Rwandan designers are getting a new route into the UK fashion market as Tales House, a London-based retailer focused on African fashion and lifestyle, begins working with brands from Rwanda following a showcase in London. Creatives from fashion, textiles and visual arts gathered in Kigali on Tuesday, August 25, to meet the Tales House team and discuss opportunities to take locally made products to international consumers. The meeting followed a July showcase on London’s Regent Street, where Rwandan fashion entrepreneurs presented their work as part of an exchange programme designed to open markets, attract investment and strengthen ties between Rwanda’s creative sector and the British fashion industry. ALSO READ: 10 key facts about Kent State University fashion programme in Rwanda Tales House is emerging as one of the first commercial outcomes of that exchange. Its team returned to Kigali to meet designers already in discussions with the company and assess additional brands for its London retail space. The programme is led by the University of Westminster in partnership with the British High Commission in Rwanda, the Rwanda High Commission in the UK, the British Council and Inzira Creative Partners. ALSO READ: Tanga on designing international beauty pageants wear From an online community to a London store Bukky Asehinde, co-founder of Tales House London, said the business grew from a 10-year-old initiative in Nigeria called Bell Africana, which began as an online community for creative entrepreneurs in fashion, beauty and lifestyle. The goal, she said, was to help creatives understand the business side of their work, build professional networks and eventually reach international markets. After moving to the UK, Asehinde and her husband, Tobi Asehinde, tested that idea through a 2023 pop-up featuring about 15 entrepreneurs from Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe. ALSO READ: Is Fra’s fusion of art, sustainability the dawn of new era in streetwear fashion? The experiment convinced them there was demand for African brands in London. In 2024, the concept expanded into the African Lifestyle Experience, or TALES, covering fashion, accessories and jewelry. The business then moved toward a permanent retail model rather than relying on short-term pop-ups. TALES House opened June 6 near Oxford Street in a premium retail space designed to give African brands a more permanent presence in London. Asehinde said the store has already worked with more than 200 designers, with more than 100 hosted during one 30-day period. The approach is built around what the company calls experiential retail, meaning customers encounter products through the physical space, the stories behind them and the designers themselves rather than simply buying from a catalogue. Why Rwanda? Asehinde said the Tales House team met about nine Rwandan designers in London before visiting Kigali and was impressed by the quality of the work. On the Kigali visit, the team met additional designers and assessed whether their products could meet international demand. Quality, uniqueness, authenticity and production capacity were among the criteria considered. Asehinde said the opportunity reflects a shift in how African fashion can reach global consumers. “You're talking about the future, but it's now,” he said. “What we lacked was infrastructure. What we lacked was collaboration.” He said having African designers represented year-round in London can help address challenges around logistics and access to customers. A permanent store also gives brands more time to build sales and recognition than a one- or two-day fashion event. Antonia Strachey, fashion lead at the British High Commission in Kigali, said the initiative began with the arrival of the UK’s current High Commissioner, who presented her credentials to President Paul Kagame in a bright orange Kitenge dress. The choice signaled an early interest in Made in Rwanda fashion and prompted discussions within the High Commission about how to connect Rwanda’s growing creative sector with the UK’s established fashion market. The idea gained momentum after the High Commission connected with the University of Westminster, whose business and fashion schools were interested in collaborating in Rwanda. That partnership led to a competition involving nine Rwandan designers to create an outfit for the High Commissioner for the UK’s King’s Birthday Party in November, 2025. Patrick Muhire of Inkanda House won with a black gown incorporating elements inspired by Rwandan baskets and imigongo patterns. Tales House was not part of the original plan For Strachey, one of the most interesting parts of the project was how quickly it developed beyond its original plans. Tales House did not exist when the programme began, and the High Commission had not anticipated that its introduction of Rwandan designers to the UK market would lead to the London retailer becoming interested enough to visit Kigali. She said the project was built around a simple premise: that bringing Rwanda’s emerging creative talent into contact with the UK’s fashion industry could produce opportunities that neither side could predict in advance. “We had a feeling that the creative energy in the UK combined with the creative energy we saw growing here could create something special,” Stratchey said.
