00:01Fashion was always Patrick's dream, but war tore his dream apart.
00:08Today, Patrick Mihindo is turning rubble into runway in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where survival is the norm.
00:19I have no other choice but to start again because I chose fashion.
00:25Back in 2019, Patrick's studio was buzzing.
00:30Coleco Arts was the talk of Goma.
00:33Think bold, gender-fluid pieces echoing Congo's dandy elegance.
00:39Then one day, everything vanished.
00:43Machines, fabric, even his clients.
00:47I lost everything during the crisis.
00:51I lost a lot of equipment as well, so I went bankrupt during this crisis.
00:59I was truly shocked.
01:01I was at my wit's end because it was truly terrible.
01:06In Goma, the next day is often not assured.
01:11Constant conflict has left the city slow on development.
01:16Poverty and despair drown purpose and success.
01:21But for Patrick, fashion has been his saving grace.
01:26Fashion for me is a whole life because it also gives me hope.
01:32I have to create and I have to concentrate.
01:35Because many people think that Goma is only war.
01:38Goma is only armed conflicts and all that.
01:41But when I see Goma, I see a whole future.
01:45After standing in the ruins, Patrick asked himself,
01:49Do I give up or start from zero?
01:53It took me a long time to rebuild.
01:57It devastated me.
01:59But I was the one who held on.
02:03I think what kept me going was seeing a whole future surrounded by the people I worked with.
02:10I can say that fashion was their whole life, their whole future.
02:16I couldn't give up because if I had, I would have given up on all their dreams, all their futures.
02:25As Relative Calm returns, Patrick is reestablishing Kuliko Arts, using fashion as therapy.
02:34It took many steps, more than five or six months, to work like this without any.
02:43Because since the crisis, there haven't been any cultural activities.
02:50There haven't been any cultural centers to hold exhibitions.
02:55It's starting to move forward gradually.
02:58As Patrick refuses to fade, his comeback isn't just about making fashion.
03:05It's about creativity emerging from chaos.
03:09And we know that losing everything we had and starting over isn't easy.
03:16We say we are going to rebuild the future of young people.
03:22The future of those with a passion for fashion.
03:27And the future for DRC.
03:29The future of Africa.
03:31Because fashion is a whole future.
03:35Now, Patrick is straining the next generation of fashion icons
03:40and showing that creativity can outlast conflict.
03:45He prefers to stay in Goma because living might seem easy, but staying is an act of faith.
03:54In my profession, the act of faith will serve me much better.
03:58In my field, the act of faith will be invaluable.
04:02Because often in Eastern Congo, women are victims of their suffering.
04:07If I can put it that way.
04:09So, through the fashion I'm creating, I'm going to have to showcase the value of African women.
04:15I'm going to have to showcase their creativity.
04:19Every year, Patrick organizes events to sell his peers' work.
04:25Demonstrating that fashion heals communities.
04:29I'm going to show the whole world that there is talent in Goma.
04:33Because many already think that African creators are creators from foreign countries like Senegal, Benin, other countries like Nigeria.
04:43But they often forget Goma, which also has talent.
04:48In 2026, I can say all my creations are just a way of paying tribute to the victims of the
04:56war, to all the dead.
04:58This is what will speak for my creations of 2026.
05:03If we have the chance, we will do an exhibition for this collection of 2026.
05:11Patrick Mihindo lost it all.
05:13But rebuilt with modern fabric, he stitched resilience, peace and pride in every piece.
05:22And in 2018, I lost one of the people who was American and with braids in that era,
05:23If someone started to pay tribute to the movie on Broadway, or they worked to all go to Colorado's,
05:26the explosion was one of them before and they fell back in
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