ACCRA: The New Fashion Frontier

Accra is  West Africa’s style haven – it has been for decades and present day stylists and designers haven’t let up in creating their own fashion aesthetic that puts them at the frontier of contemporary design in Africa. Today we are checking out three Ghanaian designers who are creating new perspectives of African couture that has its roots in Ghanaian street fashion.

Enter Ajepomaa Mensah.

Ajepomaa Gallery (www.ajepomaagallerygh.com) below are collections for her new line Zoti with Ghanaian actress Maame Adjei.

Photographer: Marcus Hessenberg

 

Maame Adjei rocks Zoti

 

 

Alikoto Clothing‘s Capsule collection for Josef Otten customized fabric, modeled by Ghanaian musician/designer Jojo Abot and Ghanaian writer Nanama B. Acheampong.

Photographed by Gerard Nartey

Jojo Abot keeps it cool and funky

 

 

Enter Christie Brown – designing outfits for Beyonce’s Mrs. Carter tour in 2013 put her brand out globally. Ghanaian designer Christie Brown has the world’s attention now.

 

THE BUSINESS OF STREET FASHION IN ACCRA

Story by NANA OSEI KWADWO | Photography by SELORM JAY

The recent “rise of African Fashion” within global media is a bit of a dead tune in these parts. In Ghana, style has always been big news. The Internet makes all the difference now. Some fifteen years ago, you wouldn’t see the freshest Ghanaian designs on Instagram or Tumblr because all the fresh styles were on the streets.

The best designs are still on the streets. Street design shops, big and small, stock some of the finest locally made outfits in the city. Every minute someone from Ghana is posting a Look Book online allowing thousands  of people around the world to tap into Ghana’s style portal. Let’s not forget designer labels like Louis Vuitton slipping fashion aesthetics from Ghana onto the runway without acknowledging the origins.

African Victorian

Ghana has a long tradition of customized clothing dating as far back as the pre-colonial era. Several waves of freed slaves from Bahia in Brazil landed on the shores of West Africa in the mid nineteenth centuries, particularly Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The ones who came to Accra were given land and GA citizenship by King Tackie Tawiah I in 1836. The Tabom people, as these returnees were later called, arrived with a lot of skills ranging from military tactics, architecture, carpentry, irrigation engineering to tailored clothing. The renowned Morton Family are descendants of the Tabom people. The Mortons were expert merchants and tailors, credited with setting up Scissors House, the first tailoring shop in Accra.

LOOK SHARP: Accra Street Style

WELCOME TO ACCRA. | TJ + AJEPOMAA | photo by ACCRA dot ALT

ACCRA‘s got serious style. Folks here love to look good but they keep it low and undercover. But it’s about to get hi-def.

This was more than apparent at the first-ever Ghana Fashion + Design Week held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel over the weekend. The affair brought some of the coolest young designers to strut their stuff on the catwalk including our favorites – Duaba Serwa (Ghana), Sarah Duah (Ghana/Germany), Orange Culture (Nigeria), Coccolily (Ghana/Canada) and Christie Brown (UK/Ghana). These style stars have some bright destinies ahead. Can’t wait to see what they cook up next.

In the meantime and in-between time, peruse through this garden of images. We thought these cool kids had fashion worth stopping to take a picture for. We also decided to do something fun while waiting two hours for the show to finally start. Gotta love our people.

Tune in tomorrow to see photos from the catwalk.

BAYO of Orange Culture | photo by ACCRA dot ALT