Some dreams are valid, that’s if we just don’t sit on them. 22 year-old runway model, Phionah Uwase testifies to this.

She contemplated cat walking on big shows one day, and working with big brands, but it seems she is already living her dream as she has worked with known fashion designers such as Moshions and diverse photographers like Awaumoja, Akanyoni, and Afrifame, among others. 

All it took was for her to have a leap of faith, believe in herself and go for what she has always desired, not to forget her mother’s support. 

It is rare for parents to approve of some talents, especially modeling, as they may think their children may get spoiled or learn foil behaviors, but this wasn’t the case with Uwase’s. To her surprise, it's her mother that has inspired her to pursue her modeling career. 

"My mother understood my visions, goals and dreams and valued my efforts to reach there. She supported me in every step of the way. Sometimes all we need is at least one person to believe in us, and tell us that we can do it,” she says. 

When she starts speaking of her mother’s contribution to her career, she can’t contain her beaming smile. 

How she started

Uwase developed the zeal for modeling while in her senior four in 2016 and started doing practice in front of the whole class. However, she didn’t get the cheer she needed, therefore, painfully decided to put her dream on hold. She didn’t know how other models made it that far, to billboards, magazines, photoshoots, she wondered. 

In 2020, one of her friends encouraged her to try out something creative than sitting home idle, she bought her idea and jumped on writing her own quotes. Unfortunately, the hustle of including pictures in them to make them appealing was a hard one, thinking of shooting her own pictures was expensive, as she had pondered on what it would require paying for, for instance, buying clothes, searching for great backgrounds and paying the photographer. It needed money that she didn’t have. 

Her modeling passion rose afresh, she thought that if she were a model, she would actually get free photoshoots. She took a bold step, anyway. 

"I decided to call Franco Kabano, the CEO of WeBest modeling Agency and inquired if I could join them. He suggested we meet at AMAMI where they took my measurements (height, bust, hips, and waist) and surprisingly, I was fit to be an international model even though, at the time, I didn't know what it meant,” she says.

She then embarked on the journey of practicing to fit the position. She straightened her face as they required her so as to get an opportunity to win an international show and walk fiercely raising the Rwandan flag. 

At that point, she stresses that all she wanted was to make her family proud. Her mind was full of countless thoughts on how she will be watched on TV someday and being a role model to many young people. Eventually, she was signed as a model at the modeling agency and her life never remained the same since.

Uwase’s next step was to use YouTube to learn more about modeling and what it required as she hadn’t done any training in it and the outcomes were really worth it. 

"I have earned from modeling, my living standards changed, my confidence was boosted, I have traveled to places I wished to visit, and made connections with people from different parts of the world,” she said

The runway model has also discovered her capabilities to be a fashion designer and starting her modeling agency is what she envisions.  

She also looks forward to modeling abroad, acting in movies as she has always longed for it as well, and taking her dancing moves to another level. 

"I love dancing. I record myself while at it and post some videos on social media. I have plans of featuring in dance and music videos in the future, she says.

Uwase anticipates being a published author, she has written three books that she hopes to publish this year. 

She is however challenged by the fact that most people in Rwanda haven’t understood that modeling is just like any other job, a thing that hinders them from providing her with any support that she may need. 

"Being a model means all eyes are on you, you have to do everything perfectly, the way you dress, appear, walk, talk and be where you’re supposed to be on time. To be a model is like serving as a good example to a lot of people, you have to be confident, passionate, disciplined and innovative,” she says.

When asked to define a runway model, Uwase responds that they wear clothes made by designers and take videos and pictures in them so it will be easy for clients to see how clothes fit and their prices. 

And being a runway model requires being tall to at least 17.5 cm, skinny, with a good skin complexion, perfect catwalk and a straight face so the clients focus on what you're wearing, not your beautiful face, she adds. 

The runway model looks up to American model Gigi Hadid. She is intrigued by her catwalk, social life, and the way she takes photos.

You can reach out to Phionah through… @phionah__silver (Instagram), and @phionah_sivlers (Twitter).