It has been two and a half years, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali is still silent. Whether the fault lies with the organizers or Mercedes-Benz is unclear. So, will East Africa’s promising fashion week ever return?

To understand the weight of this question, one must look to its roots. A year after the launch of the Visit Rwanda campaign—now emblazoned on the sleeves of Arsenal jerseys—came the first edition of the fashion week. Mercedes-Benz identified Kigali as a budding fashion hub and introduced Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali in 2019. The move was part of its global initiative to spotlight fashion in lesser-known cities.

On 19 May 2022, cobalt blue stage lights and Mike Kayihura’s vocals—warm and magnetic, with a tinge of breathiness—chaperoned models down a pearl-white runway. Later, Christopher Muneza took the stage, heightening the ambience. That night, ten emerging Rwandan designers showcased their collections, closing out what was only the second edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali. But with little sign of a third, it may well have been the last.

The event may have meant clicks and attention for Kigali, or perhaps a more diverse portfolio for a Fortune 500 company like Mercedes-Benz. Either way, the arrangement was mutually beneficial, which isn’t inherently a bad thing. The relationship becomes harmful when designers and fashion creatives become overly dependent on the event. If a sponsor backs out—if the brand decides the opportunity is no longer lucrative—the event disappears. What’s left is a cloud: heavy with abandoned collections, stalled careers, and the quiet frustration of designers who built their calendars around a runway that may never return.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali once promised a future for fashion across most of East Africa. Now, its spark is fast fading. There are no official press releases confirming its end, just an absence without apology. The length of the wait is unknown, though swift action may yet save it from becoming a cautionary tale.

Most of East Africa’s fashion weeks are still in their infancy—a stage made more vulnerable by the tenuous, event-by-event contractual model that sustains them. For events like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali, survival hinges on continuity through multi-year commitments.

That said, just as the Visit Rwanda campaign elevated the country’s tourism sector, agile and strategic efforts could expand the reach of Kigali’s MBFW across global social platforms. Good things take time, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kigali may yet stage a powerful comeback after this long hiatus—but for now, fashion waits for no one.