Olivier Niyitanga is a name you probably haven’t heard, but if you are in Rwanda and are passionate about fashion, you have definitely heard of Tanga Designs.

Every year when the Miss Rwanda finale comes around, the name Tanga is on the lips of all fashion-conscious people, thanks to his ‘out of this world’ designs.

Remember the ‘geographical dress’ rocked by Miss Rwanda 2020 Naomie Nishimwe at the pageant’s 2021 finale, and the eventual winner Grace Ingabire’s high slit dress with angelic wings? Yes, those are some of Niyitanga’s iconic dresses that had social media buzzing for days.

Niyitanga is the founder and CEO of Tanga Designs, one of the most popular fashion houses in Rwanda, famous for its eccentric yet outstanding collections.

Tanga Designs, as he is commonly known, has cut a name for himself as Rwanda’s leading couture designer, piecing together designs similar to those seen on the red carpet in Cannes or Hollywood, but not without controversy.

The ambitious young designer has in the past been accused of copying well-known designers like Ralph and Russo, but it is an allegation he denies and believes that some designs can be synonymous with others by coincidence or inspiration, but he personally sketches each and every design.

"When you are at this level, people want to compare you to other designers abroad because they just want to judge you. When I try to get an idea or some imagination for drawing my dresses, I never think about other designers,” Niyitanga says about his designs.

Whether it is creating a new concept or revolutionising his earlier designs, Niyitanga says it is purely his mind at work.

"Maybe some people are just jealous and they say that I stole the designs from other designers, but I have never stolen any design. They are my original designs, I have the sketches, and you can even check them out. There is nothing that I copied,” says Niyitanga.

Allegations of copying came around during the Miss Rwanda finale, with some social media users comparing his dresses to some designs done by popular fashion designers and worn by celebrities, but Niyitanga says it is not true.

Being an haute couture designer, some creations might look like those seen before, but they might not necessarily be the same and differ in fabric and design.

The designer says such criticism cannot stop him from pursuing and working on his dream of becoming an outstanding fashion designer. He says that the criticism does not only confirm he is doing something good, but it encourages him to think even more.

The soft-spoken designer has a fitting persona in the world of designers, from his look, style and abstract thinking, but there is something that makes him standout, even the way he holds and conducts himself.

During the interview, for a moment I thought he was tense, from the way he sat and spoke. Everything seemed to be on point, each accessory in the right place and his words measured up too. I took it upon myself to tell him to feel free.

"I am free. This is how I am,” Niyitanga said, laughing it off, affirming that for a designer, perfection is everything, even in real life.

A love for fashion

Niyitanga’s penchant for fashion began at the age of seven. He used to go through fashion magazines and instantly fell in love with the colourful images he saw which stuck in his mind. He started sketching at a very young age.

"I started making over my sisters and dressing them or helping them to choose what to wear. At seven, I used to style their hair, set their shoes and at the same time, I would sketch the designs I had in my mind,” he recalls.

His breakthrough came in 2014 when he took part in a competition organised by Kigali Fashion Week and he won the ‘emerging fashion designer’ contest. They were asked to come up with brand names that stand out, and that is when he chose the last part of his name, Tanga, from Niyitanga.

"I chose Tanga because it is unique. It is a catchy name and it also has a meaning,” he says, adding that ‘Tanga’ comes from ‘Gutanga’ in Kinyarwanda, which means to give, or to have a giving heart.

Former Miss Rwanda Naomie Nishimwe in an evening dress by Tanga Designs.

The 23-year-old believes it all begins in the mind; after conceiving the idea, you sketch it and then it goes down to the fabric you want to use. It is a process you can’t copy from anyone else because being a fashion designer is about you bringing your ideas to life.

To find the fabric to bring his ideas out, sometimes he has to travel to China, Turkey, India or Dubai, and then cutting and tailoring follows, involving mixing imported and local fabric to get a good product, then pricing and finding the model to fit in the product.

Before fully venturing into fashion, he thought he would be a model and actually gave it a shot, but when he could not get a modelling agency, he thought why not do the designs and styling himself?

When Kigali Fashion Week presented the opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands. He has never looked back.

"The competition opened doors for me. From there, I participated in other fashion shows in Ghana and many other places. I have also worked with and have been featured in big magazines like Forbes and Forbes Woman in 2019. That is so huge for me.

"I have also been able to dress some celebrities like Sauti Sol, Elani from Kenya, Nigerian artistes Mr. Eazi and Davido,” says Niyitanga, who is working on his upcoming project.

Since 2019, he has also been dressing Miss Rwanda finalists, adding couture to the pageant. Previously, he worked with individual contestants but when things started looking good, he entered a partnership with the organisers.

Challenges

It has not been a smooth ride for Niyitanga but he believes that it is through persistence and passion that people can achieve. Apart from social media criticism, he also has to deal with other critics who say his designs are not so Made-in-Rwanda since they lack ‘Imigongo’ or other Rwandan trademarks.

He believes that Made-in-Rwanda should also look at modernising designs to suit global standards, without necessarily having to put ‘Imigongo’ as identification.

The other challenge is people who complain that his designs and those of other Rwandan designers are expensive, without considering the effort and cost of fabric. He says people fail to give their work actual value and want to compare them with cheap knockoffs from China or elsewhere.

"The other challenge we have is the media which doesn’t promote us when we do good things, yet they are quick to report when there is something negative said about us,” he says, adding that he chooses to look at the positive side and allies with people who support him to keep going.

The Covid-19 outbreak was also a major setback for him and other fashion designers, but he had to think outside the box to find ways to remain relevant.

Inspiration

Niyitanga says he is inspired by plenty of fashion designers whose work motivates him, including Alexander Wang, Vera Wang, Versace, and Armani, among others, but above all, he is a self-sworn Beyoncé fan, much as the singer is not a designer.

The "Single Ladies” singer inspires him through her sense of fashion, class and elegance. His mantra is to keep being himself, rather than acting under pressure to change to something he is not.

When he is not working, Niyitanga loves to take care of himself, particularly his face, which he says has a special skincare routine, which involves cleansing, doing facials and toning, at least three times. He is the true definition of doing the part and looking the part.

When swimming was a thing, it was his other pass time, that and good music and food.