‘Designing is my true calling - Patrick Muhire

As a fashion designer, Patrick Muhire’s creations stand out as unique, surprising many that a local designer can come up with such.Born to a nurse and an artiste father 33 years ago, Muhire grew up with a passion for fashion but it was not until 2008 that he unleashed his skills. In 2008, while pursuing a Degree in Business Management at National University of Rwanda, Muhire designed attires for Miss NUR, (National University of Rwanda) that won the runner up spot in outfits and represented Rwanda the following year at Miss East Africa.“It had never hit my mind that fashion would be my destiny. After my sister’s wedding I was determined to turn my passion into a business. She was my first customer and many more followed her thereafter,” says Muhire.“I came up with very creative costumes. After some time, I started receiving offers from clients all over the country and as they say, the rest is history,” he adds.After that it did not take him long to evolve into the designer he was destined to be.According to him, no colour is better than the other, they are equally good depending on how you blend and apply them. “There is no favourite colour to me; all colours are good as long as one knows how to match them. If you mix multicolours, it does not look good. One needs to know colours or else you will end up with an outfit you are not proud of.”You would think that designers prefer clients who have already made up their minds on what they want before they walk in to meet the designer, but according to Muhire that is not the case. “My perfect client is one who comes to me empty headed then lets me design him or her from head to toe with what they are not expecting. I do not like those clients who show me they know it all. I like a client who goes from the beginning to the end, who is motivated and wants to learn new things, unlike the one who wants me to copy styles they have seen elsewhere.”He says that as a designer, he encounters so many challenges ranging from taxes to plagiarism to his clients perceptions as the industry is fairly new in the country. “We live in a country where people still stick to culture, and making them understand that fashion design is part of culture is not an easy task. But I am sure we will make it someday.”He says taxes are higher compared to neighbouring countries when it comes to materials. Societies’ perception of fashion as well needs to change a little for the fashion industry to do better. “If more people were open minded and loved fashion a little more, the industry would be far ahead. Not many people understand what we do, they think that it is a waste of time and others label male designers as gay.”Plagiarism also bothers Muhire a lot as others reap where they did not sow. “You can imagine spending days and nights thinking of a design and once you exhibit it, the following day, it is all over the place.”Though he admires the works of other designers like Louis Vuitton he says he has never been tempted to imitate someone else’s work. For ladies seeking the artist’s opinion when it comes to make up, Muhire argues that it is okay as long as one doesn’t go overboard. “Of course make-up, jewelry, hand bags and shoes can make a difference to an outfit. At least every woman should not miss one of these things to boost her beauty as long as she doesn’t over do it.”

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‘Designing is my true calling - Patrick Muhire