Madam Berenice Owen-Jones, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, has encouraged Ghanaian fashion designers to take advantage of opportunities in the global fashion industry and maximise their creativity to compete with the best in the world.
She observed that likewise Australia, Ghana had rich cultural diversity which was reflecting in her indigenous fabric designs, and that the country “is exquisitely positioned” to take advantage of existing opportunities in the fashion industry.
Addressing patrons of the 10th Global Fashion Week organised by the Australian High Commission in Accra, Madam Owen-Jones said Australia had world-class fashion products and designers, who were ready to partner local designers.
“The local fashion industry is already building a strong reputation of creativity and flare as you have seen tonight. I think this is a story worth shouting from the rooftops. Ghanaian designers should be competing with the best in the world.
“We must do all we can to ensure this industry grows and thrives,” she said.
Patrons at the Global Fashion Week were served with a remarkable fusion of indigenous Ghanaian and Australian fashion to celebrate the culture of Australia’s First Nations on the runway.
Australian and Ghanaian designers displayed their creativity using Australian indigenous fabrics and Ghanaian print, with a unique blend of culture, history and modernity.
Indigenous artists in Australia base their original works on their history, their culture and their homeland and each design has its own unique story and meaning to the creator.
One of the designs that greeted the runway, known as “Ladies Collecting Wild Fruits” by First Nation’s artists tells a story of how indigenous Australian women collect fruits and use them to make traditional Australian bread.
Madam Owen-Jones said Australia’s First Nations had for the past 60,000 years preserved their knowledge, values through, paintings and storytelling, textiles and fashion.
She said Australia had a rich and diverse cultural inheritance which was reflected in the country’s fashion industry.
“We celebrate diversity through fashion,” she said.
Madam Owen-Jones said a merger of Australian and Ghanaian indigenous fabrics could create designs that could be exported globally to promote the local fashion industry and create job opportunities.
“Globally, the fashion market is valued at about $3trillion. Both in Australia and in Ghana, the potential for this industry to grow is immense. When you think of it encompasses creators and designers manufacturers, models, photographers, stylists, magazines, media and technology,” she said.
Source: News Ghana
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