The Sunday News
AN America based Zimbabwean recently emerged as the creative brains behind American female rapper Nikki Minaj’s sensational but yet seductive clothing collection.
According to Forbes magazine, the London born, United States based Farai Simoyi, is the senior designer for Nikki Minaj’s collection.
In an interview with the magazine, she recalled being hired as a senior Denim designer for House of Dereon, a clothing line owned by Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles.
“Look at how far I have come and how much I have accomplished, I am a Zimbabwean designer on the design team for Beyoncé’s clothing line and my parents were raised in huts in Zimbabwe, Africa,” she recalled.
Simoyi, who has since been described as a fashion prodigy, much like her boss Nicki Minaj, the only woman on the Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings list (since 2011) who once told a Forbes contributor, “I am not going to fall back from something because it’s never been done before by a woman,” took the same tone and tenacity.
In the interview she said building her own label from scratch has been a major challenge but building a brand in one of the most unstable industries was even tougher.
She noted that the opportunity to work for the brand was through a relationship that turned into a close friendship.
“I am a firm believer in industry relationships, networking, and staying connected with former bosses and colleagues via LinkedIn or through e-mail. There is a misconception that working in fashion is glamorous on one end and menial on the other end.
“It is a beautiful combination of a lot of hard work and big rewards. As senior designer for the Nicki Minaj collection, I have a responsibility each season to ensure that the entire line that we design and produce reflects the true aesthetic of the brand as envisioned by Nicki Minaj. This not only includes apparel, but also outerwear, swim, jewelry, bags, sunglasses, and hats,” she said.
