Taking African fashion to another level
The Ghanaian fashion scene is currently being dominated by young dynamic fashion designers who are changing how the public sees and understands Ghanaian fashion.
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One such youngster is Ellisha Boie of Boie and Bill Collections, a label he shares with his brother.
Ellisha is changing the game by creating casual clothes that the youth can relate to with an African twist by thinking outside the box. Ellisha’s designs include African print sweatshirts, African print bomber jackets, and African print Emoji crop top shirts among others.
In an interview with Showbiz on Tuesday, Ellisha said he is determined to push African fashion and art beyond the boundaries of Africa to places that have never experienced and appreciated African art and he is doing this by blending styles and creating a mix of African and contemporary designs.
Ellisha said his love and appreciation for fashion developed at an early age, perhap due to the fact that he comes from a family of fashion designers who had a great influence on him.
“Also, growing up my brother and I had an opportunity to read various fashion magazines and videos. From a very young age, we had the opportunity of seeing the fashion process from inception till completion but as we grew older, we decided to turn the game around and take it to another level,” he said.
Although relatively new to the fashion scene in Ghana, Ellisha told Showbiz that the reaction he has received so far has been great.
“The youth have been very receptive of our work and we are selling a lot and getting a lot of response from Europe and other parts of Africa as well,” he said.
Describing the challenges he faces as a young designer, Ellisha said funding is one of the major ones.
“With adequate funding, we can afford to produce more and sell for less. But as it stands currently, we produce at a high cost and sell at a high cost as a result. This means that although many would like to purchase our products, the price becomes a deterrent,” he said.
“We want to get to the point where our clothes are as casual as a polo shirt or a t-shirt people wear daily. We want to become a must-have design or shirt you have in your wardrobe and grow to spread across Africa,” he said.
Ellisha is quickly carving a niche for himself in the area of celebrity merchandising and creating clothing lines for celebrities. “So far we have done clothes for Wiyaala, Raquel, Wan Luv de Kubulor and Mensah, Kofi Kinaata and a host of others,” he added.
The final year student of the University of Pentecost said for the fashion industry to grow, there needs to be support just as has been done for other sectors of the creative industry.
“Fashion shows should be as ‘normal’ as music concerts in the country where you find people in the 10 regions tuned in and watching. That should be the type of support the fashion industry needs to receive.
“ I believe that fashion is the future and just like how people are making money with music and movies, the same can be done from fashion if we make it mainstream and give it support,” he added.