Fashion enthusiasts know how much they have missed Kigali International Fashion Week. The last time the fashion show happened was in London back in January 2020, and after taking a forced hiatus due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it is now back with a bang with organisers taking it to Kampala. At least 500-600 guests, including journalists, celebrities and social media influencers from both Uganda and Rwanda, have been invited to attend the highly-awaited fashion extravaganza dubbed Kampala-Kigali Fashion Week (KKFW) which will take place on December 15, at the Pearl of Africa Hotel, Kampala. All invitees are primarily fashion-based, with suitable platforms to work with and expand their network within the fashion industry. The KKFW aims to highlight the emergence of local designers and fashion houses that create wonderful fashion clothes of an international standard as well as enable the youth of both countries and promote the fashion industry which has great potential for employment and revenue for the respective countries. With the attendance, organisers are confident that the event will help to maintain the relationship between designers and customers from both countries. Both Kampala and Kigali had previously held individual fashion weeks in the past but this year will see both countries collaborate to produce a combined event to be held in Kampala, Uganda. “This year we decided to have KKFW in Kampala for our opening of the new chapter of our brand,” fashion event curator John Bunyeshuri told The New Times. After Kampala, the event will shift to Tokyo, Japan in February next year and Havana, Cuba in May before taking it to Washington DC, United States in September. The latter will be organised in partnership with the DC Mayor to promote black history. “It’s Kigali-Kampala Fashion Week just like we could have Kigali-Havana Fashion Week, Kigali-Tokyo Fashion Week or Kigali-DC Fashion Week,” he said. “Kigali International Fashion Week brands itself as a globe trotter around the world promoting Rwanda’s creative industry, mainly fashion,” he reiterated. According to Bunyeshuri, the Kampala–Kigali Fashion Week is a vital voice in changing the narrative towards African originality in fashion. It is focused on promoting collaboration between the youth of Uganda and Rwanda using fashion as a foundation. The event will identify the multitudes of little known local designers and models, will highlight trueness, authenticity, purpose, tapping into raw talent and converting it into global brands. This year’s event in Kampala will focus on development, integration, diversity and inclusion as the four pivotal themes identified towards the success of the event. For the past few years, the Kigali International Fashion Week has been serving not only as a platform to promote Rwandan fashion to the world and giving young talents (model) international exposure but also a tool to market the country to the international scene, creating jobs for young people. “We use the event in uniting our beautiful country with others using fashion and arts,” he said. The event will allow designers from both Rwanda and Uganda to showcase their work. The Kigali International Fashion Week had previously been held in London, United Kingdom, Tokyo in Japan, New York in the United States, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Belgium.
