Cool Rwandan Fashion is Hot

Growing up, Rugamba was mostly interested in football, not fashion. Born in London in 1989, he lived in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Swaziland and the U.S.A., and was encouraged to be interested in the arts as he was growing up. This was a good thing because his ideal career path “evolved every couple of years,” he told OZY. Rugamba had a few brushes with fashion, including designing T-shirts, before launching his design company in 2011. “I’m typically a quiet person, so I have always expressed myself through what I wear,” he explained.

Rugamba’s “aha” moment came when he was studying international relations at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he was exposed to ill-informed views about Africa. “I realized that the way to change those stereotypes wasn’t necessarily through debates; we need the arts,” he says. He wondered how fashion could help shift perspectives by exposing people to a different culture and way of life — so he started playing with fabric.

Rugamba, who looks up to designers Ozwald Boateng and Ralph Lauren, returned to Rwanda after completing his undergraduate degree to grow his design business. “I wanted to give another perspective of Africa, one that I felt wasn’t being portrayed in the media at the time. I felt like fashion would be a great vessel for me to express what I see when I think of Africa — Rwanda in particular — and focus on images that showed a dignified continent, and also pinpoint all the things that I saw growing up,” Rugamba said.

He opened his shop, House of Tayo (“Tayo” is a shortened version of “Matayo,” which means “Matthew”) in the Kigali suburb of Gacuriro, in 2011. The brand specializes in menswear, with distinctively African print themed outfits, mostly suits and casual shirts and trousers in bold, unconventional colors. The fashion house is also popular for its “kitenge” (colorful pieces of fabric with a variety of patterns and designs), themed bow ties and infinity scarves.

Moses Twahirwa, 31, also didn’t grow up dreaming of being a fashion designer. He preferred the idea of being a journalist or TV presenter. However, his upbringing in Nyamasheke, a district of Rwanda, must have rubbed off. As a child, he watched his mother and aunts weave banana leaves, embroider tablecloths and make decorative wicker pieces for their homes.

In secondary school he cultivated an interest in design, starting with decorating spaces for school events. “My classmates were also mainly from the city where it is more vibrant — they introduced me to fashion and some of the designers out there,” Twahirwa told OZY. Seeing a connection to what he was already doing, he started learning about brands, modeling and photography, and eventually trained as a model.

Twahirwa began establishing a small portfolio and trained with designers in Rwanda, Nigeria and France. He wasn’t a skilled sewer, so he spent time watching tailors as they sketched designs and made garments, learning from them for a few months before going to Italy and earning a Master in Collection Design degree.

In 2015, Twahirwa launched his company Moshions (combining “Moses” + “fashion”), with designs inspired by the patterns and textures of his childhood, particularly “imigongo,” a traditional art form in Rwanda that uses spiral and geometric designs. “I wanted to epitomize those patterns even more by adding them to clothing and design,” Twahirwa says. “So I tried to use different manipulations too to see how I could interpret it better.”

Moshions’ designs have since been worn by Rwanda’s First Family, First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, retired football star Didier Drogba, and many others. But it’s been far from a smooth journey.

“We’ve faced many challenges, like changing the mindset of people who don’t understand what art or fashion is, especially when launching a collection, or regarding price,” Twahirwa says. “People tend to ignore the soul and heart behind the creation, and just see clothing.”

Rugamba says his initial hurdles were gaining respect for the business and industry as a whole. “Those were the hardest moments by far because we were putting so much work and effort into doing something and too many people were belittling it.” He recalls being dismissed by the banks who didn’t understand why a tailor wanted a POS machine. There were issues with funding, too — something Rugamba chalks up to a lack of understanding of the industry and doubts about growth potential.

When “Black Panther” premiered in 2018, it was a huge moment in film; the movie went on to gross $1.3 billion worldwide. It also provided a breakout moment for Rugamba: Peter Junior Nyong’o escorted his sister, Lupita, to the movie’s premiere clad in a three-piece suit — with black contrast lapels, wax print lining and embroidered elbow patches — made by House of Tayo.

