Five local innovative fashion designers came together on Friday, October 13, at the Institut Français du Rwanda to redefine the fashion landscape as they hosted their first ever event dubbed ‘Novelty Experience Fashion Show’, a collective show aimed to boost upcoming young designers.

At the event, four designers: Derick Mugisha Bush, Koni Gikundiro Joyeuse, Israel Alvin Mugisha and Gaetan Shema Kayiranga, gave attendees from all walks of life, a taste of haute couture, thrift recycling, ready-to-wear, street style and custom-made fashion.

As usual, models made turns in displaying stylish patterns, and fabrics that narrate both traditional and modern trends through clothing designed by local artisans and fashion designers.

22-year-old, Derrick Mugisha, on behalf of the team, said they hosted the show because they felt it was an appropriate time to do so. "We wanted to be in the best position both physically and mentally to ensure we have a successful event as well as a good beginning of working together.”

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Fashionista Mugisha, who was also the first to showcase his collection, presented a collection called ‘Kiganza’. His concept revolved around an ‘Imaginary Kingdom’ which he described as inspiring.

The 22-year-old shared that his idea was to portray a kingdom without a king, where pain and challenges served as the source of inspiration and potential success despite the absence of a ruler.

To illustrate his style, he used a mixture of colors and mixture of traditional and modern garments in his designs. His unique approach set the stage and attendees ready for the other designers to follow his innovative lead.

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Next was 24-year-old Koni Gikundiro Joyeuse with her collection called ‘Bloom’. "This collection is a series of works, with ‘Lemon’ being the first. This one aimed to depict how in life we often rush to hold onto our pain as humans.”

"The next collection was ‘Healing’, which was all about inspiring people to emerge from their difficult experiences and stop embracing the pain, pretending to be ok yet they are not.”

"Now, with ‘Bloom’, it’s like how flowers flourish during the rainy season, ready to shine and reveal their beauty, inner selves and heal after being hurt,” explains Gikundiro.

On the list also was Gaetan Shema, an emerging artist and fashion designer whose collection took inspiration from normal life and everyone’s choices of living.

"I am inspired by the life and process of life, how we live different lifestyles. Everyone has got a lifestyle to live which is different from the other and it is definitely wrong to believe that one way of living is superior to another.”

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Their view of the local creative industry

"The creative industry is really promising,” said Mugisha, arguing that Rwandans are slowly understanding what a fashion show is and this can be proved in numbers of attendees.

He added: "People are here because they eagerly want to know what locals are producing. It’s also obvious that people can now wear local designs and feel confident, which was a different story back in the days,” he said.

Equally, Gikundiro shared similar thoughts that the industry is growing and apparently can compete on international stages however, they are not there yet.

"We should join forces to be able to work together rather than working in isolation. Working alone might lead to quicker individual progress however, collaborating can achieve much greater goals.”