Following on the heels of South African Fashion Week, Ghana’s capital city and fashion nexus, Accra, became home for fashion enthusiasts over the weekend for this year’s Glitz Africa Fashion Week. This season saw a fête of fashion themed “creativity and sustainability” as 27 Pan-African designers unveiled their offerings for the Spring/Summer 23 season.
In keeping with this year’s theme, various designers took pages out of the traditional fashion practices playbook. They elevated it to create looks that the modern Pan-African would love to be seen in. From hand beading and embroidery techniques at Atafo, artisanal prints and pattern work in the emerging atelier, Amin, to brilliant indigo dying at Kwelaku. Designers at this year’s Glitz Africa Fashion Week set a new benchmark, proving that sustainable fashion transcends a buzzword and is rather the future of the industry.
Apart from all the knockout designers who sent looks down the runway, The Or Foundation, a Ghanaian non-profit organisation dedicated to tackling issues of fast fashion and the oversaturation of textile waste, took centre stage to present a moving sartorial commentary in collaboration with head potters. These women transport bales of second-hand clothing within Kantamanto, Ghana’s biggest thrift market.
Read on for our run-through of outstanding fashion moments and collections from Ghana’s most prominent fashion week.
Koffi Maako
Set against the concrete backdrop of the Nubuke Foundation, in East Legon, Accra, designer Zachariah Maako debuted his first-ever runway collection. Melodic Ghanaian Hiplife music filled the air as models strutted in Maako’s vision of a spring/summer wardrobe.
For the collection, the emerging designer looked to revamp and breathe life into old pieces. Here, flouncy A-line dresses are layered over black panelled bell bottoms to create an eccentric feel, and pencil silhouette dresses with trumpet sleeves are rendered in earth-toned batik. Koffi Maako also toys with the idea of pseudo-layering which he executes exceptionally in a black and white batik shirt dress that passes for a two-piece. This young designer is threading the path to greatness and is soon to become a household name.
Amin
Fusing soft tailoring, an appealing colour story, and creative prints and pattern work, Amin presented a spring/summer collection that could easily star in any modern Pan-African woman’s closet. Paying close attention to details, the design collective presented a seasonal offering that is elevated yet wearable and rendered in a summery palette of hues such as paprika greens, amethyst pink, blues and more.
Suits and dresses are emblazoned with custom Amin prints which echo the handmade and craftcore trend that has been making waves since the pandemic era. Elsewhere, vibrant handwoven Fugu fabrics and embellishments are juxtaposed with black and blue solids for high impact.
Kwelaku
Designer Victoria Chikweluaku Anosike knows how to celebrate women and make them feel beautiful and this season was no different. This year, Kwelaku honoured the resilience of African people in a collection named “Unbroken”.
Burst geometry and abstract paint splatter come together in fluid silhouettes to form her vision of spring/summer fashion. Embellishments, iridescent solids, and dopamine hues emphasise the overall mood of this collection. The craftsmanship here is tribal-chic and seriously impressive – think a compendium of traditional indigo-dyed tiered dresses, dramatic sleeves and uber-feminine dresses with a play on fabric textures.
Reeyah Swim
With Macrame and crochet trends still in full swing, Ghanaian designer, Marie La-Anyane, carried forward this narrative in her collection this season. Dubbed “Made of Earth”, La-Anyane sent models walking down the runway in a selection of hand-crocheted clothing. Cut-outs and slinky string details dominated the Reeya looks, giving the beach-ready pieces a florid look and feel. There is no doubt that the clothes presented are going to be seen everywhere come summertime and beyond.
Any seasoned fashion week attendee knows that great fashion moments occur beyond the runways. With his off-site fashion exhibition at The Lotte, Nigerian designer, Mai Atafo, responded to this appeal at this year’s Glitz Africa Fashion Week.
“This season, we are expanding on the Atafo line, with more focus on women. We have always done womenswear but this is the first time we’re trying to do everyday pieces for women” he mentioned, speaking on the collection's focus.
As one would expect from a collection that centres everyday pieces, the colour palette is very neutral with everything from khaki browns, denim blue washes and soft colours that can be mixed and matched easily. The clothing is anything but basic – longline skirts are tailored to resemble dress pants and are paired with a not-so-regular cropped denim jacket. Wardrobe essentials like white shirts and shift dresses are reimagined with lots of styling options. Atafo updated the women’s power suit in different iterations, from a two-piece custom Atafo print suit down to meticulously hand-bead embroidered power suits.
