Page 14
The
Portland Observer
Black History Month
• • •
February 6. 2013
African Heritage
The photos from the shoot came
out fantastic, said Rugamba. He then
an sw ers about A frica, w hich realized he needed to use all the
bugged him.
money he had made over summer,
And while people fell short in which should have been used on
their assum ptions that A frica was books, to make more bowties.
war tom or famined, Rugamba was
With House of Tayo still in stages
thinking o f a way to share his of infancy, Rugamba is catching on
appreciation for his culture and quickly to fashion production. “I am
heritage in a more creative and developing an eye for fashion as I
constructive way.
go along,” he said. “It’s a lot more
“My desire was to show the complicated than it seems— people
good side o f Africa, a more posi­ really care about the art.”
tive im age, to be an African that
R u g a m b a ’s c o ll e c t io n o f
creates a narrative for A frica bow ties and snoods soon built
rather than ju st what others de­ a fo llo w in g on T w itte r and
scribe,” he said.
Facebook. It w asn ’t long that
Ideas for a potential project the photos he posted w earing
fo llo w e d him b ack hom e to his .product cau g h t the eye o f
Rwanda during the summer of 2011. A f r ic a n P r in ts in F a s h io n
There, he took to the m arkets and b lo g g ers.
purchased a bunch o f African wax
The young designer was invited
prints or Anakara.
for an interview, and two weeks
Rugamba says he chose the prints after the article ran, Rugamba was
for their history. Over hundreds of getting calls from other blogs and
years, the prints’ bold, rich colors magazines. “I was blown away,” said
and patterns have been used to Rugamba.
celebrate different things: Red for
While flattered, he worried de­
brotherhood through blood, yellow mand for his product might be
for abundant sunlight, green for moving faster than he was ready
prosperity, and some, donning the for. He had just a sample collec­
faces of kings.
tion to bring to a show in Chicago,
Depending on which parts of but they flew him out anyway. Be­
Africa the designs are based mean fore he left, Rugamba jokes that he
different things. When Obama was watched You Tube videos to famil­
elected, Kenya sold prints deco­ iarize himself with the fashion show
rated with his face. “It’s like wearing run down.
. Do I clap for my self?”
a historybook,” he said.
he joked.
S earching fo r a ta ilo r to c o n ­
W hen African Fashion asked
struct his designs, R ugam ba was him to be a part of their London
ap p ro ach ed by a lady from the show this last August, Rugamba
m arket w ho o ffered to help. He called his family to tell them the
was su rp rised w hen she led him news.
to a back alley w ay w here she
“My parents were so confused,”
had set up shop w ith one light he said. “My aunts said this is ri­
bulb, a ch arco al iron and no real diculous,” but were ready to help
roofing.
him design a new summer collec­
Hesitantly, Rugamba explained tion, which he worked 13 hours a
his sketches to the woman. In day, seven days a week to create.
three days, he cam e back was “That was crazy,” he said.
delighted by the quality o f her
Once in London, Rugamba stood
work. He took the bowties to out as one o f the fashion show’s
show his two aunts, who im m edi­ youngest designers. He was shoul­
ately asked him if they could use der to shoulder with people who
them in a photo shoot they were had been designing in the industry
producing for an article about for more than 30 years. A feeling of
other young entrepreneurs.
self-validation finally came over him.
“That’s when I realized full steam
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 13
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