The fashion week calendar may be closed in South Africa, but it’s still very much open in West Africa.
Ghana is hosting its annual Accra Fashion Week at Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.
For five days, African fashion creatives will be under one roof to share all things fashion, from dialogues at the African Fashion Summit to exciting runway shows.
Accra Fashion Week 2023 kicks off on December 13 with an exclusive press night where the media, influencers and creatives meet the designers at Amba Gallery.
Day two will be dedicated to the Hollantex Swimwear Delux show, where designers like Mikoko Deluxe, Catherine Natang, Thee 3 Inception, Rogue Wave and Arisar will unveil their swimwear ranges.
On Friday, December 15, there will be an African Fashion Summit in the afternoon. African fashion experts who attended the BRICS+Fashion Summit will be giving an update about all that they’ve learned in Moscow and how they will use that information to uplift the African fashion industry.
As much as African creatives like Nana Tamakloe have managed to build successful African fashion platforms like Accra Fashion Week, they are still behind compared to other continents, which receive support from the government.
“When it comes to fashion, Africa has a different dynamic. If you look at what was happening in Moscow, where BRICS Fashion Week usually happens, the government is involved.
“There is sponsorship. Whereas when you go to Africa, our government doesn’t work for us. They work for others, so everything you see in Africa is by the people, for the people.
“As much it’s growing, it has to grow with a social understanding that our entertainment, our fashion, our movies are not just as you see in other countries, it’s an uphill struggle,” said Tamakloe.
December 16 and 17 will be for the main fashion shows. Showcasing on Saturday, December 16, are Mark Johnson from the United Kingdom, Amor Emel and Arisae from Barbados, Erratum Fashion from Belgium, Maria Akpess from France, Nigeria’s Aso Aje, Gnocchi from Italy and Birth Maark from South Africa.
Paying homage to their home soil are Ghana's Abena Yawson, Hemade, Odefille, Maakwah, The Dressmakers GH, Katieo Eleganza and Udefineu.
Later on, there will be a Mikoko Deluxe show of resort fashion swimwear and the face of the Accra Fashion Week 2023 semi-finals.
On Sunday, December 17, Andila Andila of Namibia, Juju Fashion of Benin, Edged x Echelon and Tialani of Barbados Terry Made of Malawi, Catherine Natang of Cameroon, Rogue Wave of Angola, Thee 3 Inception and Nykwale of Canada, Cecelia Solinas of Mozambique, BeFree of Burkina Faso and Ghana’s Ayigo, Cross Culture, Pelliguen, Kustom Looks, and Style by Magbrien will take to the runway to present their collections.
Accra Fashion Week will end with an after-party, with DJ Lotto Bilz and DJ Nyce behind the decks.