With just one year of existence, ‘The Stage Fashion Showcase’ is already a familiar fashion concept in Rwanda for the good and bad reasons. The show is now back, promising to deliver fun and color to fashion enthusiasts unlike the inaugural edition which left them unimpressed following unexpected disruptions that saw it cancelled prematurely. Lessons were learnt on the organisers side and they are now eager to give it a reputation it deserves. Models and designers will once again take center stage at this year’s edition of The Stage Fashion Showcase, a high-caliber fashion show organized with a focus on creativity. Organized by Rwandan top model Sandrine Mucyo under her creative company Ssanduina Ltd, the fashion show aims at discovering, promoting, and growing Africa's models and fashion designers at the international level. Casting for models who will be on the show’s runway is ongoing at Institut Français, where the selected models will showcase the designers’ work. The date of this year’s edition are not official yet but Mucyo, who is the brains behind the show, told The New Times that August remain their tentative month for the event. The top model is leading a 10-judge panel selecting the models who will be used at this year’s edition. Other judges include Hervé Kwizera, Christian Hirwa, Raella Princess, Gabey Ganza, Eric Sekamana, Macrine Gusenga, Nicole Cyuzuzo, Eric Nyaruyonga and Pascal Sinayobye. The first phase of the casting exercise saw seven out of 63 models eliminated after failing to impress the jury during the Q&A and catwalk rounds. Besides hitting the runway at the show, the model who will win the casting will walk away with a cash prize of Rwf 800,000. ‘The Stage’ is a hub for models that is not only geared towards booking talent on a national level but also towards planning a fashion show. It also aims at bringing together well-known creatives from around the globe for a networking, conversational, celebratory, and experiential fashion experience, but most importantly for developing skills. Last year’s edition attracted designers from various East African Countries including host nation Rwanda. However, it recounted an unfortunate incident when the hotel management denied organisers the opportunity to showcase the bikini line, claiming that it was not allowed.
