Speaking to the BBC about her love of fashion, 32-year-old Farai Vije Mnwanaka Simoyi, who is now based in New York, says her interest was sparked at a really young age, but she never imagined it would land her where she is today.

“When I was young, I was always very creative and I used to make clothes for my dolls and for myself. But growing up in Zimbabwe, I never thought that I would make something like this into a career,” she said.

As a result, when she finished school, Simoyi studied psychology. But it was not long before she realised that her heart was not in this field, and that she longed for a career in fashion.

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She enrolled for a bachelor degree in Design and Merchandising at West Virginia University and graduated in 2005. She also did a summer fashion program at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, Italy.

Simoyi’s achieved a great deal since turning her focus to fashion and her accomplishments include clinching deals with music superstars Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj.

According to Forbes she worked with Beyoncé as a senior denim designer for House of Dereon, a label the artist co-owns with her mother Tina Knowles.

Simoyi is also working as the technical director for Minaj’s fashion collection, according to the BBC.

“Working with Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj has been such an eye opener and such an amazing experience. I always tell people that you can’t get to that level of stardom without being brilliant and without being a genius, and they are amazing talents. Working with both of them, I learned a lot of different things about myself and a lot of things about being a businesswoman and really making sure your voice is heard at the round table,” she told the BBC’s Farayi Mungazi.

Simoyi’s hard work and determination have definitely not gone unnoticed, and her work continues to get the recognition it deserves. She has proved that it is not where you come from that determines your future, but what you do with the opportunities you are given.

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