Fashion Forum looks ahead
When a variety of stakeholders in the fashion business gathered at the British Council Hall in Accra early last month for the fourth instalment of Fashion Forum Ghana’s (FFG) quarterly talk series, it was a strong affirmation of the organisation’s will to remain a relevant force on the fashion circuit in this country.
FFG was founded by designer and public relations practitioner, Makeba Boateng, as a platform for intelligent and forward-looking discussions on fashion-related matters.
In her view, fashion is a big-time global industry that can bring dramatic transformation to our society if pursued from the right perspectives.
Topics for the discussions have so far been carefully selected with knowledgeable panelists drawn from the areas of fashion design, legal expertise, marketing strategy and capital acquisition.
The four forums already held have therefore thrown up extremely useful ideas that seem to have extremely benefited many youthful members of the fashion community.
“We are committed to helping the fashion business in this country rise to new heights. It is a challenge that can be conquered and we are all looking forward to the immense and broad benefits for this country as we continue to be creative and work hard,” Ms Boateng said.
The first forum was held in March last year at the National Theatre as part of the Ghana Culture Day celebration. Topic for discussion was ‘The Legal Usage of the Name ‘Ghana’ in Fashion Identities and Branding.’
The second forum came off at the British Council Hall in Accra in June 2016 where panelists tackled the issue of ‘Globalising Ghanaian Fashion.’ The subsequent one was in September 2016 at the same venue and it treated the topic of: ‘Start-Ups: Is Fashion a Risky Business for Banks In Ghana to Invest In?’
The fourth forum talked about ‘Trading in West Africa and Trade Fair Participation as a Way to Expose Products.’
Panelists at the various forums included Mr Tetteh Adzedu, Chairman of the Ghana Association of Fashion Designers and CEO of Adzedu of Shapes Fashion Institute; Mrs Sarah Anku, a State Attorney at the Registrar General’s Office; Mrs Yvonne Ntiamoah, Head of the Fashion Design Department at the Rashford University College and Aisha Ayensu , Creative Director and CEO of Christie Brown.
Others were Papa Oppong, a 2015 graduate of Rashford University College; Mrs Linda Ampah, CEO of Cadling Fashions; Mr Alexander Dadzawa of the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority; Mrs. Leticia Sam, CEO of Tishy’s Textiles, Madame Marie Kipre, CEO of Totally Ethnik and Aretha Sarfo-Kantanka, founder of Global Fusion Productions Inc.
“They all brought their different but authoritative viewpoints across clearly and we are all the wiser for attending the forums. Another one is scheduled for early March as part of the 2017 Ghana Culture Day event and we trust it would be one more moment to bring better awareness of the fashion business ,” the FFG founder pointed out.
As fashion stakeholders look forward to the fifth forum, the FFG is also hopeful that its intention to roll out similar events in the sub-region would materialise soon to help keep African fashion on the front burner across the world all the time.
