It was a grand night at the closure of the Rwanda Fashion Festival’s first edition, as Dady de Maximo organised what was truly a grand and sensational fashion gala on sunday. Showered with accoladesThe event was graced by Joseph Habineza, the Minister of Sports and Culture, officials from corporate companies and, a large number of people, who turned up to see collections from local, regional and international designers. To his enormous credit, Habineza praised Dady for pulling off a memorable festival despite lack of adequate support. He also expressed gratitude to all participants for their great work. Atmosphere You could feel the excitement around. The music was great, models did an incredible catwalk and the customer service by the stuff of Hotel Des Mille Collines was terrific. The event was worth the Rwf 30.000 entrance. There are some important lessons we must draw from the spectacular successes of this year’s fashion festival. First a vision, commitment, optimism to do great things even with limited financial resources. Johanne St. Louis, a Canadian designer, told The New Times, that Rwanda has all the elements of fashion industry. “My collections were inspired by Rwanda and most fabrics were purchased and printed by Rwandan artists,” St. Louis said. “I’m proud to support Rwanda’s fashion industry.” The festival under the theme, ‘Image, Inform, and Communication with Human Body’, started on Aug 2 and, ended on Sunday. Ends
