IN A GROWING FASHION INDUSTRY like Rwanda's, it’s not common to find designers focused on a fashion brand rather than establishing a clothing store.

 But that did not stop local designer, Yannick Nshimirimana, from having a different dream to establish a local but global fashion brand against all odds.

 With ‘Lii’, his fashion brand, the designer has a big dream to see the world celebrating his brand one day no matter how long it takes him or his descendants.

 "Whether it takes decades or centuries, I believe ‘Lii’ will one day become people’s go-to brand globally,” Nshimirimana told The New Times.

Starting out

 Born to a Burundian father and Rwandan mother, Nshimirimana grew up with a dream to become a great footballer but injuries killed his dream and he ended up in fashion.

"A friend called Arnaud hooked me up to fashion. He said my size was among the most sought-after at fashion events and told me to join a modeling agency to learn more about modeling. Because I wanted to one day appear on billboards, I didn't hesitate,” he said.  

Traditional singers Massamba Intore and Jules Intore donning ‘Lii Collections

 Nshimirimana has been in fashion since 2013, having started as a model with the inaugural Kigali Fashion Week being his first event where he hit the runway.

 He spent six years in modeling during which he participated at almost every local big fashion event including Rwanda Cultural Fashion Show and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Kigali, among others.

Venturing into fashion

Besides modeling, he would spare some time to design his own collections until he quit modeling in 2019, after he decided to develop his own fashion brand named ‘Lii’.

 The designer chose ‘Lii’ as the name for his fashion brand as a sign of respect to his deceased sister ‘Liliane’ who died in a fatal car accident that could have cost his life instead.

 "When we were young, I was sent to buy bread for breakfast but I didn’t want to. My sister volunteered to go and buy it on my behalf but she never returned,” the designer sadly narrates.

 "I thought naming my fashion brand after her would be the least I could do to honour her memory. I loved her so much,” he added.

One of Nshimirimana’s designs. Courtesy  photos

 The brand has been in existence since 2014, but Nshimirimana had been struggling to grow his brand since his focus was on modeling.

 In 2019, the designer turned focus on paving the future of the brand when he quit modeling to invest much of his time in creating his trademark designs under his fashion house ‘Lii Collections’.

 "I used to buy some T-shirts and put on my brand but I realised that would not make any sense when shaping the future of my brand. Since then, I pursued tailoring and fashion design courses and I started to make my own couture,” he said.

 Ever since he started making his own designs, Nshimirimana’s brand has earned an incredible exposure over the past three years and hence started to attract the attention of many.

 Lii Collections makes various creations including dresses, shirts, jackets, shorts, necklaces, bags, T-shirts, socks and caps among other pieces of designs around which the ‘Lii’ brand continues to grow.

 It is now becoming a celebrities’ go-to brand, with many artists relying on his designs for corporate events, casual outfits, video shoot and performances.

 Artistes like Jules Sentore, Juno Kizigenza, Masamba, B Threy, DJ Marnaud, Producer Madebeats and Ibrahim Cyusa are among Nshimirimana’s regular customers but singer DJ Pius remains longtime fan, who later on became the ambassador for the designer’s brand.

The future

 Many may like his designs, but Nshimirimana is more focused on growing ‘Lii’ as a brand with a dream to make it a global brand just like Nike, Adidas, Gucci, Polo and others. As a matter of fact, all his clothes are branded with ‘Lii.’

 "People are really impressed by my designs but the only struggle I have is to convince them how important wearing my brand is. It has to reflect in my designs otherwise I can’t sell them without it. It might take time for them to understand but happy I am, some are convinced that the brand is a condition to the designs they order,” he said.

 "It may take several years to establish this brand but I will fight for it till my last breath. And, even if I die, I believe my children and grandchildren will carry it on,” he said.