It was a carefully orchestrated moment. People had been responding favorably to House of Tayo’s clothes but they just weren’t buying them, Rugamba recalled, so the company needed to find “ways to elevate our brand for people to see its value.” The answer: Dress a celeb for an event like a movie premiere. After reaching out to several people, they eventually got through to Nyong’o. “He was really excited about it. We had that suit done in two-and-a-half days,” Rugamba says. When Nyong’o appeared on the red carpet in a House of Tayo design, few knew that the outfit had been made and shipped all the way from Kigali.

When Lupita posted pictures, captioned with the story of what went into making the suit, House of Tayo suddenly found itself in an unfamiliar but exciting place. “We gained a lot of respect and that’s what we needed, because when you don’t have respect as a business or industry, it’s really tough,” Rugamba says.

These days in Kigali you’ll spot House of Tayo’s popular sports jersey almost everywhere: Known as “ijezi,” it’s black with imigongo patterns in the colors of Rwanda’s national flag, green and yellow. Its launch coincided with the company’s 10-year anniversary. “It was a very important milestone; it combined my love for football, Rwanda and fashion,” Rugamba says. It has also caught the eye of some prominent U.S. sports celebs, including Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and NBA stars Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), all of whom have been spotted wearing an ijezi.

Moshions’ spotlight moment came in 2017, when they launched their “Intsinzi'' collection at Camp Kigali, a former Rwandan military base in Kigali, with Collective RW, an organization founded in 2015 by a small group of local designers. The collection consisted of blue, gray and black matching shirts and trousers bearing local prints, and the “umwitero” robe (cloth worn over the shoulder and attached at the left side with a glass-beaded clasp). Twahirwa’s designs often pay tribute to traditional dress.

“I think this is the moment and collection that gave me more visibility. We had hand paintings on bomber jackets and caps. Some pieces had local patterns that Rwandans could relate to as they had probably seen them on decorative pieces but never on clothing,” Twahirwa says.

Twahirwa describes Moshions as a new era of slow, thoughtful fashion. This was evident in his recently unveiled Spring/Summer 2023 collection of printed patterns and coloring techniques like tie-dye and draping — similar to Rwanda’s own traditional attire, the “umushanana” — combined with Italian influences, like sartorial cuts. “I spent a lot of time in Florence and learnt a lot there, it sparked my creative instinct, and changed my line of thought through observing the original work of Italians and their use of fabric and color,” Twahirwa says.

Walking into Moshions’ generously lit space in Kiyovu, a Kigali suburb, various eye-catching pieces are on display — like oversized cardigans in bold colors with striking imigongo patterns, shirts with matching flared bottoms (as seen in Twahirwa’s own way of dressing), and loosely fitting summer dresses.

on The Carlos Watson Show!

Moshions and House of Tayo made further impact when their creations were included as one of Africa’s top fashion brands on Beyoncé Knowles’ website in August 2020. In an article published in Africa24, Twahirwa is quoted as saying the platform was a huge boost for his business and that he was looking to use the opportunity to reach more people around the globe.

Moniah Uwimbabazi — a Rwandan fashion enthusiast, fashion promoter and events organizer — has watched the careers of the two Rwandan fashion designers from the beginning. Turahirwa’s “journey has been incredible and has inspired many,” Uwimbabazi tells OZY.

She commends Turahirwa and Rugamba for their “never give up” attitude. “They represent Rwanda to the world. With their unique creations inspired by Rwandan culture, the two are raising the Rwandan flag high and their brands need no introduction on the international market any longer,” she adds.

Rugamba believes global fashion is undergoing a revolution, but that the direction is not clear. “It is really important for our industry to innovate,” and one way to do this is by creating custom prints, he says. He sees collaboration in House of Tayo’s future, something that is more possible with an established brand identity. That could be “another clothing brand, maybe shoes, sports or even a coffee company.”

And where does Twahirwa see Moshions in the future? “Everywhere,” he says. Today, Moshions receives orders from many corners of the world, mostly North America, Asia and Europe. “We have many designers coming up who are aggressive with their creativity and want to put something out. It is important that we do not go too fast. In fashion, you have to really dig deep. You need supporting elements and this has to come from within — your core — with a real story behind your clothing,” Twahirwa says.

Do you have a favorite budding fashion designer — a bright new talent that hasn’t seen the spotlight yet? Share your story with us and we might cover it next.

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