SOLEIL.
SOLEIL FASHION HOUSE
(
Private sector
)
#SDGAction60512
Description
The objective of this initiative is to preserve and celebrate Zimbabwean and African heritage through sustainable, story-driven fashion, while creating ethical work opportunities for local artisans and inspiring youth to embrace their cultural identity as rooted dream chasers. Soleil is a Zimbabwean fashion house telling African stories through sustainable streetwear.
Our work reclaims identity in a modern African context while preserving the culture, memory, and history that raised us. Each piece is crafted locally in Harare using upcycled and locally sourced fabrics, brought to life through traditional techniques like weaving, patchwork, and hand embroidery. Patchwork fabrics are created from second-hand clothing, cutoffs from our own projects, and discarded textiles collected from local tailors and design houses, combining sustainability with creative innovation. Through intentional storytelling, ethical craftsmanship, and hands-on production led by the founder and designer, we inspire the next generation to embrace their heritage with pride while imagining futures beyond the limits placed on them. Part-time local artisans are engaged during production for mentorship and skill sharing, building local capacity while maintaining high-quality standards.
This project strengthens our mission to build a circular, community-driven fashion ecosystem in Zimbabwe. By designing and producing garments in-house using sustainable materials, reducing textile waste, and creating decent work opportunities for local artisans, we honor Zimbabwean and African identity while protecting the planet. Our garments become living archives, carrying culture forward, empowering youth, and shaping a sustainable, future-ready African fashion landscape.
Design & Concept: The founder and designer develops each collection, blending modern African style with traditional storytelling and cultural heritage.
Material Sourcing: Fabrics are sourced sustainably from local suppliers, second-hand clothing, cutoffs from Soleil’s own projects, and discarded fabric from local tailors and design houses.
Production: All sewing, weaving, patchwork, and hand embroidery are done in-house by the founder and designer. Part-time local artisans assist as needed, enabling skill-sharing and mentorship.
Waste Reduction & Sustainability: Leftover fabric is reused for patchwork or other creative applications, ensuring minimal waste throughout production.
Distribution & Engagement: Finished garments are sold locally and online, reaching youth and conscious consumers. The brand’s storytelling emphasizes cultural preservation, sustainability, and inspiring the rooted dream chaser to dream big while staying connected to their heritage.
Soleil builds capacity on multiple levels. Young people are mentored in styling and design, while part-time artisans learn in-house techniques such as cutting, sewing, patchwork, weaving, and hand embroidery directly from the founder. As the initiative grows, Soleil plans to hire full-time artisans to further develop these skills, maintain quality control, and facilitate knowledge exchange. In terms of technology, Soleil is collaborating with an industry partner to adopt digital design tools such as Blender, Unity, and Marvelous Designer, allowing the team to test and visualize garments before production. In parallel, the brand is developing a VR experience game to educate users on the benefits of sustainable fashion and the environmental and social costs of fast fashion. These initiatives ensure both practical skill transfer and technological innovation, equipping artisans and the wider community with tools to support sustainable, future-ready fashion practices.
All design, sewing, weaving, patchwork, and hand embroidery are done in-house by Soleil’s founder and designer, ensuring each piece reflects the brand’s vision, cultural storytelling, and commitment to sustainability. Part-time local artisans provide additional support when needed, allowing the brand to maintain high-quality craftsmanship while mentoring and building capacity within the community. This hands-on approach ensures ethical oversight, authenticity, and alignment with Soleil’s mission at every stage of production.
Soleil currently assesses its impact through recognition, platform participation, and community engagement rather than quantitative metrics. Our work has been showcased through initiatives such as I Wear My Culture by the British Council, the Paperbag Cultural Exchange through Fashion program exploring minority cultures in Zimbabwe, and the Creative DNA program supporting sustainable fashion businesses. Collections have consistently centred around cultural storytelling, addressing themes such as tribal heritage, toxic gender roles, mental health, and youth experiences in Zimbabwe. Consumer and community engagement has been strong both online and in-person, highlighted by Soleil representing Zimbabwe at Mozambique Fashion Week and being selected to showcase at Africa Fashion Night in May 2026.
Mentorship and skill-building are key components of evaluation: we have onboarded a young stylist-in-training starting January 2026, and as the initiative grows, we plan to expand artisan mentorship and create more job opportunities. Moving forward, Soleil will measure impact more systematically through the number of youths and artisans trained, the number of culturally-inspired garments produced, workshops delivered, and the volume of fabrics recycled and upcycled into new pieces. These evaluations will ensure that our initiative continues to empower youth, preserve cultural heritage, promote sustainable practices, and scale its social and environmental impact.
Deborah Fungai Catherine Mwezi
SDGS & Targets
Goal 4
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
4.1
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
4.1.1
Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
4.1.2
Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)
4.2
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
4.2.1
Proportion of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex
4.2.2
Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex
4.3
By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.3.1
Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
4.4
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.4.1
Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
4.5
4.5.1
Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated
4.6
By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
4.6.1
Youth/adult literacy rate
4.7
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
4.7.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment
4.a
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
4.a.1
Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service
4.b
4.b.1
Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships
4.c
By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States
4.c.1
Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education level
Goal 8
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
8.1
8.1.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita
8.2
Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
8.2.1
Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person
8.3
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
8.3.1
Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex
8.4
Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead
8.4.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
8.4.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
8.5
8.5.1
Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities
8.5.2
Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
8.6
8.6.1
Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training
8.7
Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
8.7.1
Proportion and number of children aged 5‑17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age
8.8
Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
8.8.1
Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers, by sex and migrant status
8.8.2
Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status
8.9
By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
8.9.1
Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate
8.10
Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
8.10.1
(a) Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults
8.10.2
Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider
8.a
8.a.1
Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements
8.b
By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization
8.b.1
Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy
Goal 12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
12.1
Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
12.1.1
Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production
12.2
By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.2.1
Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP
12.2.2
Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP
12.3
By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
12.3.1
(a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index
12.4
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.4.1
12.4.2
(a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment
12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.5.1
National recycling rate, tons of material recycled
12.6
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
12.6.1
12.7
Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.7.1
Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans
12.8
By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
12.8.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
12.a
Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
12.a.1
Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing and developed countries (in watts per capita)
12.b
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
12.b.1
Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability
12.c
Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
12.c.1
Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP
SDG 14 targets covered
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Deliverables & Timeline
Ethically Made, Culturally Rooted Garment Collection
Youth & Artisan Training Program (Mentorship Deliverable)
VR Educational Experience on Sustainable Fashion (Tech Deliverable)
Circular Fashion Impact Report (First Measurable Assessment)
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Africa
Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
Soleil’s initiative primarily benefits young people in Zimbabwe — the rooted dream chasers — by inspiring them to embrace their heritage, dream big, and gain hands-on experience in styling, design, and sustainable fashion practices. Part-time local artisans engaged in production receive mentorship and training in sewing, patchwork, weaving, and hand embroidery, building skills and creating opportunities for future employment. The wider community and conscious consumers benefit from access to culturally-rooted, ethically made fashion and educational experiences, including our upcoming VR project highlighting the importance of sustainable fashion. Through these efforts, Soleil also contributes to preserving Zimbabwean and African heritage and supporting the growth of the local creative ecosystem.
More information
Countries
Contact Information
Ropafadzo Mapira, Miss