The local fashion and textile industry continues to set the pace in the Made-in-Rwanda campaign. The campaign seeks to promote local consumption in a bid to discourage over dependence on imports.
For the local textile industry, the ball was set in motion following a hike in taxation on used clothes, which the government intends to ban altogether.
Not to be left out, fashion house, Francis Zahabu Fashion has come up with a new Made-in-Rwanda drive that seeks to put out clothes that speak directly to Rwandans in particular and Africans in general.
One of their first projects is designing t-shirts and portraits with a catchy logo that has been dubbed ‘seeds.’
The logo, which is printed on t-shirts, depicts a tree with many branches, fruit, and roots that on first sight passes for any other tree.
Upon closer scrutiny, however, one uncovers a whole world of meaning and coded messages.
The tree branches are shaped after the map of Africa, while the roots take the shape of a map of Africa. At the center of the tree branches, one notices a rather subtle outline of a human face which, on closer scrutiny, turns out to be the facial profile of the Head of State, President Paul Kagame.
That’s not all, as each of these facets of the tree has a meaning and a story around it.
Mutoni teamed up with a graphic designer called Cedric Kayitare to come up with the ‘seeds’ logo.
“We came up with this concept as proud Rwandans. It came about when we thought of the achievements in Rwanda and which people played a role in it. The President makes us proud in Africa and the whole world through enlightenment, self-esteem, self-reliance, confidence, and worth,” she added.
The logo espouses several meanings, all of which are anchored in a Rwandan context:
That, as a people and as a nation, Rwandans are not held back by their past but racing forward and focusing on development.
Mutoni further explains that the branches symbolize “development channels and the partnership and togetherness of Rwandans, while the fruits stand for Rwandans and our achievements.”
It depicts the President as the kingpin in bringing about the achievements the country has recorded, twenty three years after the nation was brought to its knees.
The good news is that one can order for readymade, or have their piece tailored. Mutoni also reveals that the logo is also available in portraits, besides the t-shirts.
