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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. The Rise of "Afropolitan" Fashion ~ Ghanaian designers meld African and cosmopolitan looks to create new styles By Erica Fisher |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations & Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
| Ghanaian designers are using local fabrics in Western styles, and are hoping to attract well-off and Western buyers. |
ACCRA, Ghana—Just off congested Oxford
street, where traders sell kaba and slit, a
traditional wraparound skirt and matching
tailored blouse, Jil Boutique features high-end
labels from France and Italy. And in the back,
proprietor Anne-Marie Adoley Addo sells her
own designs—vibrant cocktail dresses
adorned with traditional beads, and trench
coats in African fabrics.
street, where traders sell kaba and slit, a
traditional wraparound skirt and matching
tailored blouse, Jil Boutique features high-end
labels from France and Italy. And in the back,
proprietor Anne-Marie Adoley Addo sells her
own designs—vibrant cocktail dresses
adorned with traditional beads, and trench
coats in African fabrics.
She sews local fabrics into Western-style garments, selling them for the locally-formidable
prices of $200 to $250 each.
“The world is becoming so small, you get people from abroad coming in here, you should
be happy that somebody can walk in here and identify with your country,” said Addo, 38,
who designs under the label Jil Basia (basia means woman in Afante, a local African
dialect).
prices of $200 to $250 each.
“The world is becoming so small, you get people from abroad coming in here, you should
be happy that somebody can walk in here and identify with your country,” said Addo, 38,
who designs under the label Jil Basia (basia means woman in Afante, a local African
dialect).
Today Ghanaian fashion designers, both young and
established, are fusing traditional African materials with
Western contemporary styles, into a new trend dubbed
“Afropolitan”—a melding of African and cosmopolitan. With an
international customer in mind, they are blurring the boundaries
between Africa and the West, proving that ancient Ghanaian
fashions can survive.
In Accra, the capital, where professional people tend to wear
conservative Western dress – ties, suits and blouses — to
work, traditional clothing is mainly worn on important occasions,
such as births, marriages and funerals.
In 2004, the Ministry of Trade had the brainstorm of creating
“National Friday Wear,” a day dedicated to wearing African
established, are fusing traditional African materials with
Western contemporary styles, into a new trend dubbed
“Afropolitan”—a melding of African and cosmopolitan. With an
international customer in mind, they are blurring the boundaries
between Africa and the West, proving that ancient Ghanaian
fashions can survive.
In Accra, the capital, where professional people tend to wear
conservative Western dress – ties, suits and blouses — to
work, traditional clothing is mainly worn on important occasions,
such as births, marriages and funerals.
In 2004, the Ministry of Trade had the brainstorm of creating
“National Friday Wear,” a day dedicated to wearing African
fabrics and prints. The idea was to both celebrate African traditions and boost the
struggling national textile industry.
“It is a way of really boosting the fashion industry,” said Zita Okaikoi, Ghana’s Minister of
Information. “Every part of the economy that brings income or job opportunities is very
important, and we recognize that.”
Ghana had 14 textile and garment factories in 1975; by 2009 the number had dwindled
to five. “National Friday Wear” has created a niche for some top Ghanaian designers,
such as Bee Arthur, Ben Nonterah, and Kwesi Nti, who sell to the small upper middle
class, mainly domestically.
“Now, because of traditional Friday, I get a lot of top executives who want to come and
wear a shirt on Fridays,” said Arthur, 39, who runs B’Exotiq. “It was a good idea, a really,
really good idea.”
struggling national textile industry.
“It is a way of really boosting the fashion industry,” said Zita Okaikoi, Ghana’s Minister of
Information. “Every part of the economy that brings income or job opportunities is very
important, and we recognize that.”
Ghana had 14 textile and garment factories in 1975; by 2009 the number had dwindled
to five. “National Friday Wear” has created a niche for some top Ghanaian designers,
such as Bee Arthur, Ben Nonterah, and Kwesi Nti, who sell to the small upper middle
class, mainly domestically.
“Now, because of traditional Friday, I get a lot of top executives who want to come and
wear a shirt on Fridays,” said Arthur, 39, who runs B’Exotiq. “It was a good idea, a really,
really good idea.”
Arthur says her clothes have “slight ethnic accents.”
She blends modern and synthetic materials with
traditional woven cloth, using the African prints as
inserts or facings.
A Russian Ghanaian, Arthur also incorporates Asian
and Russian symbols.
“The whole purpose is to make something that
appeals to everybody—something that foreigners
can wear outside of here and not feel awkward
wearing back at home,” said Arthur, who speaks
She blends modern and synthetic materials with
traditional woven cloth, using the African prints as
inserts or facings.
A Russian Ghanaian, Arthur also incorporates Asian
and Russian symbols.
“The whole purpose is to make something that
appeals to everybody—something that foreigners
can wear outside of here and not feel awkward
wearing back at home,” said Arthur, who speaks
fluent Spanish, French, Russian and English.
