It is said that ‘smartness knows no weather’, and Brave Japhet Ndamukunda goes by this mantra. On a hot afternoon, under the scorching Kigali sun, you’ll find him very smartly dressed, in a suit and tie. You can call him the ‘suit guy’ because truthfully, he is always impeccably dressed, one may think he has a job interview or an important business function to attend, but no, that’s just everyday attire for him. Being a professional tailor and specialising in corporate suits, for men and women, he loves being his own model. He believes that his own appearance says a lot to the public and that is how he has gained clients. Ndamukunda, the founder of La Lune located in Rebero, wears many hats, he is a tailor, interior designer, and painter. Before fully transitioning to corporate fashion, the company mostly made and sold jewellery like earrings and bangles, and also t-shirts. Charmed by how people such as presidents, ministers, and corporate people smartly dress and accessorise their look, Ndamukunda yearned to be the one to make suits for such people, but unfortunately, he lacked skills in sewing. So he took a short course in tailoring suits offered by a professional tailor in 2018. He mastered men’s suits in a year and a half, and after, started women’s suits for a year plus. He says he started making suits immediately after acquiring skills. His suits are in only four colours, that is, grey, black, navy blue, and khaki. Ndamukunda says getting clients was no walk in the park, but social media assisted in this regard. He also attended corporate events where he shared business cards with numerous people. With time, he gained more and more clients. Word-of-mouth is another marketing tactic that worked for him. It took him about one year and a half to get regular clients. At the start, the plan to target a higher class of people wasn’t fruitful because his fabric was cheap. A suit would go for Rwf 50,000 in 2020, but because he wanted to make more money, he upgraded to better fabric, now his prices range from Rwf 150,000 to Rwf 500,000 depending on the material of the suit. This kind of job, he says, requires discipline as that is what has kept him true to his customers, making sure he delivers within the agreed period of time, and having the knowledge and creativity to be able to make every design a client wants. He adds that his appearance creates a sense of confidence because people give him the benefit of the doubt—that he will make something as nice as he is wearing or better. He currently employs 10 workers, and to save himself the expense of buying new sewing machines, he decided to employ skilled tailors who already had machines, and with the same vision as his. Ndamukunda notes that at the start, sewing was complicated because he wasn’t familiar with measurements and lacked the experience, so he made blunders. He would take about three days to make one suit, which isn’t the case now, because he can make a suit in just a day. “Usually, people who love ‘express suits’ pay extra,” he notes. He is thwarted that tailors are not well-known yet they make the fashion designers’ work easy, but credit is given to only stylists. He looks forward to creating a manufacturing company that will create all kinds of clothing in Rwanda. In order to financially support his suit business, he started offering interior design services. He acquired some skills in carpentry in Gakingiro, Gisozi for one year. He offers decor services to homes, offices, and hotels, and is hired to work on various other projects. One of his goals is to be one of the leading producers of furniture in Rwanda. Ndamukunda is a self-taught artist, skilled in painting, sculpting, and drawing in pen and pencil. He also offers art lessons to anyone interested in learning how to draw or paint. With art, he hopes to portray Rwandan culture and nature. He anticipates giving space and a platform to people with a passion for art.
