How Cedric Mizero Is Reinventing Rwandan Fashion With His Unique Creations

Cedric Mizero was born and raised in a small village called Gishoma in the Western Province of Rwanda. Since he was a teenager he enjoyed experimenting with his clothes and trying styles that would catch the eye of the community around him. The way Mizero uses objects from everyday life – including rush mats, charcoal, and pill cases – to draw attention to the issues of marginalized communities and cultures of Rwanda that we often avoid; reinforces that his work has the power to move the local and the global into a message that is universal and deeply human.

His work does not focus on the negatives often associated with rural hustle life in a developing country. Instead, he celebrates the wealth of the village by communicating complex narratives through his curation like Strong Woman (2017), Beauty in the Heart (2018), Dreaming My Memory (2019), and A New Life in the Village (2019) among others

In 2012 he moved to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, where he started to interact with fashion designers and artists that supported him in his initial experimentation with conceptual art and fashion creation. A self-taught artist, Cedric enjoys observing and exchanging with other artists and artisans to learn from their techniques and hard work to stay inspired and motivated with his own development. He chooses to mix disciplines in his work, experimenting with paint, textures, fabrics, and still objects, allowing himself to navigate freely through feelings and emotions to bring to his art a voice for love.

Cedric feels a very deep connection with nature, culture, and people, and his inspiration emerges from the emotional and sensory experiences with his surroundings and the beauty around the small instants of the day-to-day. His Fashion for All long-term project is part of an artistic commitment to drawing people’s attention to the often-invisible humans of the rural and poor areas of Rwanda.

In 2018 Cedric Mizero was selected to participate in the International Fashion Showcase 2019 as one of the 16 finalists out of 200+ applications from young fashion designers around the world. The prestigious International Fashion Showcase is a partnership between the British Council, The British Fashion Council, London College of Fashion, and Somerset House and it showcases every year the work of the most exciting emerging fashion designers from around the world. Bringing cutting-edge fashion design to London, IFS invites us to explore different cultures and consider current world issues through fashion. At the end of the exhibition, Cedric was awarded the Special Mention to Curation for his Dreaming My Memory.

View Cedric’s work here:

A NEW LIFE IN THE VILLAGE– 2019

“A New Life in the Village is a continuation of Cedric’s work with women in rural areas to attract public attention to the issues surrounding their reality. It highlights some of the challenges faced by women in their relationship with medicine.”

BEAUTY IN THE HEART– 2018

“A tribute to the inner beauty of women, Beauty in the Heart sets the ground to reflect on what beauty really means and invites us to acknowledge and celebrate rural women – regardless of their appearance, lifestyle, and origins.”

STRONG WOMEN -2017

“As part of the Fashion for All concept, Mizero created Strong Women featuring photography, fashion, and mixed media highlighting feminine strength, energy, and responsibility.”

Source: CedricMizero.com

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