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In the Beginning...
Can you believe it?
We started as a humble garage screen printing business in the late '80s, with our first printing table being the family's table tennis table 🙄.
Our designs were born in the company of friends, over a few drinks in our makeshift "studio."
Like the feathers and the fur of our wild friends, Zimbabalooba clothing is designed for comfort and durability. Whichever Zimbab you choose it will become your trusted companion, a friend that will be with you in extreme moments of pleasure, and pain, and all of the journey in between.
Choose from the variety of prints and colours to find something that resonates with your spirit - ONE that makes your heart sing, or howl, or hoot, or whatever you do when you are happy and escaping into the adventure !
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The "Go with the Flow" Philosophy
"Go with the flow" was our philosophy, and it became the guiding spirit of our journey. As Zimbabwe opened up to the boom times of a newborn country, so did Zimbabalooba.
The table tennis table gave way to a thatched printing shed on a farm in Nyabira, and soon, we had a factory and shops. We started selling Zimbabalooba trousers, shirts, t-shirts, dresses, leggings, hats, caps, backpacks - anything our customers wanted, we made it.
The Rise of the Verts
The leaders of the pack were our baggy fun trousers that we named Verts (short for Verticals). From the beginning, we noticed that people who adopted them as their dress code were either "up there" or "out there."
Rock climbers, skydivers, bungee-jumpers, overlanders, windsurfers, hikers, and travelers. People who answered only to themselves.
Taking Zimbabalooba Worldwide
The Verts were bright, they were DIFFERENT, and they were out there! In Africa, we sold them in our shops in Victoria Falls, and they were worn up and down the "overlander route" from Kenya to Zimbabwe.
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It seemed as if it was time to leave the nest.
the Zimbabalooba bird spread its wings into the world.
Embracing Adventure
Outdoor sports led to festivals, and the now legendary Verts were showing up at Grateful Dead concerts in Amsterdam, rock climbing in Australia, skydiving in Emporia Brava, base jumping off Table Mountain, windsurfing on the Chiemsee, and hiking and boulder climbing from Cumbria to the Cederburg.
Zimbabalooba Today
Zimbabalooba, with its Afro-Funtastic designs and vibrant color mix, has always been on the edge, embracing the "joie de vivre" that goes hand in hand with living in the moment.
Thirty years later, we are still here, and so are some of the Verts we made in the beginning! Our quality is so good that you can find Zimbabalooba for sale in vintage shops, and they are passed down in some families, to the new generation 😊