Rare are times that you meet a walking pearl of fashion on the street and I was lucky to meet one in my escapade of blogging in the middle of the street of Kigali, more precisely in the “Downtown-Car Park” of our so special African city.

Her exquisite smile isn’t only beautiful and warming but also welcoming as she makes it easy to be approached and talked to and that’s something rare in iconic figures. I believe everyone in this country knows the Uwase Rangira D’amour who represented the Eastern Province and went home crowned as the 3^rd runner-up in the Miss Rwanda 2016.

The 1m76 lady was born in 1997 and she shared her style and love of fashion with fashionrwanda.com

Miss Rangira describes her style as “African-rooted” with love of local fabrics. She was wearing a short Kitenge dress when I met her and she told me that she chooses her style depending on what she judges appropriate for the place she is gracing on that day. She believes that on a sunny day, a lady should be wearing casual and simple clothes with sandals on her feet plus sunglasses.

She expressed her appreciation for the government’s initiative of “Made in Rwanda” and believes it will benefit designers even more and she would love to see Rwandans learn to love and buy what is locally made and also to see local products being exported on international markets thus show the world what we have.

The passionate Uwase revealed to me that she doesn’t really know a lot of designers but names like Rupari, Gucci Tanga, Sonia Mugabo and Moshions have crossed her ears and also heard from friends that RWANDA CLOTHING are having a show soon. She continued telling me that she keeps updating herself on new trends and styles and that leads to the fact that she always needs to visit a lot of shops to find what she really loves – so while you are doing your shopping you may bump into her.

Miss Uwase Rangira D’amour who uses “Damzy” on her Instagram is an example of a fashion enthusiast who keeps hunting for the perfect outfit daily as the sun rises and I am thankful she shared a portion of her life with us.

Interested in sharing your story with us? Please get in touch with me on my social accounts or via my e-mail. Stay safe and sound!

After a period of hibernation, here we are again with highlights from the street. When walking through the city of Kigali, one doesn’t notice only the majestic buildings that are rising, but also people with a variety of clothing styles with vibrant colors. That mixture makes our city attractive. This time, I met Sarah Uwase, a 19 years old girl with a distinctive sense of fashion.

Though she’s not a professional model, her clothing choices are clearly appealing to the eye. She’s of mixed origins, with a Rwandese father and Congolese mother. She’s finishing her secondary studies soon.

Sarah describes her clothing preferences as ‘stylish and comfortable’. She likes African style that makes her comfortable and ‘allow her to breathe’. I admired how she combines African fabric and modern style in a unique and pleasant way.

I asked her about local designers that she knows and, without hesitating, she replied that she praises RWANDA CLOTHING’s product line. Besides, she admires other designers like Cedric Mizero, and internationally recognized Coco Chanel and Gucci.

Her wish is that the public would be willing to embrace the African styles in their regular clothing choices. Local designers should also seek to produce products that satisfy the local market.

On the future of fashion in Rwanda, she said that it is promising because the government is supporting actively locally made products through “Made in Rwanda” campaign.

Tall and handsome are two words that describe Elysée, a gentleman that I met few days back. He passed by RWANDA CLOTHING Store, and we had a talk. He is 20-years-old, with a Rwandese nationality. He is doing a modeling career in a local agency and also runs a shop.

He had put on tight jeans, a gray t-shirt, leather shoes and a colorful jacket made from RWANDA CLOTHING. He told me that he likes to dress casual or classic wears, depending on the destination. He gets his inspiration from different people, like media personalities, artists and even from regular people on the streets, but mostly picks styles that are classic. His favorite designers are Moses Twahirwa and Fancis Zahabu.

I asked him about RWANDA CLOTHING, and he said that he appreciated the way clothes are designed with a local touch, using local materials.

As someone who is involved in fashion, I asked him how he sees it and what he thinks of its future. He replied that people are really stylish even though the industry itself is not advanced. He added that some people are creative on their own, that they combine clothes from here and abroad and come up with various good styles. He believes that the future of the fashion industry is promising because the youth is getting involved, and the future lies in their hands.

I agree with Elysée, the industry is in our hands. That’s why this blog is there: to showcase how stylish we can all be and to promote our own styles and brands.

From the streets of Kigali, here I am with stylish people to introduce to our esteemed readers. This time, I met Aurika Hategekimana-Auger, a half-Rwandese and half-Canadian girl, with a distinctive sense of style. She’s 17-years-old, soon to turn 18, and her modeling career is just starting. She just finished the high school and, soon, starting her university studies.

From the first sight, it is noticeable that Aurika is really stylish. When we met, she was wearing white trousers, black top and a colourful jacket made in Kitenge, from RWANDA CLOTHING. She describes her style as: “mixed: classy, hippie and African.” She told me that she believes that clothing is defined by one’s personality and roots. Hers is inspired by her Canadian and Rwandese roots. She wants to dress in a way that reflects where she comes from.

She told me she shops from the local shops or on the streets. When abroad, her favorite shopping places are H&M and Forever 21. Her preferred fashion designers are: our very own Joselyne of RWANDA CLOTHING, Yves Saint Laurent and Channel.

