Twenty five-year-old Matthew Rugamba, also known as Tayo, is the founder of House of Tayo, a Gacuriro-based fashion house that specialises in African print accessories. Tayo strives to look his best but doesn’t forget to be practical. He shared his style tips with Society Magazine’s Stephen Kalimba.

How would you describe your fashion style?

It changes a lot but I try to be formal and colourful. I try to express myself through my clothing. What is your favourite fashion accessory and how many of them do you have?

My favourite accessories are my bow ties. I have like 20 of them. But I try not to wear them too often because when I meet people who fancy bow ties, they want to take mine saying I can always get another. What’s your fashion weakness?

Well, I try to work on all areas. Fashion is subjective. I see an outfit that I can never wear but then somebody will pay good money to have that very outfit.

What’s your most expensive outfit?

I made a suit for myself and I incurred a lot of expenses because I had to order for the material and buttons from a shop in London. I can’t give it a price but it’s valuable. What area do you think other men in Kigali should improve fashion-wise?

One of the things that irritate me is a poorly fitting suit. That’s part of the reason I’m in fashion. When a suit fits a person well, they command the right attention when they enter a room. But if a suit is big it looks like they don’t normally wear suits or they borrowed it.

Why do you think very few people wear outfits by local designers?

I think it’s more of a perception issue than money. A person can spend Rwf 60,000 in a club in one night but they won’t spend Rwf 14,000 on an accessory that’s going to last longer. I like being there when shoppers come so I can tell them how to match their style with my creations.

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