African Designers to Take Center Stage at Inaugural Fashion Show During Giants of Africa Festival in Rwanda

PHOTO COURTESY: Designs from Masa Mara

When you mix basketball, music, and fashion, you get culture with a heartbeat. And this year, the Giants of Africa Festival is doubling down on that formula — with its first-ever fashion show, “Threads of Africa.”

This isn't your average runway. It's deeper. It's bold. It's personal.

Giants of Africa is a charitable organization that leverages basketball to uplift African youth, founded in 2003 by Masai Ujiri, the vice chairman and president of the Toronto Raptors. 

Originally from Nigeria, Ujiri's knowledge of the game stems from his experience as a player in Europe, followed by a career as a professional scout and executive within the National Basketball Association.And now, it’s doing that with style.

320 young athletes. 20 countries. Over 20,000 fans.

The weeklong festival kicked off in Kigali, Rwanda, and while basketball is the main event, fashion is the new playmaker.

This week's event marks the second annual occurrence and has made its way back to Kigali, Rwanda, starting on July 26 and continuing until August 2.

Ujiri’s wife, Ramatu, a former model from Sierra Leone, came up with the idea for the show. Her goal? Celebrate Africa’s style diversity — country by country, region by region.

And the lineup doesn’t disappoint.

Masa Mara, repping Rwanda, brings the heat with designs rooted in indigenous craft and pan-African pattern work. Nyambo Masa Mara, the designer behind the brand, has lived in eight African countries — and it shows. His work speaks many languages, but all of them scream “African pride.”

Alia Bare, born in Nigeria and based in Dakar, took a detour from wealth management to fashion school in Singapore. Now, she’s creating sleek, culturally grounded designs inspired by motherhood, migration, and modern African femininity.

Then there’s Afropian — the unapologetically Pan-African brand founded by Hortense Mbea in Addis Abeba. Her Neema capsule pulls from barkcloth, rare beads, and the forests of Africa. This isn’t fast fashion. It’s ancestral storytelling — in stitches.

600 guests. One runway. Zero livestreams.

This is an invite-only moment. And the venue? Not your typical catwalk. The newly opened Zaria Court is hosting the show — a multifunctional, reimagined sports hub built from shipping containers, nestled between Kigali’s stadiums.

Zaria Court used to house athletes. During the 1994 genocide, it was a UN base. Now, it’s a symbol of new life — complete with co-working spaces, a boutique hotel, a park, a gym, and soccer fields. Holding Threads of Africa here feels poetic. It’s a full-circle moment.

While the rest of the week’s events have major sponsors, the fashion show has none. And maybe that’s the point. No big brand. No flashy campaign. Just raw talent, open air, and honest design.

So what’s the bigger picture?

Fashion in Africa isn’t a trend. It’s a truth. It’s where culture, struggle, and ambition meet. This show isn’t about hype. It’s about heritage. It’s about showing the next generation that they don’t have to choose between sports, style, or self-expression.

They can do it all.

Because being African means more than where you are from. It’s how you move. How you dream. How you show up in the world — with swagger, purpose, and pride.

And that? That’s always in fashion.