Today we’d like to introduce you to Zaawadi Kalema.
Zaawadi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Kenya, but I am of Ugandan and Ethiopian origin. I moved to America with my nuclear family at the age of 12. All through my schooling in America, I also had a fashion taste but I expressed it till my senior year of high school. When goin into University, I became involved in a Fashion Club on campus began to do fashion shows throughout the state, and began to take trips to NY to grow and network to find more opportunities.
Over the past four years, I have used social media as a means to connect with various creatives who are outside of my community. I began to use my Instagram platform as my portfolio, and from that I was able to be chosen for my first Magazine publication shoot. Which was Solis Magazine Black Vol II. Soon after, I began having a growing interest in being behind the camera and slowly began to make that transition. Over time, I have directed various projects, I have been blessed that some of my work was featured in Vogue Italia, and also Beyonce’s website, even had the pleasure of modeling in a project that has been featured in Paper Magazine… From that point forward, I have transitioned into more a creative producer role and Visual Artist. My goal being to produce projects that evoke emotion, and convey a message to the audience, and have their own life.
Has it been a smooth road?
I did overcome various setbacks during my journey. Being an African immigrant, getting your parents blessing to be a creative as a career is not easy. The fashion industry was foreign to them, and they did not view it as a typical stable career. They believed that it was a distraction to me while I was in school. However, over time I was able to win them over. Other setbacks I faced is that most of my journey was alone, I did not have much help or someone to guide me in the beginning so I had to figure out the steps to take by doing research and trial and error. Overtime via networking, I was able to meet creatives in the industry, that have been able to give me guidance in my journey.
A challenge I have had is being a full-time student during my creative journey. So over the past four years, as I have given myself fully to building my creative career, I have been in school studying accounting. So balancing time between classes, the rigorous workload of a full-time student has been a challenge. There were times I had to forfeit class in order to make castings, and shows but these sacrifices were necessary in order to make some opportunities happen. I did not want to give up on my other dream which was to attain a degree. As a result of this determination, I have received my Bachelors of Science in Accounting and graduated in May 2020.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
The work I do is creative production and Visual Artist. My goal being to produce projects that evoke emotion, and convey a message to the audience, and have their own life. I am known for creating visual art and imagery through visuals and video highlighted by Abstract & Editorial Fashion.
What I am most proud of and what sets me apart is the ability to create visual stories using fashion as a vehicle of conveying the stories to the audience.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see the industry becoming more digitalized and computerized in the next 5-10 years. There will be more of an integration between technology and fashion.
In terms of trends, there will be more of an influence of African designs in the industry. There will be more cultural wear and designs incorporated in fashion brands.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zaawadikalema.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaawadi/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/zaawadi_/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/zaawadidirected/
Image Credit:
Photographer: @kylerjvmes
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