Mbunda; The stride of an African Beauty

By Lweendo Kalonga

A tale as old as any other is that of the beauty that exists in our motherland, Africa. Beauty is said to come in all shapes and sizes, this being one’s facial appearance and physical structure. Though this goes beyond how other people see your physical appearance. An old saying goes, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” meaning one’s measure of their beauty lies in how they think of themselves.

Models take the stage to grace us with not just their beauty but also talent. It takes a lot

of dedication and talent to be at the centre of fashion. One can regard them as the centrepieces of all things fashion and commercial. Modelling is also regarded as a form of art in that models show what they and the industry want you to see as the world that we live in is more visual than before.

One person whose beauty is matched by the talent that she has is Celine Robine Mbunda- a

prominent star in the world of modelling. Born on the 31st of January, her interest in modelling began in 2018 after completing High School. She expresses that she had to do

her research on modelling before she got fully committed to the craft. She says, “though not fully acknowledged because it [modelling] is complex, I had to learn the rest along the way and I’m still learning.” She continues, “I love what I do and I’m a hundred percent certain that it is my calling and that is why I do it so effortlessly.” When talking about what working as a model is like, she exclaims that she enjoys it, pointing out that nothing feels forced when your job is something you love.

Celine’s modelling journey, with hard work and dedication led to her first step on the centre stage in a runway show in the middle of 2022. She expressed she was nervous, almost got cold feet, scared to the core, had stage fright and felt all kinds of emotions. "In the end, I did it!” She said displaying how much of a fond memory this was to her as the love from the

audience was overwhelming and she loved every moment of it.

Celine has always stood out for not only her height and build, but her bright, cheerful and upbeat personality. She expresses this when asked about what makes her stand out in the modelling industry. She further exclaimed, “It is something I recently developed an interest for... It was about understanding what it is, accepting what baggage comes with it, what is involved and what not, alongside passion!"

Throughout her journey, Celine has been featured in quite several projects. She says that among her favourite is the FiftyFour Magazine shoot in Livingstone, start to look out for its launch this January. She expressed that the shoot allowed her to work with some incredibly talented photographers and filmmakers as well whose works have been featured in the famous empire that is Vogue magazine. Celine recalls her work on a collaborative Fashion photography project she recently did with some incredible creatives, namely, Vincent.lus, Londo Africa King maker and Reagan Mkandawire. “I enjoyed every part of the project because everyone was fully engaged. The main goals were to focus on portraying a brand image, capturing people’s personalities through what they wear and incorporating minimal classical elements.” She continued, “everything was achieved because the creatives' chemistry was beyond amazing thanks to teamwork!”

Celine has had quite a journey as a model. She expressed that everything does not just come as a cakewalk. She also expresses that a lot of hard work goes into choosing to enter this line of work. She says that despite all of the deeply rooted misconceptions, what matters is that as a model, you are the only one who knows you as a person and your intentions towards everything. Having come so far in shaping herself into the person she is right now, she expressed some of the things that would help anyone trying to start their modelling career include; patience, persistence, tolerance, to have thick skin, the ability to organize time and workload, and, ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

When talking about her plans for the future, she expressed interest in featuring on Vogue

Magazine, walking world-renowned shows such as Milan Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, & London Fashion Week. She said she would also want to work with the world’s biggest brands Like Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Balmain, Fenty Beauty, CÈLINE, NIKE, ADIDAS, Christian Louboutin, Carolina Herrera, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Givenchy, and many more.

Celine told us that outside of work, she enjoys the little pleasures that come with life. Many of

these are participating in community service, graphic designing, reading, cleaning, working out, curating looks for future photoshoots, editing new content, taking naps, researching, listening to music, watching basketball games and cooking.

We to see more incredible work from Celine as she makes her way to the top. We will continue to support her work regardless of any adversity that could arise.

Image Production credits.

Photographer: Vincent Myatola

Styled by: Londo King Maker

Assistant Stylist: Daily Crafted (Reagan Mkandawire)

Muse: Celine Robine Mbunda