Bless By Bless (IIIB) is a hybrid of fashion and philanthropy. It is a labor of love and vision of Zimbabwean Fashion Designer and Creative Director, Bless Mazarura. Through a continued dedication to his African heritage and human wellness, his dream is to empower Common Humanity through innovative, contemporary ready-to-wear garments. Bless By Bless goes beyond fashion. It’s a movement for social change. It’s a community where the humanitarian in us all unites for one cause, Love.
IIIB does not adhere to industry standards of seasonal collections but rather focuses on creating ready to wear collectibles in limited editions. Inspired by African nature, silhouettes, textures and spiritual heritage the designer strives to utilize his heritage to tell a story of unanimity in a world divided by separatism. Through messages and resources woven into every aspect of the brand Bless By Bless takes a unique holistic approach to fashion and lifestyle.
The brand is devoted to mindful living that goes beyond creating and selling luxury fashion goods. Our mission is in an experience with resilient attentiveness to excellent, personalized client services, and ethical business practices. At all possible steps, we embrace fair trade, natural or organic fabrics and recyclable packaging that is environmentally kind. We hold immense respect for all living things, Mother Earth plus the artisans and craftsmen who are involved in our entire supply chain.
Welcome to The IIIB Bless By Bless Tribe – The Army of Luv Non-Profit.
Founder’s/Owner’s story and what motivated them to start the business
In 1980 after a harsh divorce my mother packed her clothes, her two sewing machines and returned to her parents village in the outskirts of rural Zimbabwe on a cow drawn trailer. Uneducated and unemployed she had to start a new life without her children and any other possessions. I was allowed to visit my mother two times a year and it is then that I would see her sewing and utilize her creativity to survive. Many years later I would find myself deciding I no longer wanted to pursue a career in graphic design but rather in fashion, it is then I founded Bless By Bless.
The challenges the business/market is facing
The first challenge in fashion is one of the most competitive industries to take on. Among the top challenges the business is facing is funding, to build a company alone without a day to day partner is next to impossible. To be the designer, business administrator, shipper, and more requires so much for one individual that many things are left either unattended or undone. To build a luxury brand takes a lot of moving pieces, there is a lot of detail in things such as packaging, brand message, wording, quality, storytelling and much more. Making money and gaining success with a fashion company is easier than finding success with a fashion brand that is intended to have longevity and an emotional connection. A brand must create a dna, expectations for its clients, so as one navigates the challenges there is little
freedom to make changes to adapt as these may lose the dna and cause the brand’s identity to be lost and therefore confuse or lose positioning. The last challenge is being African and trying to enter a space where Africa is not known as being associated with Luxury in fashion, being black in fashion and then adding the African poses challenges in an industry that is just starting to find it’s diversity and equal opportunities. There is some much heritage and original ideas that influence major brands today that are of African origins but ironically the recognition is yet to be widely acknowledged.
The opportunities the business/market is facing
After a showcase in Los Angeles fashion week in 2020 the brand has garnered attention from many fashion enthusiasts and businesses who are interested in being stockists or collaborations. We are currently creating capsules for hotels, celebrities and are also collaborating with international musicians in our mission to build a healing sound library consisting of therapeutic music for inspiration, meditation and balance. As the brand goes we are seeking to create custom capsules and merch for creatives and businesses of all types who share the same mission of unification through love and spirituality.
IIIB currently has its first pop up experience in CambridgeSide Mall in Cambridge Massachusetts at location 100 CambridgeSide place.. The brand has been fortunate enough to be a part of CambridgeSide Partners initiative to give opportunities to minority owned businesses. The reimagined CambridgeSide Mall is a place to shop, dine, work, indulge and relax in Cambridge, MA, just steps from downtown Boston. CambridgeSide features one great waterfront location with shops, restaurants and planned future office, lab, residential and additional retail, restaurants and green spaces. CambridgeSide’s mix of retailers includes Apple, Victoria’s Secret, Superdry, Sephora, T.J. Maxx and more.
Advice to others about business
Growing from an independent artist to creating a business and brand is a challenging task. My three words are love, resolve and resolution. The most important thing in business is to love and be passionate about what you are trying to create, because it is the passion and love for the process of what you are creating that will hold one together when the landscape presents the many challenges and surprises. Things will not always go as planned, they rarely do in business, therefore one will need motivation besides money to keep moving forward, this motivation is the connection to the business itself and what it means to you personally.
No matter what business one is offering it must provide a solution, society is filled with problems and challenges which all need resolutions. Does your business provide any solutions and how apparent is it for a stranger to identify what solutions you are offering and are they worth them seperating with their hard earned money. Every human has a goal of simplifying their life and belonging, as a business you must provide services or products that simplify or simply unify through a sense of connection. We all want to be a part of something and we all want to solve our problems.
Lastly, one must be adaptive to succeed. Things change daily in business, politics, weather and even ourselves, so in the same a business must be flexible to adapt to all changes. Like water one must be easily able to adapt and change states to match the environment but easily return back to your original plan as you must still follow your initial plan and road map. It is also in the constant change that we will find opportunity as change increases challenges for everyone therefore increasing the demand for solutions for businesses.
Links
Website www.blessbybless.com
Instagram @blessbybless
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thearmyofluv/
Designer Bless instagram @blessbybless
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