XL’s Featured Tribe’s Men: Dr Lionel Horugavye

1. I think one of my biggest fashion obstacles is to find clothes that fit my body properly. For example,  when it comes to pants, they are either too large and long or tight and short. I always end up tailoring and tapering most of the clothes to fit my body. Thankfully, lately there are a lot of brands on the market tailored for plus size men.

2. I’m from a little country in the east part of Africa called Burundi (yeah! I know, its probably the first time you have heard of it). The biggest trend that we have is Ankara (Kitenge) style. For those who are still unclear about what Ankara actually is, Ankara is the word used to describe the bright printed fabric that is inspired by African fashion. There’s this conception that when a man gets Ankara fabric, he has to stick to the normal shirt and trouser swag all day. However, despite the “modernization” of the Ankara fashion style, it is still not my kind of style.

 

3. Through my years, I have learned that not everything comes together like you planned in your head, so I always try many outfit options to avoid fashion misses. Looking back, I remember wearing those saggy homeboys jeans, which weren’t really flattering at all as they made me look much more bigger than I was.

4. I have many inspirations. Growing up my biggest fashion inspiration was my dad, although he is always teasing me about my choice of bright colored suits, we both share this common love for suits and ties. My current inspirations include Michael Anthony (thebigfashionguy on instagram), Lancelot Franklin (goodboyfashion on instagram) and Craig Stubbs ( ownurstyle_007 on instagram). They all have a great sense of fashion that I can relate to and most importantly, they are promoting fashion for plus size men, which is something we don’t often see out there.

Instagram: @lionel_big