00:00Not all wounds are visible. Some live in the fabric.
00:03Let's find out how the son of a Rwandan soldier reflects on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, through fashion.
00:11By saying fashion is my language, that I speak better, it's my way of talking what I think, how I
00:19think, how I feel.
00:20There are many, many stories on the African continent that are told in a different way, in a social wrong
00:27way.
00:27For example, let's talk about genocide, starting from my country.
00:31Words cannot fully describe the atrocities that the Tutsi experienced back then, or what Rwanda still carries today.
00:37Every stitch of Maurice Niyagena's work speaks of the unspeakable.
00:42His collections tell about the country's bloody history, which is tied to his own personal story, especially to his father
00:49being a soldier.
00:50I always admired my father, and I wanted to really involve him in what I was creating.
00:56In what I felt really meant so much to me.
01:01And so I needed a brand name.
01:03I took my name, my M.A. from my Maurice, and then I combined with my father's name, Theo.
01:12His name is Theosian.
01:14So combining those, M.A. and Theo, we made Matteo.
01:18And now I'm proud to tell everybody that I'm called Matteo, because it's the name that makes me, you know,
01:25proud of myself.
01:27The rebirth of Rwanda.
01:28His latest collection is rooted in memory, but stitched with hope.
01:32Speaking of genocide, trauma, and the long shadow of suffering, each garment carries its own untold story, some almost too
01:40heavy to bear.
01:40For example, this one, it's a guy during that time.
01:46So he was running the whole day until it got to the midnight, and his father was murdered already, but
01:54it was like raining heavily.
01:56So he had to go pick, like, undress his father, and then put his jacket on.
02:01So basically this was the jacket.
02:04I just don't want people to forget about that.
02:07I just want you to remember that no matter the pain you might have, you know, went through, there's always
02:14a light.
02:14Just hang on there, go through that, and just know there's a future in front of you.
02:22But how did a soldier's son become one of Rwanda's most visionary fashion designers?
02:28My father being my father, as a soldier who is in the army, who is a patriot as he is,
02:36he wanted me to do something different.
02:38Because I remember we went into a three-month kind of argument at home.
02:43He was at home, not going at work, so he had, like, a holiday.
02:47I could not even use my sewing machine.
02:50It's a traditional one, making a noise, and everyone is sleeping.
02:54Challenges can fuel determination, as demonstrated by Maurice Niagena.
02:59He kept moving forward despite the difficulties.
03:01How did he find meaning during those tough nights?
03:06When I look back, I also say, thank God he was there.
03:09Because if he was not, I don't think I would have been able to push myself to that limit.
03:15After finishing high school, while his classmates pursued studies in science or business,
03:20Maurice dedicated his time to honing his sewing skills and studying design models.
03:26Quietly and persistently, he continued to build his craft,
03:29refining his collections one piece at a time.
03:32Then came COVID-19.
03:36While the world came to a standstill, Maurice kept creating.
03:42In 2022, when he learned about the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week coming to Kigali,
03:48he decided to take a shot and applied.
03:56Then I was picked.
03:57I was picked and I was surprised.
04:02I was surprised and I was scared.
04:04When I got there, I started to see some big people that I used to see on the TV,
04:09that I used to see on social media, those kind of people.
04:12I did a fitting with the first model and everyone was like, they pulled out their phones,
04:18started filming, started congratulating me.
04:21And I was like, wow, this is surprising.
04:25Wow.
04:25That was the beginning of my journey, which even until this time,
04:29I'm still so thankful for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali,
04:34because I wouldn't be having this material if it wasn't for them, basically.
04:38Is the conflict between a father and his firstborn son still ongoing?
04:43Of course, as a parent, him having something that he wanted me to do,
04:46he kept pushing me, trying to stop me not to do it.
04:51But I took my time, showed him the good impact of it.
04:57And he started now to support me by maybe buying from me, that's one,
05:04bringing some of his colleagues, you know, ah, this is my son.
05:07He makes this, you know, he made this jacket for me.
05:11Soldiers, warriors, struggle, resilience and rebirth
05:14are themes that consistently appear in Mateo's designs.
05:21Being a firstborn, seeing what he was doing,
05:24it translated to me now being inspired by his work, by his dedication.
05:31Every time when he was telling me the stories of how they fought,
05:33how they did this, all those stories, how I used to imagine them,
05:38how I used to imagine his impact, kept coming back and coming back.
05:43And they eventually, after becoming an artist as I am today,
05:48created something out of me.
05:49Today, Maurice's label embodies African identity, resilience and dreams.
05:54The son of a soldier has become a warrior of style,
05:58carrying the spirit of Rwanda to the global stage.
06:03Here comes when I was nothing here.
06:03This remembers the spirit of the에 all the way.
06:04And then we were given this whole time.
06:04what are the two years in writing and writing process is it?
06:04And then of course, first of all,
06:04the experience that it could be.
06:04And it could be a combination of two years,
06:04but because of following the research that every time again,onna
06:04Rolle will recover any of his body,
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