Wander and Weave

I remember sitting in a conversation one day with a group of people, and somehow the topic of university degrees came up. You know how these conversations can go. Someone mentions a university, someone else mentions another, and before you know it, everyone suddenly becomes an unofficial university ranking committee.  Some of the people in that conversation had studied at Midlands State University. Others were from the University of Zimbabwe, and there were a few from the National University of Science and Technology. And then there was me, the Great Zimbabwe University girl. Except they didn't know that. I remember sitting there quietly, listening. The conversation slowly turned from discussing universities into discussing the value of the degrees that came from them. Which university was respected more? Which graduates were more likely to get jobs? Which institutions had better reputations? And then someone mentioned Great Zimbabwe University. I won't lie. I felt something in...

There are few fashion arguments that are as unnecessary yet somehow as persistent as the denim-versus-jeans confusion. I have seen people use the two words interchangeably, and honestly, I understand why. You walk into a shop, see a pair of blue trousers hanging on a rack and think, “Ah yes, jeans.” Someone else comes along and says, “Those are denim.” Then suddenly we are standing there wondering whether we have been calling an entire fabric a pair of trousers our whole lives. As someone who loves fashion and has spent a considerable amount of time thinking about clothes, silhouettes, proportions and why certain pieces just work, I thought it was time we settled this once and for all. Because yes, there is a difference between denim and jeans. And once you understand it, shopping becomes a little easier, styling becomes a lot more intentional, and perhaps we can finally give ourselves a break from this particular fashion confusion. So, denim is the fabric. It is that sturdy, durable c...

Lately, I have been thinking about how strange the world has become. Not necessarily strange in the obvious, dramatic way, but strange in the quiet way that makes you stop scrolling, put your phone down for a second and ask yourself, “Wait… was that actually real?” I had one of those moments recently. I came across a video online and, honestly, I believed it. There was nothing about it that immediately screamed, “This is fake.” It looked real. It sounded real. It felt real. So I watched it, accepted what I was seeing, and carried on with my scrolling. It was only when I went into the comments that I realised people were pointing out that the video had been generated by AI. And I just sat there thinking, Oh. Because if I could watch something and genuinely believe it was real when it wasn't, then what happens when we can no longer tell the difference at all? We are living in a time where almost anything can be created, altered, enhanced, reproduced or completely fabricated with a fe...

There are some stories that begin with a grand declaration: This is what I was born to do. Others begin much more quietly. Sometimes they begin with a piece of paper pulled from a schoolbook, a pen held between restless fingers, and emotions that are simply too heavy to put into words. For Zimbabwean sketch artist Wisdom Muchuwa, the story of his art began somewhere in between sadness and silence. Before people would admire his sketches, before art would become a language through which he could move people, there was simply a young boy in Form 2 trying to make sense of what was happening inside him. Today, Wisdom describes himself as an open-minded sketch artist who is constantly experimenting and exploring other creative forms, including poetry and fashion. For him, these aren't separate worlds; they are different ways of widening his understanding, sharpening his skills and, ultimately, feeding the artist within him. His sketches are shaped by emotions, poetry, fashion and the pe...

There is something wonderfully addictive about travelling. The feeling of waking up somewhere unfamiliar, wandering down a street you have never seen before, discovering a tiny café tucked between two buildings, finding a view that makes you stop in your tracks and thinking, “How have I never heard of this place?” Unfortunately, there is another side to loving travel: the bank account. Lately, my travel budget and I have not exactly been on speaking terms. I am someone who loves exploring. Give me a free afternoon, a comfortable pair of shoes and enough money for train fare and I will probably find somewhere to go. But living in Japan has taught me that you do not always need to board a plane, book an expensive hotel or travel halfway across the country to experience something new. Sometimes, the adventure is sitting quietly on the other side of a train ride. And because my budget has been looking at me like, “Girl, we need to have a serious conversation,” I have been on a mission to f...