Eight young designers for Fashion Weekend

Saturday, May 23, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 47)

By Rebecca Kwei
Eight amateur fashion designers have been selected to feature in this year’s Ghana Fashion Weekend 2009.
They are Klekleli Dzidienyo, Elimens, Quami Wear, Rowena Adjivon, Salimi, Miriam Yentumi, Bern Mensah and Doreen Lartey.
The event, which is scheduled for July 1-4, 2009 at the Accra International Conference Centre, is a blend of modelling shows and fashion exhibition and it is aimed at promoting African fashion. “Harnessing Creative Talents within Africa” is the theme for the event.
According to Sima Ibrahim, the CEO of Exopa Model Agency, organisers of the event, the best up-coming fashion designer who will be selected through a contest will be sponsored by the French Embassy to France to develop his or her talent.
Additionally, the French Embassy will engage the services of a Cameroonian designer who will take the young designers through a workshop before the final event.
After the event, each of the young designers will also have the opportunity to understudy a local professional designer for about a year.
Twenty designers comprising 10 of Ghana’s most respected designers, 10 from the international scene, in addition to the eight young designers, would showcase their talent at the event.
About 100 Exopa models made of 40 foreign models and 60 from Ghana will feature on the runway and they are expected to treat the audience to unique catwalk experience.
Some of the designers are Joyce Ababio, Allan David, Royal Dennis, Menice Apparel and Nallem, all from Ghana, Alphadi, Niger, Modella, Nigeria, and Adebayor Jones, UK.
The exciting side attraction is that Boris Kodjoe, the German-Ghanaian actor and designer, who owns the Ziami Clothing lines, will be in Ghana to grace the occasion. He will be accompanied by his wife, Nicole Ari Parker, who is also an actress.
Boris, well known for his role as Damon Carter in show time drama ‘Soul Food’, will showcase his designs.
Mr Ibrahim said some of the Black Stars players such as Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Stephen Appiah, Arsenal player Emmanuel Adebayor and Gerald Asamoah, who plays for the German national team and Schalke 04, will model clothes from Boris Kodjoe.
Mr Ibrahim said he had been to the USA to meet with Boris, who is excited about coming to Ghana.
He said Black Entertainment Television (BET), an American cable network, is doing a documentary on Boris Kodjoe and will thus accompany him to Ghana to film his (Boris) background, as well as the event.
He noted that this would give the fashion industry in Ghana a boost, since the documentary would be shown to a wider audience.
Mr Ibrahim said there would also be a fashion exhibition that would run concurrently with the modelling shows and appealed to people engaged in fashion-related products and services to contact Exopa for space allocation.
He said the modelling events would not only feature slim ladies but l-sized ladies will also hit the runway.
“Most Ghanaian ladies are not slim and it is important that we do not always focus on the slim ones only but encourage designers to create outfits for l-sized ladies as well.”