MBU...People Who Have Profited from Sylvia Owori’s Generosity but have Moved on, Forgetting the now Struggling Fashionista that Kick Started their Careers Some of the people that have gained from their close association with Sylvia Owori We all know someone or two whose lives have been turned around because a rather kind individual helped them out. However, upon getting ‘there’ they forget the very people who helped get them to the top. Such is what happened to fashionista and socialite Sylvia Owori. In the over 29 years she has been influential in the fashion industry, Sylvia has made some people household names but sadly no one seems to be in her circle anymore. It is no secret that Sylvia’s once mushrooming empire has now zeroed down to a few boutiques. Eva Mbabazi It is debatable if Eva Mbabazi would be where she is today if it was not for Sylvia Owori. Many a critic of Owori gave Eva the platform that made her popular. Her fishnet dress at the Rock Gardens further fueled her fame and in just an instant, she had changed the face of fashion in Uganda. Sylvia opened the door for the then run way model and thankfully, she put it to good use and has never looked back. Today Eva is part of the Sporah TV show and lives in the UK. Andre Ringen Many of you might not have a clue who Andre Ringen is save for having seen him take pictures at exclusive fashion shows and that he is the father and live-in boyfriend to singer Grace Nakimera. Well years back when he was still a struggling back packer, he was given a lease of life; after the collapse of his Paparazzi business in 2003, he teamed up with Sylvia to form Zippa models. Together they moved on to start African Woman and after the collapse of this business, he went back to being a freelancer and little has been heard of him ever since. Santa Anzo Before Santa Anzo started her Ararapa Fashion House and became an acclaimed name in the fashion industry, she was a struggling model Pearl of Africa Modeling Agency. After the agency collapsed, she was taken on by Sylvia Owori and the two parted ways on good terms. Santa Anzo even later initiated the idea for the Uganda fashion Week. who when it hit rock bottom was employed by Sylvia at her Ziper Modeling Agency for several years and later branched off to consecrate on Arapapa. Priscilla Ray Like most models, Priscilla Ray’s career was struggling at first until she was spotted by Sylvia Owori. and boom… she had arrived! Every newspaper had her face on it and within no time, Ray was Kampala’s biggest thing. She was a party animal which gave her more exposure and as luck would have it Sylvia spirited her to UK where they had hoped that she would up her career. However she channeled her energy into Law school and recently graduated. Priscilla now lives in UK and the US but occasionally comes to Uganda. Victoria Nabunya She was one of the most controversial Miss Uganda we have ever seen but one undeniable factor was her undeniable beauty. After her reign, she had a short stint as a model in Kenya’s capital Nairobi and later resurfaced in the US where she currently lives. Victoria is now married with three children. Salma Nassanga After being crowned Miss Uganda, all hell broke loose about Salma’s nationality as people argued that she was Senegalese. However she retained the crown and made history as one of the very first beauty queens to grace a national billboard. Today she lives a rather quiet life and once in a while graces public events but is also known to be a very close personal friend of Jomayi consultants boss Joseph Yiga Magandazi. Patricia Namayirira Remember Patricia Namayira? She was Uganda’s representative in the 2001 Mnet face of Africa contest. Well she was also a product of Sylvia who tried her level best to expose her to the fashion industry. Though very little is currently known about her whereabouts, the last we heard was that she had relocated to South Africa and her career was budding. Barbara Asea The super model Aleck Wek look alike Barbara Asea seemed to have it going her way locally and most people here thought that she was destined for bigger things. However when she was taken to the UK and introduced to several agencies by Sylvia, they were in for a shock when they were told that she couldn’t be signed up since she resembled somebody who was already popular in the industry. Since then she has kept a very low profile and is never in our local press. Brenda Nanyonjo You may now know her as the holder of the Miss Uganda franchise. Brenda for years worked with Sylvia as the in house make-up artiste for the contestants of the Miss Uganda pageant at the time Sylvia still held the franchise. She later also employed her at her African Woman Magazine until it finally run into troubled water Brenda moved on to become the brain behind Miss Uganda. Cyrus the Vyrus Though many know him in his own right as a photographer, Cyrus the Vyrus has for a long time won himself lucrative deals from Sylvia and was until recently one of her most trusted private photographers. Cyrus was at one time also affiliated to the African Woman Magazine though these days he runs his trade as a freelance photographer Malik Kaliisa Famed Kick boxer Malik Kaliisa has Sylvia to thank for his continued stay in the media and kick boxing career. Sylvia has spent millions of shillings on the guy’s career and even at this time when the cash waters seem rough, she still foots his bills. Kaliisa is known to hang at Sylvia’s Garden City boutique and the two are always hand in hand. Dave Dash Radio City presenter and the face of Lollypop promotions LTD also started his journey in the industry under as Sylvia Owori’s protégé. After the collapse of the African Woman Magazine, Dave Dash moved on to radio and has recently also started MCing. He has been involved in a few media scuffles but Dave is still a work in progress and if he keeps it at this rate, the sky is the limit for him. The Investigator!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:49:03 +0000
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