Kofi Ansah, Ghana’s leading fashion designer, said designing successfully with African
prints turns on how attractively those designs are featured. Ansah, who trained at the
Chelsea School of Art in London, caught Europe’s attention when he used African fabrics
for European styles.
“Have you seen an uncut diamond? It’s a rock, but if you cut it and get enough surface
that when it turns it captures the light and it glitters, it becomes valuable,” he said. “We
need to show the world the usage of our prints,” in order to be profitable internationally.
Ben Nonterah, 38, who specializes in urban African clothing, uses African prints in western
styles. A knee-length skirt in an old African print adorned with red ribbons and sequins is
displayed in his shop window.
“That’s my style,” he said. “I want to be identified with Africa. Yet, even though I am
identified with Africa, it can be worn anywhere in the world—Asia, Africa, America.”
While Ghana’s fashion industry is gaining international recognition, it imports far more
clothing than it exports. Ansah estimated that 60 percent of Ghanaians wear second-hand
clothes imported from Europe and the United States. The Ministry of Information said the
government is working to increase taxes on imported clothing.
“When they come in, they will not be able to compete with the locally manufactured ones,”
Minister Okaiko said.
Now designers are starting to target Accra’s young urbanites, who are carving our space
in their closets next to their Levis and Pumas.
Designer Viviene Dzifa Adugu, 38, of Accra, tries for locally affordable clothes: $10 high-
waisted shorts, $70 backless dresses that lace up the rear.
“It’s chic, its funky, it’s everything,” she said. “You can wear it to the club, birthday parties,
dinner, wherever you want to take it.”
Manise, her store, is only two years old, but Adugu says she sells between 40 and 100
items per week, to both Ghanaians and foreigners.
Titi Ademola, 31, of Kiki Clothing, says that the fashion industry in Ghana has grown
remarkably in the last seven years; the country now has its own Fashion Week.
“President Obama coming to Ghana for 24 hours has put Ghana on the map,” she said,
referring to the U.S. president’s brief visit in July 2009. “The FIFA World Cup in 2010 will be
staged in South Africa, and I feel anyone in the creative field based in Ghana and Africa as
a whole should take advantage. Africa is in now.”
Adugu agreed.
“It’s a heritage thing,” she said. “Africa has been in the backstage for a long time, so it’s
time for us to be forward.”
The next step for many designers is to secure export markets.
“My goal for the future is to see my dress hanging in New York, Paris, London — and Italy,
of course,” said Addo. “That is my dream.”
prints turns on how attractively those designs are featured. Ansah, who trained at the
Chelsea School of Art in London, caught Europe’s attention when he used African fabrics
for European styles.
“Have you seen an uncut diamond? It’s a rock, but if you cut it and get enough surface
that when it turns it captures the light and it glitters, it becomes valuable,” he said. “We
need to show the world the usage of our prints,” in order to be profitable internationally.
Ben Nonterah, 38, who specializes in urban African clothing, uses African prints in western
styles. A knee-length skirt in an old African print adorned with red ribbons and sequins is
displayed in his shop window.
“That’s my style,” he said. “I want to be identified with Africa. Yet, even though I am
identified with Africa, it can be worn anywhere in the world—Asia, Africa, America.”
While Ghana’s fashion industry is gaining international recognition, it imports far more
clothing than it exports. Ansah estimated that 60 percent of Ghanaians wear second-hand
clothes imported from Europe and the United States. The Ministry of Information said the
government is working to increase taxes on imported clothing.
“When they come in, they will not be able to compete with the locally manufactured ones,”
Minister Okaiko said.
Now designers are starting to target Accra’s young urbanites, who are carving our space
in their closets next to their Levis and Pumas.
Designer Viviene Dzifa Adugu, 38, of Accra, tries for locally affordable clothes: $10 high-
waisted shorts, $70 backless dresses that lace up the rear.
“It’s chic, its funky, it’s everything,” she said. “You can wear it to the club, birthday parties,
dinner, wherever you want to take it.”
Manise, her store, is only two years old, but Adugu says she sells between 40 and 100
items per week, to both Ghanaians and foreigners.
Titi Ademola, 31, of Kiki Clothing, says that the fashion industry in Ghana has grown
remarkably in the last seven years; the country now has its own Fashion Week.
“President Obama coming to Ghana for 24 hours has put Ghana on the map,” she said,
referring to the U.S. president’s brief visit in July 2009. “The FIFA World Cup in 2010 will be
staged in South Africa, and I feel anyone in the creative field based in Ghana and Africa as
a whole should take advantage. Africa is in now.”
Adugu agreed.
“It’s a heritage thing,” she said. “Africa has been in the backstage for a long time, so it’s
time for us to be forward.”
The next step for many designers is to secure export markets.
“My goal for the future is to see my dress hanging in New York, Paris, London — and Italy,
of course,” said Addo. “That is my dream.”
| Photos by Erica Fisher |