US-BASED RWANDAN TOP MODEL Manoa Ishimwe is living his fashion dream working with global fashion giants Puma and Nike. However, the 25-year-old wants to achieve more in the world of fashion as a professional model as he now sets sights on working with American musician-turned designer Rihanna in the future. Ishimwe shared his modeling journey with The New Times, his fortunes and his aspirations going forward. Excerpts: Who is Manoa Ishimwe? I am a professional model and a musician for fun as I am exploring opportunities to also grow my talent in music. I was born in Eastern Congo and raised in Los Angeles, California. I haven’t been in Rwanda, and East Africa in general, in 13 years because my parents and I moved to the United States in 2009 when I was 12. I now do runway but mostly I do print and commercial modeling. Which big companies have you done commercials with so far? I worked with some big companies and, if you go in a store right now in the United States, you can find my face with NYX which is a big makeup company there. I have also worked with Puma and Nike. Which companies were you excited to work with most? And how much were you paid? I won’t say how much because I signed a contract, but I would say that my favorite one was working with Puma because I got to see my own billboard and face inside their stores. Growing up as a kid, when I got to the United States, I would go to the store and see people on billboards and I was like ‘I want to one day be like that’! So having people sending me photos of mine on billboards, inside and outside the Puma stores, that was a dream come true. But the most interesting company that I was working with was Nike. They gave us a dancer to train us for three days until they make you do the modeling poses that they want and workout in the middle of a [photo] shoot. With what you’ve achieved so far, do you feel your dream has come true? Of course working with Puma and Nike was a dream come true. To be honest with you, I am really living my dreams. Growing up in East Africa, I used to listen to and watch some good music and tell myself ‘that’s going to be me one day’. Now I have my music on the radio and TV stations. Also growing up in the United States, I used to see billboards and commercials and I would say that one day ‘it’s going to be me’ on the same billboards. Now I have my photos on billboards as well as commercials. Do you have anything left you want to achieve in the future? Honestly, my life is changing fast every day. Fashion wise, I would love to work with every designer not only in Kigali but all over East Africa. It’s very important for me to showcase my talent to my people all over the world. If there is a top world-class designer you would love to work with, who would that be? I am enjoying whatever life is giving me and I am open to more opportunities but, as for the future, the person that I would love to work with the most would be Rihanna. That’s the one person I want to work with in life. I can’t wait for the opportunity...whether it’s makeup or clothes, everything is possible in my life and I strongly believe that it will one day happen. Any big fashion events that you have modeled at? While in the United States, I went to San Diego School of Creative Performing Arts and I started doing runway but I realised that it wasn’t for me. I only do prints. You’ve had a chance to connect with diverse players in the Rwandan fashion industry during your holidays. What’s been your take? Fashion here is growing and definitely on the right track. I would say give them five years, and you will see a slight change because fashion changes every day.
