Black of steel: a collection to look out for

By Winston Muleba II 

Responding to challenges and circumstances that hampers women’s progress in Life, Mwandwe Mwelwa, a stylish young woman brings a new collection dubbed “black of steel” so as to help female folks to start true to who they want to be. 

She says black of steel is about a girl staying true to who she is.

“It's basically the things we go through to find ourselves and the struggle of it all. In short this reminds us to bend but not to break or confirm. And to come up with the name I decided to adopt ‘black’ because black women are the strongest women I know. Then ‘steel’ describes our strong will,” Mwandwe explains. 

Mwandwe recalls that “black of steel” collection started clicking in her mind when she started thinking of telling a story of how strong single mothers are. Eventually, the idea switched to the work of a committed market trader. 

She adds that some women become market traders by circumstance especially for the seek of sustaining their families. 

“Both ideas were later summed up into one thing, telling a story of a woman's true character. The way it is formed, who or what influences it, how no matter much she bends she does not break and when she stays true to what she believes in everything works out right,” says Mwandwe. 

Mwandwe says the collection it's self has 9 outfits, each representing different stages a woman goes though. 

“Black and White are the main colors (black symbolizing society and white being her purity). The focus of her character changes as the stages progresses to show how well she gets to know herself and get comfortable with being true to herself. A couple of safety pins are used on most of the outfits to symbolize her support system that are always there in her trying times. If you remember the one sleeved shirt well for me that was more of a stage of going through a heart break that's y if u noticed the edges were done and the cotton was lose it was to show how broken she was and how the pins was a way of holding the shirt together and the pants overwhelming the top was to show how little control she has over that. And when I speak of society in this collection, I mean how it teaches us things but wants us to stay certainly in both and follow certain rules like girls be more successful than boys or at 23 you need to be in a serious relationship and know you’re not allowed to wear that or talk that way, ’she explains adding that... 

Stage 1: This is the beginning of everything basically the innocence of it all. The outfit is all white with a black choker and safety pins on it. 

Stage 2: Here we have a mini black and white jumpsuit with an open cape like back symbolizing how free spirited she is at stage. The black from the choker (society) has influenced her character without her even knowing. 

Stage 3: A two printed shift dress is the third outfit. A second print in introduced to show the pressure of trying to fit in. Trying to be who you’re out to please other people or to try to fit in. 

Stage 4: This stage has three elements going on and an opening on the side showing the emptiness she feels. The first being the other side of her character (blue and yellow print taking over), second thing is her losing herself and third being society's rules speaking more loudly than before. 

Stage 5: Pants are introduced here to show the power, the other influenced side of her. It has over the open backed and front pined shirt of her old self that was broken yes trying to find it's self again. 

Stage 6: A long different print of black and white comes in as she takes charge and controls her life. Small opening on the back and that has taken a different shape to show she's her on person. 

Stage 7: Work suit. I have always liked work suits just how engineers wear them, how messy the get it's just so intriguing. This stages speaks about that the work she puts in to better herself to shape herself how messy it gets and all that and through all this her character changes and takes a different more easy to define pattern of black of white.

Stage 8: A beautifully shaped jumpsuit is introduced to show how she has shaped the things around her to suit her and who she wants to be and she's enjoying it. 

Stage 9: Is the final stage. Here there's a flowy long white and black dress showing peace and full at least and a little black piece to show she has shaped society to suit and work for her and not against her.

All in all using different women to tell their stories and share it with other people might help someone to start true to who they want to be, there dream or career no matter how hard or out of their reach it may seem to be everything is possible.