The women shaping Rwanda’s fashion industry

THE Rwanda fashion industry has over the years evolved into a lucrative and vibrant business sector. Women have been largely behind this mushrooming industry. They have placed Rwanda on the global fashion scene thanks to designs that have been displayed at events like Rwanda Day in London and Toronto, Great Lakes Fashion Show and Kigali Fashion Week, among others. Dean Karemera brings you some of the women behind the successful fashion industry. Christine Mbabazi: Founder of Christine Creative and Fashion House Born in 1990 in Uganda, Christine is a student at Mt. Kenya University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. She is also a presenter of the Overdrive show on Radio 10. The talented youngster had interest in athletics, modeling, music and drama but her deepest passion was in fashion design from a young age. Her earliest top moment was when she was crowned Miss Designer at Gahini Secondary School in 2010. Her inspiration is model Naomi Campbell because she managed to cut a niche for herself in an industry that was dominated by white women. Her dream faced many challenges such as lack of financial support but her passion overtook her fears and she took the risk. She successfully launched her fashion house in March 2014. The fashion house deals in exquisite African fabrics using traditional designs, jewelry and other accessories. She has since built a reputation of making unique styles and prompt delivery. Naleli Rugege: Founder of House of Marion Naleli Rugege was born in December 1986 in Lesotho, but grew up in South Africa before moving back to Rwanda in November 2009. She is a confident, young and a visionary fashion designer who has steadily grown as she masters the skill. Rugege is the brain behind the African dresses which were worn by Miss Rwanda beauty contestants early this year. She specialises in African illustrations and design, a skill she adopted as a young child. Naleli is determined to stay true to her roots and her inspiration by approaching design with an eccentric mix of traditional fabrics with African prints. She encourages all to “map your voyage and be on the frontier of your own dreams”. Inés Cuatrecasas, Co-Founder, MILLE Collines fashion house Mille Collines should not be confused with Hotel Mille Collines that acquired fame in the Hotel Rwanda movie — it is a Rwandan fashion house that is looking to expand in East Africa. The fashion house, which opened its first shop in the outskirts of Kigali in Rwanda, has spread its wings to reach as far as Kenya. Founded by Ms Inés Cuatrecasas and Mr Oliver Marc, who are Spanish, their drive to take the Millie Collines brand to the rest of the East African market arises from a growing appreciation of fashion made in Africa. Mille Collines is a fashion house that gives its customers a whole shopping experience. Established in Kigali in 2007, the fashion house now employs 28 staff. It also works with co-operatives outside the city. The co-operatives make accessories like buttons and do embroidery. Joselyne Umutoniwase: Founder of Rwanda Clothing Home She is one of the leading designers in the local budding fashion industry and the brainchild behind ‘Rwandan Fashion Up-grade 2013’. She started working as a professional fashion designer in 2010 and founded Rwanda Clothing Home in February 2012. Under her label, she managed to create various sub-brands such as Real World Fashion, Made in Rwanda Clothing and Ju by Joselyne Umutoniwase Real World Fashion label combines young classic styles with chic sportswear, creating looks that are both casual and stylish. Made In Rwanda Clothing is cosmopolitan, expresses one’s style with confidence and emphasises personality. Colombe Ituze Ndutiye: Proprietor, INCO/ICYUSA Fashion House With a successful fashion label to boast about, Rwandan designer Colombe Ituze Ndutiye began drawing at the age of six and she thought she would grow up to be a cartoonist until she met a Belgium designer who gave her some guidance and she promptly realised what she wanted to do. Colombe is credited as the first Rwandan to own her own fashion label, “INCO icyusa”, and was one of 10 local designers who showed off their creations on the runway at the second Kigali Fashion Week in November 2013. With exquisite traditional attires, the fashion label runs on a slogan of “Traditional with a modern touch”. INCO (derived from the first initials of her name) fashion house has creations that range from apparel to accessories, and are available through retail stores, as well as custom orders. Her mission is to promote and expand the fashion industry in Rwanda; to raise awareness of the talents and gifts within Africa that haven’t been fully discovered; particularly in Rwanda. She strives to create jobs and opportunities for women, working with local cooperatives and artisans. In 2009, Colombe was recognised as the youngest designer at the 1st Rwanda Fashion Festival that attracts the fashion elite from different African countries and Europe. In her words she says, “I believe Africa has something unique to offer. We want to share what we have to the rest of the world” Cynthia Rupari: CEO and co-founder of Rupari Agency Cynthia Rupari is a fashion designer and model. She is a graduate of International Economics from the National University of Rwanda. She started as a model in 2006 with ‘‘MODE AFRIQUE’’ fashion show. In 2008, she represented Rwanda in the “East Africa Model Search’’ in Dar-es-Salaam. She was 1st Run up of Miss Great Lakes and a contestant of Miss Rwanda 2009. Cynthia is a banker by profession. With a passion for designing since her childhood and a dream of being a successful business woman, she made and presented her first collection in October 2012 which was presented at the’’ YEHE’’ fashion show held in Abidjan/ Ivory Coast and at Kigali Fashion Week’s 1st Edition. Cynthia was recently among the East African fashion designers that participated in the Kampala Fashion Intro held at Serena Hotel in Uganda last weekend. Aline Gahongayire: Founder, Alga fashion house Popularly known for her singing skills, Aline Gahongayire is also the founder of Alga Fashion Inc, a local fashion company that came with a new way of fashion that would showcase the beauty and dignity of plus size women and men. She is the brain behind the first ever Plus size fashion show that took place in 2011. The initiative is geared towards developing the socio-cultural modeling of Plus size models. It aimed at changing the perspective of the urban culture and belief towards the Plus size models into a more respectful, diverse, recognisable and profitable business Aline says she came up with the idea after seeing many women who no longer liked themselves because of their size. Gahongayire felt a desire to give back dignity and self-worth to those women, and Alga Fashion was born. She has managed to clothe women comfortably while helping them understand that life is more than just your size. At the same time, she also wants to counter the image promoted by the fashion industry which presents skinny models as the true beauty. That is how she came up with the idea of Alga Plus Size Fashion Show. The show has been developed to a double event including a competition on Big size modeling called, MISS MAMA KILO & MR PAPA KILO. Scorpio Ramazani Khoury: Made in Kigali Fashion house Khoury is the brain behind, Made in Kigali (MIK), the newest fashion house which was launched last week. She says she wants to boost the industry with unique designs. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and raised in London, Khoury began her fashion journey at the age of 13. Last year, she made the decision to start a fashion enterprise in Rwanda, attributing her decision to the country’s favourable environment. With over 100 staff, the 26-year-old designer has a dream to transform Rwanda’s fashion industry into one of the best in the region. All sorts of classic products including shirts, dresses, sportswear, skirts, industrial uniforms, trousers, bags, wedding dresses and belts can be found at her Kigali based fashion house. With time, she plans to expand to regional and international markets especially in Asia, Europe and USA. “I am confident that with this brand, we shall be able to rule over the fashion industry given the steps we are taking to penetrate the market,” she says. Meeting international standards as a quality producer and being able to satisfy market demand is among the key issues that Made in Kigali looks forward to addressing. Made in Kigali is working to have at least 3000-5000 tailors trained to increase the number of employees. Khoury is optimistic that this will be achieved in the shortest time possible given the need to increase the production of her products. Her advice to those in the industry is “Even with local fabric, innovation is a necessity.”

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The women shaping Rwanda’s fashion industry