Ghanaian Label AfroModTrends Presents
Meet ‘The African Gatsby’y – the dazzlingg new collection byy Ghanaian label AfroModTrends following a successful South African debut at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Capep Town recently.y Followingg six versatile collections since the label’s inceptionp in 2011 is AffroMod’s latest collection ‘The Great Gatsby’y inspiredp byy the of a Gatsbyyppartyy in all its gglamour and splendourp set in the 1920’s, with a modern African twist. “The 1920s was a time of ggreat changeg in the world of fashion for women, with the introduction of new stylesy and pperspectives.p This era redefined womanhood and bridgedg the ggapp between wealthyy and workingg class women,” Ami Yomekpe,p architect and the Creative Director of Afromod Trends, explains.p Ami further states that here vision with this collection is to showcase a gglamourous African woman in luxurious Afro-fusion ggarments inspiredp byy the Great Gatsby.y With African inspiredp fabrics from Printex Limited as well as fur, feather, fringinggg and sequinsq in a nod to the era, this collection displayspy the silhouette of the feminine form with luxurious attention to detail. It is also a first for us in the sense of a trulyy luxuryy collection from a ppredominantlyy ready-yto-wear brand.” The collection comes onlyy daysy after the label’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Capep Town showcase which was openedp byy Ghanaian topp model Victoria Michaels and featured pprint fabric from Printex Limited, a Ghanaian textile companypy and headpiecesp byy Cheerybridal,y a buddingg Ghanaian millinery.y The South African debut, Ami believes, is a crucial milestone for the label and a ggreat pplatform to introduce the brand to the South African market. “After six yyears of establishingg the brand in the Ghanaian market, I feel now is the time to explorep new markets across Africa and I can’t think of a better pplatform than MBFWCT. It has been an excitingg few weeks ppreparingpg for our debut here and both the label and our collection have been received well byy the South African audience,” the designer said following her show at the Salt River Studios on Friday,y 7 April.p Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Capep Town is the latest runwayy show under Ami’s fashionable belt. Havingg built one of Ghana’s most celebrated fashion labels, she has ppreviouslyy showcased at fashion shows at home and internationally, most notablyy at Nairobi Fashion Week, Glitz Africa Fashion Week, Accra 2014, Oxford Africa Gala Dinner, United Kingdomg (2015) Ami fell in love with all thingsg fashionable at an earlyy ageg whilst watchingg Styley with Elsa Klensch on CNN back in 1980, fascinated with fashion from all over the world, interviews with designers,g all-access backstageg ppasses and the models on international runways.y Ami is also a versatile entrepreneur,p whose business insightg was recognised g in 2016 byy the Tony yE lu me lu Entrepreneurship pp Program meg (TEEP) when she emergedg as one of the winners to claim $5000 seed fundinggpprize after successfullyy completingpg a twelve-week start-upp enterprisep toolkit online training,g submittingg three pprogressiveg narrative reports, attending gt he Tony yE lu me lu entrepreneurship pp forum and submittingg a viable business pplan. Ami not onlyy launched the label’s own retail spacep in 2013 in Accra’s bustlingg shoppingppg district, Osu, often a luxuryy for most brands in Ghana, she set upp the Fashion for Changeg Africa Foundation to address social challengesg and empowerp the youth through fashionable projects that impact communities ppositively.y The designerg aims to follow upp with a resort collection shortlyy after her South African debut. The designer’sg ggoal is to make AfroMod the ultimate brand in ready-yto-wear Afro-fusion label for the contemporary,py fashion-conscious, Afro-centric woman and The African Gatsbyy is the latest salvo in the designer’s bid to evolve into markets beyond her native Ghana.