12 Rwandan Clothing Brands Worth Knowing (2026)
Rwanda’s fashion scene is young, and most of its labels are less than fifteen years old. That age shows in a good way. Designers here grew up with Made in Rwanda as national policy, so producing locally is the starting point rather than a selling point. Many of them train their own tailors and artisans because the industry around them barely existed when they began.
What ties the brands together is a habit of borrowing from Rwandan craft. Imigongo patterns, basket weaving, beadwork and kitenge cloth turn up in almost every collection. Compared with Kenya or Ethiopia, Rwanda works at a smaller scale, but its designers lean harder on heritage storytelling.
12 Rwandan Clothing Brands Overview
Here’s a quick look at the Rwandan brands in this guide, from Kigali couture to shoes made from old car tyres. They sit alongside the rest of our clothing brands by country guides.
- House of Tayo – Menswear and accessories label known for its kitenge bow ties.
- Rwanda Clothing – Kigali fashion and home decor house that grew from two tailors.
- Kabash – Kigali boutique label founded by a former pageant winner.
- Inzuki Designs – Handmade jewellery and accessories from local materials.
- Uzuri K&Y – Footwear brand turning discarded car tyres into shoe soles.
- Sonia Mugabo – Eponymous label for men and women, made with local artisans.
- Haute Baso – Ethical brand built on a network of Rwandan artisans.
- Moshions – Couture house known for black and white palettes and imigongo beading.
- Uzi Collections – Casual and smart apparel cut from batik fabric.
- K’tsobe – Jewellery made from brass, silver, seeds and cow horn.
- Izubaa – Tailored suits blending French craft with Rwandan heritage.
- Asantii – Pan-African label produced in its own Kigali factory.
Rwandan Clothing Brands
House of Tayo
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2011
Price level: mid-range
Product type: menswear and accessories
Style: dapper, colourful
Website: houseoftayo.com
Matthew Rugamba started House of Tayo in 2011 by walking Kigali’s markets in search of fabric. He built the early range around kitenge bow ties, then moved into shirts, suits and hats. His references range from Motown-era style to classic British tailoring.
The name comes from Matayo, the local form of Matthew, which shows how much a brand name can carry when it comes from the founder’s own story.
Rwanda Clothing
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2012
Price level: mid-range
Product type: ready-to-wear and home decor
Style: bold prints, tailored
Website: rwandaclothing.com
Joselyne Umutoniwase opened Rwanda Clothing in 2012 with just two tailors. The company now employs forty-five people full time and more than fifty part time, according to Visit Rwanda. Many of the part-time staff come from women’s associations that make the home decor range.
As a result, the label runs its own production space in Kigali alongside two showrooms, which is rare at this scale.
Kabash
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2012
Price level: mid-range
Product type: womenswear and boutique fashion
Style: glamorous, statement
Instagram: @kabashfashionhouse
Kate Bashabe won the Miss MTN pageant in 2010 and put the earnings from her advertising contracts into a business. She opened Kabash Fashion House as a boutique in 2012. A year later she expanded into interior design and African crafts under the wider Kabash House name.
Much of its sales still run through Instagram and the shop in downtown Kigali, the way many Rwandan labels trade today.
Inzuki Designs
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2012
Price level: affordable to mid-range
Product type: jewellery, accessories and decor
Style: bold, colourful
Website: inzuki.com
Self-taught designer Teta Isibo built Inzuki around handmade pieces from local materials. Artisans across Rwanda turn her designs into jewellery, bags and home decor. The goal is to take traditional Rwandan craft and make it fit a modern wardrobe.
That approach travelled well, with the brand now reaching buyers in Europe, Asia and North America through distributors and its own store.
Uzuri K&Y
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2013
Price level: mid-range
Product type: footwear
Style: eco, African-inspired
Website: uzuriky.com
Kevine Kagirimpundu and Ysolde Shimwe met while studying creative design at the University of Rwanda. They sold their first handmade pair for about ten dollars while still at school. Every shoe they make now uses soles cut from discarded car tyres.
That makes the brand a clear case of recycled materials shaping the product itself, not just the marketing.
Sonia Mugabo
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2013
Price level: mid-range to high
Product type: ready-to-wear
Style: feminine, versatile
Website: soniamugabo.co
Sonia Mugabo returned to Kigali in 2013 after studying in the US and interning at Teen Vogue. Her eponymous label debuted at Kigali Fashion Week that October. Forbes later named her among Africa’s most promising young entrepreneurs.
