’ll be bigger and better, the fashion scene included.

Until next week, flaunt your pattern and style and don’t forget to catch up with me on Twitter handle @Yolisswa or drop me a WhatsApp message on +263774492700.