"Rwandan brand, House of Tayo draws from innate African sophistication and local craftsmanship to create a line of clothing and accessories with contemporary appeal. Here, the brand’s founder and creative director Matthew 'Tayo' Rugamba discusses how telling African stories through his designs helps him create collections with cultural significance."

"When he started House of Tayo, Rugamba had not a shred of experience in fashion or design, and only had a few bow ties lying around. What he did have was a blog post on Tumblr he posted in early 2012 about African fashion, which spoke about the way bow ties were going to be his way of telling the story of an Africa that is sophisticated and dignified."

Entrepreneurship, creativity, awesome design…these are a few of our favorite things and just a few of the reasons why we love House of Tayo! Founded in 2011 by Rwandan entrepreneur Matthew Rugamba, House of Tayo is a locally-made clothing and accessories line with a mission to showcase African sophistication and style. We partnered with them to create a collection of Dutch wax fabric bowties featuring the brand’s iconic bold colors, vibrant patterns, and distinctive Rwandan flair!

When I sat down to talk to Matthew Rugamba, the upcoming star of the Africa Channel series House of Tayo: Journey of a Rwandan Designer, I expected to speak to an upcoming fashion designer about the typical topics: inspirations, background and how being from Rwanda inspires his designs. But what I found is probably what most people find when they talk to him – do not underestimate this 25-year-old.

House of Tayo hosted Bold Africa's first pop-up shop in Kigali. 

“We make at least 30 bowties in two or three days. The bowties are tricky to make and require a lot of patience. But Rugamba has marketed us well and we receive many clients,” Mukandahiro explains.

House of Tayo's Founder and Creative Director, Matthew Rugamba was interviewed by Rwandan morning show 'Rise and Shine.'