She kept the brand local on purpose, sourcing materials, staff and models inside Rwanda wherever she can.
Haute Baso
Location: Nyarutarama, Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2014
Price level: mid-range
Product type: apparel, bags and jewellery
Style: ethical, contemporary
Website: hautebaso.com
Linda Mukangoga and Candy Basomingera each ran a small label before merging them in February 2014. They started with pop-ups in car-free zones and cafés before opening a shop in Nyarutarama. Imigongo, the black and white geometric art form, runs through much of the range.
Because the founders train hundreds of artisans across the country, community building sits at the heart of the business rather than on the side.
Moshions
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2015
Price level: high
Product type: couture and ready-to-wear
Style: minimal, heritage
Website: moshions.rw
Moses Turahirwa launched Moshions in 2015 as a menswear label and later added womenswear and accessories. The house is known for black and white palettes and detailed imigongo beading. Its Spring/Summer 2023 collection marked its international runway debut at Pitti Uomo in Florence.
Clients have included President Paul Kagame and John Legend, which made it the best known Rwandan label abroad.
Uzi Collections
Location: Kicukiro, Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2015
Price level: mid-range
Product type: casual and smart apparel
Style: colourful, batik prints
Website: uzicollections.com
Nathalie and Laurene founded Uzi Collections in July 2015. Production runs from the brand’s own site in Kicukiro, with suppliers in Rwanda and Tanzania. Batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique, gives the shirts, skirts and dresses their signature look.
The label is also a member of Collective Rwanda, a group of local brands that share expertise and promote the sector together.
K’tsobe
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Price level: mid-range
Product type: jewellery
Style: organic, symbolic
Instagram: @ktsobe_jewel
K’tsobe makes jewellery from silver and brass as well as natural materials such as seeds, cow horn and wood. Most pieces are made by hand, and some use the lost wax casting technique. The designs draw on nature and on symbols from Rwanda and other cultures.
That mix of metal and organic material gives the brand a look quite different from the beadwork most visitors expect.
Izubaa
Location: Kacyiru, Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2021
Price level: high
Product type: tailored suits
Style: corporate, heritage
Website: izubaa.com
Stylist Elodie Fromenteau founded Izubaa in 2021 around tailored suits for women and men. Her Ndabaga collection, named after a legendary Rwandan heroine, mixed sharp suiting with in-house prints. The label opened Kigali Fashion Week during the Commonwealth summit in 2022.
That focus on suiting gives it a clear niche in a market full of print-led ready-to-wear.
Asantii
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Founded: 2022
Price level: mid-range to high
Product type: ready-to-wear
Style: timeless, pan-African
Website: asantii.com
Maryse Mbonyumutwa launched Asantii in August 2022 after two decades in garment manufacturing. The collections are made at a Kigali facility run by her company Pink Mango. Designers from across Africa contribute, and much of the fabric comes from the continent too.
Owning the factory gives Asantii rare control over ethical manufacturing, and it won a Rising Sustainable Brand Award in New York in 2024.
Kigali’s scene keeps adding names each fashion week season, and several older houses still sell mostly through their own boutiques. A few more worth knowing are below, or you can discover clothing brands from other countries.
Other Notable Rwandan Clothing Brands
- Inkanda House – One of Kigali’s earliest fashion houses, run by designer Patrick Muhire since 2013.
- Mille Collines – Womenswear label born in Kigali in 2008 and now based in Cape Town.
- Tanga Designs – Label mixing modern and traditional design for men and women.
- Glo Creations – Textile design and printing house built on Rwandan motifs.
- KarSSH Collections – Womenswear label by designer Karen Uwera.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rwandan Clothing Brands
Moshions, House of Tayo, Haute Baso and Rwanda Clothing are the most widely known. Asantii is the fastest growing newer label, with stockists in London, New York and Brussels.
Imigongo is a traditional Rwandan art form of black, white and red geometric patterns, originally made from cow dung. Designers such as Moshions and Haute Baso translate those patterns into beading, prints and embroidery.
The government has pushed local production through its Made in Rwanda policy, including higher import duties on second-hand clothing from 2016. That shifted demand toward local tailors and brands.
Kimironko Market is the place for fabric and tailoring, while brand boutiques cluster around Nyarutarama, Kacyiru and the city centre. Most of the labels in this guide also sell online.
