AS preparations for the 2nd edition of Rwanda Fashion Festival move into high gear, the show’s organisers, models as well as local and international fashion designers, are leaving nothing to chance to make the event a success.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, at Lemigo Hotel, the founder of DADMAX Agency and Rwanda Fashion Festival, Dady de Maximo Mwicira Mitali, said the purpose of the event is to change the perceptions of people, one mind at a time, by exploring and bridging cultures through fashion and art.

"The objective is to draw attention to the immense talent and sophistication which exists on the African continent in the fields of culture, fashion and the arts, generating positive energy and empowering people from all communities to come together as a call for creativity and unity in diversity,” Dady de Maximo noted.

During the grand night slated for April 1, at Kigali Serena Hotel, people who gave their utmost contribution to promote culture through art, fashion, creativity and modeling industry will be recognised in different categories, including politics, culture, music and companies.

Denmark - based Rwandan model, Roxanne Hellevik, will be honoured in the category of Culture and Fashion. The 15-year-old model recently participated in the Fashions Finest Renaissance London Week from February 19 - 20.

She added, through an interpreter (her mother): "I’m really happy and so honoured to participate in the festival and be part of the positive change. I was so excited when I arrived in my native country on Tuesday. Rwanda is now so clean and more beautiful with a lot of positive changes.”

The model and her family left for Denmark when she was only two, and returned for a brief visit when she was seven.
 
The major objective of the Rwanda Fashion Festival is to expose and promote the best of Rwandan and African fashion designs and expose talents to the international fashion market, organisers said.

The event is a blend of modeling shows, fashion exhibition, workshops, entertainment and tourism (photo shooting in volcanoes and gorillas and other national parks). Guests will also visit Gisozi and Murambi Genocide memorial sites, the National Museum of Rwanda.

The festival is set to attract 15 international fashion designers, three local fashion designers, as well as young designers from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda who will have the opportunity to showcase their creations.

Sixteen international models, including four from Kenya, four from Burundi, two from Uganda, one from Nigeria, one from Burkina-Faso, three from South Africa and 30 from Rwanda, are also expected to participate in the festival.

The show is expected will receive big media coverage, with several international networks, such as, M-NET (South Africa), STYLE TV (Nigeria), TV5 Monde, Trace TV and France 24 sending their crew.

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