Wife of Ghanaian Vice President, Samira Bawumia has been one of the anchors of the ' Wear Ghana' trend. Ever since her husband’s coronation last year, all her apparels for official appearances are interlaced with something Ghanaian.
Ghana’s cultural identity globally is largely built on three thematic areas: what we wear, what we eat and our ethnic diversity.
Our local way of dressing is international. Nowadays, rarely do you see pictures of couples during their traditional engagements without shades of kente in their costume.
Dressing the Ghanaian way for both the corporate world and local events peaked over a decade ago, however, recently, the incessant wearing of Ghanaian prints and fabrics is on the wane.
In November 2004, ex-Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor launched a national policy that mandates government employees to wear Ghanaian prints to work every Friday.
This was adopted by private firms in corporate Ghana as well as organizations printed local fabrics with the logos firmly embossed in them which were worn by all staff on Fridays.
The initiative, which was championed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry was aimed at projecting a unique Ghanaian identity.
Though some government employees still abide by this policy fourteen years later, the enthusiasm behind it has dropped greatly and most people have totally shunned it.
Fashionista and Artistic Director of Meg’Signature Clothing, Mrs. Margaret Adjei thinks greed from most local fashion houses is one of the major reasons for the dwindling fortunes of the ‘wear Ghana’ initiative.
“Those who know the worth and what goes into the making of the product would appreciate and purchase...some of us producers prefer having lots of clients to satisfy and work for than just a few ones who can afford us and so we wouldn't deliberately inflate prices of our goods so high that it would drive all their buyers away”, she said.
“It's like a like a scale..the higher the quality of a product the more it'll be expensive and the fewer people who would be interested whereas the lower the quality, the cheaper and the more people would patronize but at the end of the day, quality lasts.”
Despite this dip in the mandatory Friday wear initiative, some Ghanaian celebrities have been showcasing this laudable idea at every turn on social media.
Most of the pictures that make it to the main feed of these celebrities on Instagram has shades of Ghanaian prints in the outfits being displayed. Also, most of the designers behind these flamboyant clothes are home-based.
Wife of Ghanaian Vice President, Samira Bawumia has been one of the anchors of this trend. Ever since her husband’s coronation last year, all her apparels for official appearances are interlaced with something Ghanaian.
Actress and television presenter, Joselyn Dumas has also been a trailblazer in ‘Wear Ghana’. Not to forget the likes of actress Juliet Ibrahim, television presenters Naa Ashorkor Mensah-Doku and Berla Mundi of GHOne.
Margaret Adjei also contends that there’s no big difference between the foreign dresses and that of Ghanaian origin.
“I sew for clients custom made however are ready to wear clothes are sometimes more or less or equal to similar ready to wear clothes outside the country.”
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On the issue of if the lack of creativity is the sole reason for the decline in patronage of Friday wears, Mrs. Adjei said: “I Believe fashion design has evolved tremendously from how it was some years back before some of us even joined the industry. There are so many of us, well-established designers now who produce outfits of international standards and are always coming up with new creative designs to keep fashion lovers busy within and outside the country.”
The issue of how expensive it is to purchase and sew made in Ghana fabrics has also been attributed to the recent low patronage of this initiative.
For corporate worker Claudia, the aforementioned reason is the main challenge of why her patronage of Friday wears has declined. She said a single sewn outfit costs GHS 200 which is on the high side compared to an ‘already made’ outfit.
“When u look at the cost tailors charge to sew and the cost of the cloth and even sometimes the disappointments, you will prefer to buy an already made outfit”, she said.
Efforts are being made by the government to revive the ‘Wear Made in Ghana’ campaign and it is evidently being manifested by the constant wearing of African prints by President Akufo-Addo.
It will take a lot of energy by the government to revive enthusiasm of this campaign to the 2004 levels, however, constant efforts by all and sundry will surely revive this noble initiative and needless to say: it will go a long way to boost the Ghanaian economy.