Lupita Nyongo flaunts Rwandan handcrafted bag: How it happened. Rwandan fashion designer, model, and actress Aline Amike has gained attention thanks to Hollywood star Lupita Nyong’o, who wore a handcrafted bag from Amike Studio, a Rwandan brand owned by Amike, during the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which ran from February 15 to 25.
Lupita Nyong’o flaunts Rwandan handcrafted bag: How it happened. The ‘Black Panther’ movie star was among seven individuals comprising the International Jury at the film festival. In an Instagram post shared with her over 11 million followers, she expressed: “Jury Duty has been fun, and Berlin has been kind. Thank you to the lovely talent, Aline Amike, who handcrafted this bag for me; it happened to complete my outfit of the day!”
Lupita Nyongo Credits Rwandan handcrafted bag: How it happenedIn an interview with The New Times, Amike revealed the inspiration behind the bag’s design. She shared: “The bag is inspired by the game called ‘Dame’ that I used to play a lot with Fanta bottle covers, known as checkers elsewhere. We played it when I was growing up. I love the pattern, so when we were exploring beading patterns for our collection, this checker pattern came to my mind first.
“I think it’s because I had just come back from visiting my hometown Gikongoro and had been playing most of the days I was there.”
Lupita Nyongo Credits Rwandan handcrafted bag: How it happened. Reflecting on Nyong’o’s endorsement of her brand, Amike expressed: “It still feels unreal. I feel so honoured by how much she liked my work, and it gave me another perspective on the potential the brand itself has. It is something bigger than me, it’s the collective dedication of every woman on my team. Truly inspiring.”
