The two-year collaboration between fashion designers from Austria and Rwanda as part of the "Austria-Rwanda Fashion Connect" project experienced a special highlight with a colourful fashion show at Expo 2020 in Dubai on 25 March 2022.
The collaboration between three continents and the exchange of know-how from different nations and cultures – all under the Expo motto "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" – resulted in an extraordinary collection that was presented to the public for the first time in Dubai.
The designer – partly established, partly up-coming – represented different styles with different cultural influences at the fashion show, which were reflected in the individual pieces. Modern technology also played a central role in the show; so the show music was generated by AI, based on the favorite music of the designers from their respective countries.
The six designers involved in the project include:
- Bettina Reichl of the Austrian label ODROWĄŻ
- Jean-Vainquer Munezero of the Rwandan label Maison Munezero
- Karin Wintscher-Zinganel from the Austrian label Kay Double U
- Mathew Rugamba from the Rwandan label House of Tayo
- Pierra Ntayombya from the Rwandan label Haute Baso
- Thang De Hoo from the Austrian label Thang De Hoo
Austria-Rwanda Fashion Connect was a co-production of the ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Nairobi, the Expo Austria office and AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT-Creative Industries, supported by the internationalization offensive, the ReFocus initiative and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES).