On fashion in Rwanda, she said that Rwandese people are very elegant and proud of who they are. She said: “Fashion has to be elevated, and that’s what we are trying. It’s fine to borrow some things from outside, but we have to keep our cultural roots because that’s what makes us unique.”

Aurika is planning to contribute more to the fashion industry in the days to come. I am grateful for she agreed to chat with us, and I am sure we will meet again.

Many agree that Kigali is a beautiful city. People here are stylish, which only add to the beauty of the city. In the quest of street styles, I met models Leslie and Lynca in the heart of the city. We toured the city, explored places and venues and took some pictures. Afterwards, we sat in a coffee shop, where I got to know them better.

Akimana Leslie and Rutagarama Lynca are models by profession. Leslie, 19 years old, is Burundian while Lynca, 18 years old, is Rwandese. At the first sight, I noticed that their style has a lot to do with jeans. Both were wearing blue jeans, pink tops and casual black shoes. Lynca had a floral print shirt with long sleeves, and a colorful bag made in Kitenge fabrics. Leslie had a colorful scarf, made in kitenge as well. Both the bag and scarf are products of RWANDA CLOTHING.

When asked about their preferences in terms of fashion, they both confirmed that they prefer jeans, because that it is the most freeing style one can wear. However, Leslie told me that she always try to be unique. Leslie added that she likes to be natural, and she likes styles that have a masculine look.

I also asked them about fashion in Rwanda, as people who are directly involved. Lynca said: “the level of fashion in Rwanda is pleasant compared to where we came from, but should be better. I am glad that international stakeholders are coming, and local designers are participating in international scenes.” Leslie told me that local designers should be more innovative, take more risks, and design styles that attract the public, especially the youth.

It was a pleasure to host Leslie and Lynca, and their responses were really insightful for our fashion industry. I am looking forward to discover more fashion enthusiasts who have a good taste of style to share with our readers.

I met Christian Musingize, aka Chris, in the heart of town. He is a fashion enthusiast. In the past, he has modeled for an agency called PMA, which is based in Kigali. Currently, he is a vendor of electronic devices. His style is mostly casual. When we met, he was wearing a black jacket on top of a red-and-black checked shirt. A black Jeans and Golden sneakers complemented his style.

I asked him about what inspires him when it comes to fashion. He told me that he likes the color of black. And it was so obvious. He added that he doesn’t have a unique source of inspirations, that it just depends on what he has in the wardrobe. He also gets some ideas from Black Fashion’s Instagram page.

On fashion in Rwanda, he told me that a lot is yet to be done so that the industry might rise on an international level.

I invited model Sharon to Kigali to have the photo shooting for my new RWANDA CLOTHING collection with me.

She lives in Kampala, is 22 years old and studies Graphic Design. We became friends and spent good days together in Kigali. Her beauty and style inspires me and working with her as a fashion model is very professional. She knows exactly what I want her to present on my photos and the way she moves and poses her tall and trained body is fabulous.

On the day I took photos with her for the blog we went to Kigali downtown together for shopping for the shooting. I wanted to show her a bit around since it was just the second time of her being in Rwanda and we had to find good shoes for her to wear in the shooting.

It was a pleasure meeting you again, Sharon and thanks for the good time we had together in Kigali. Working with you is great!

I met Francis Zahabu who has now been working for six years as a fashion designer in Rwanda and who creates one of the best styles for African print shirts.

I especially like his men’s shirts and the one he was wearing when we met the last time in Kigali for some coffee, is part of his new Casual Shirt Collection for Spring/Summer 2016 (SS 2016). He used linen for this shirt and combined it with Ikitenge African Print cotton fabric. His designs got these special details that Francis calls the “Zahabu Touch” and which make his creations unique. He says: “What I love most about designing fashion is to mix colors and styles of different cultures and my philosophy is to give out a message through my collections – I have the idea that a mix of all colors and cultures makes the world more beautiful. To unite is always better than to separate.”

The trousers he was wearing are also designed by himself and were part of his 2015 Men’s Wear Collection and have a good shape: slim-fit and skinny legs.

Pleasure meeting with you, Francis! Thanks for the quick chat about fashion.

I met the Rwandan designer Kolbe here in Kigali and asked him about his style and the Rwandan Street Style in general.

The day we met he was wearing one of the suits he designed with a shirt by Topman and a tie by ZARA Man. His shoes are Italian made by the famous Ermenegildo Zegna which is an Italian luxury fashion house that makes men’s clothing and accessories and is very known for creating most expensive Cashmere wool and leather products. His belt is Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and further accessories are a trendy Swiss Swatch watch and sun glasses from SEBAGO to complete the style of his very fashionable compatible and well-tuned outfit. Rwandans got style!

Asked about the Street Style of other Rwandans, he replied that nowadays the Rwandan Street Style is alive in the local middle class community: “When you attend different local events, you will meet with very smart people who care a lot about what they wear and who spend a lot time on creating and combining their outfits – different brands, colors and inspirations are all taken into consideration when it comes to individualizing your style these days in Rwanda”.

Pleasure meeting with you, Kolbe! Thanks for the quick chat about fashion.