Letter from the Editor

“Be bold. Be courageous. Be unapologetically you.” These words were posted by Shingai, our launch issue cover star, on her Instagram just before this magazine went to press; seven words that could easily have been written as a neat little tagline for a Design//Life press release. It struck me, as these sentences sank in, that there is no better way to describe Zimbabwe and the people who have come together to produce this magazine. From fashion designers to writers, photographers to musicians, each one has been bold, courageous and unapologetically themselves at all times, whatever their circumstances, and it’s this magic that has made this dream of mine come to life.

My meeting with the artist Prudence “Prudie” Chimutuwah in March this year, at her sell-out solo exhibition in Harare, was a lightbulb moment for me and this magazine — you can read more about it in the feature “A Woman’s Work”. It seemed fitting, then, that Prudie should play a key role in our first issue. The stunning collage that you can see on Shingai’s beautiful cover photograph perfectly encapsulates the spirit of collaboration which is at the very heart of Design//Life.

Also at the core of Design//Life is our determination to provide Zimbabwe’s extraordinarily creative community with a platform that shows the world just what it can do. As you can imagine, it was no mean feat trying to work out exactly what should go into this first issue, such is the wealth and breadth of talent. We have eye-popping fashion; stories about innovative community projects; not to mention ground-breaking music, an exploration of the human-wildlife conflict and an in-depth interview with Lewis Mataya, Zimbabwe’s Mixed Martial Arts champion.

But this is just a taster. There is so much more to come.

Enjoy the issue.

Milly McPhie
Editor

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR