Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali Highlights

Rwanda’s fashion sector is constantly rising, as the country positions itself to become Africa’s next fashion powerhouse, as evidenced by the recently concluded Mercedes-Benz fashion week.
Over 100 international guests, including 27 fashion designers, arrived in Kigali ahead of the six-day event.

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A fashion school has been advocated for in Rwanda. Chris Vitj, a Belgian fashion designer who was in Rwanda for the second edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, urged Rwandan designers and business leaders to establish at least one fashion school in the country.

She was speaking at the Fashion Forum, which took place last week in Norrsken, Kigali, and brought together Africa’s top designers and others to discuss the industry’s evolution from a commercial standpoint.

“I hope that eventually, starting with a few people here, a school like that will exist. That is my desire,” stated the designer, who lectured on fashion for ten years till 2021.

Young Rwandan designers are given a forum to display their work.
Young up-and-coming designers were given a platform to display their collections to 27 prominent designers from around the world at the just finished Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Fashion houses such as Jarah by Linda Muhoza, Inkingi Designs, Fashion Forward, A&M Kigali Urban, Ntare Gitare, Koni Clothing, and others showed their collections on the catwalk on May 19 at M-Hotel.
A total of ten young designers were given the opportunity to showcase their talent.

Music meets fashion
Renowned Rwandan artists and top Rwandan music bands delighted attendees at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Kigali last week.
Mike Kayihura and Christopher performed live music with the Target band on the second day of the fashion week at M-hotel Kigali, while several collections were displayed on the runway.
Selecta Copain, a well-known disc jockey, also performed a live set of afro music at the fashion week’s grand finale.

Top designers participate
This year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was bigger and better than the debut edition held in 2019, with over 15 local and international designers on the runway.

During the fashion week’s grand finale, renowned designers like as Malawi’s Lilly Alphonso, who showed Dessert pieces, Uganda’s Kais Divo, Somalia’s Qaal designs, Ghana’s Arshia Wilson, and South Africa’s Thando Piliso, among many others, showed their collections.
Georges Malelu, the South African designer who dressed Beyonce in 2018, also attended the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Show.

On the runway, top models such as Grace Akeza, Honorine Uwase, Kentha Kirezi, Aisha Uwase, and others showcased various designers.

Abahanzi b’imideli 27 baturutse mu bice bitandukanye ku Isi yose, bagiye guhurira mu birori bya Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali, igiye kuba ku nshuro ya kabiri.https://t.co/r1ErY5XgAu pic.twitter.com/56b3e8E0Kh

— IGIHE (@IGIHE) April 29, 2022

The fashion scene in Africa is thriving.
African collections dominated the runway at the just concluded Mercedes-Benz Fashion Show, which ran from May 16 to 21.

Ten of the 15 designers who took part in the fashion presentation wore Kitenge couture garments.

Content courtesy of News Times Rwanda & NFH