Sivan Breemhaar,a Dutch national, who has been living and working in Rwanda for the past six years, and majorly dealing in Made in Rwanda clothes, as she exports most of them to Europe, has opened a flagship store in Kigali. According to Sivan, there is a very poor perception about Africa in Europe. Poverty, hunger, corruption and all other negative issues are those that define Africa abroad. According to Sivan, there are a lot of amazing experiences from Africa and fashion is one of them. “Most of the people in Europe know Africa for only the wrong things and I realised this was wrong, that is why I decided to put a lot of effort into making these attires which many have been exported to Europe and people have learnt that there is a lot more to Africa than all they have been focusing on,’’ Sivan said in an interview with The New Times during the opening ceremony of the store located in Kiyovu. Sivan also used the opportunity to explain to guests the her clothing line. She said that she normally exports her clothes to Amsterdam. Others also get them through making online orders and the attires are delivered. Shivan said that, besides other clothes, these clothes are made from organic fabric and the exception is that the name of the maker/designer is put there on some tag attached on the inside of the cloth and this gives a client trust in the attire because the person, who made it is also known. Guests check out outfits during the launch of Afriek in Kiyovu, on Thursday. Afriek has been working for sometime in Rwanda, and according to Sivan, the CEO and founder of the store, people in Europe can make orders basing on the fashions and styles available in their country and Rwandan material is made to make the clothes. This has helped provide a different image of Rwanda to the outside world and although Rwandans at home are still skeptic, claiming that somewhat the attires are expensive, Sivan explained that the clothes are not that expensive considering the material and expertise used in making the final products. At the launch, people visited the store and checked out the different types of attire that included dresses, shirts, jackets, and t-shirts among others, all of which are made in Rwanda. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
