During GDN’s visit to The Netherlands for a showcase at International Fashion Week, this network of Ghanaian entrepreneurs met up with Vlisco in Amsterdam to see what kind of sparks would fly. Through this burst of energy, the designers let loose and unleashed their talents to capture the zeitgeist of Ghanaian fashion in this lightning-fast “Campaign-in-a-Day.”
In an Amsterdam-based studio, two top couturiers Gerardo and Alette gave a moulage-workshop to the fashion designers of the delegation. They also brought their fashionweek – collection to the studio, and produced photography and graphic design concepts with the Vlisco-team and the other creatives from the Ghana Design Network. A full day of creative experiments concluded with a brand-communications workshop by branding-expert Angela Kilcoyne. Lastly, their week ended with a spectacular showcase at the International Fashion Week in Amsterdam, where Ghanaian fashion designers impressed audiences with a vibrant 2019 collection.
The group of fourteen entrepreneurs — including fashion and graphic designers, business developers, and models — are a delegation of the in 2015 established Ghana Design Network: united with the common goal “to assist in creating a more lively and inspirational design eco-system in Ghana.” The delegation is supported by the Dutch Embassy in Accra, Vlisco Group, and International Fashion Week Amsterdam.
MEMBERS OF THIS YEAR’S NETWORK WERE:
Afua Rida of StyledByRida • Aaron Gyabaah Jnr. Yeboah of African Lens • Beatrice Asare Mantakah of Threaded Tribes • Bernnett Brako Asiamah of Bello Couture • Dominic Agyemang Pambour of Eketino • Emmanuel Yeboah Bobbie of Bob Pixel • Jeffery Nii Hammond of Neno MMX • Johnson Opoku Donkor of Jommo’s Clothing • Model Julee Djoulde Bocoum of MisJulee • Kenneth Tetteh of Kenneth Tetteh Collection • Nana K. Duah of Oxygen Ghana/Vertu • Roberta Oye Appiah of Roye • Steve French of Steve French Illustrations • Belinda Ofori of Turquoise Couture, who was the 2017 Ghanaian winner of the Vlisco Fashion Fund was also amongst the network of designers.
