We need to give the fashion industry some spotlight - Okraku Mantey

President of the Creative Arts Council, Mark Okraku Mantey says the country’s fashion industry has not received the attention it deserves regardless of being one of the biggest contributors to the creative industry.

According to him, with the minimum support, the industry which already provides numerous opportunities can also become a huge source of revenue for the country.

He believes the fashion scene in Ghana can thrive more and more if the country is made a fashion production hub.

“We’ve not given the fashion industry the spotlight they deserve. You’ll be surprised by the huge numbers they have. We need to take them through masterclasses and they need to be given more contracts”.

The talent manager added that just like other countries are doing, fashion designers in Ghana can be given contracts to sew summer jeans and other apparel for big brands like H&M.

“Such contracts are quite juicy and you can imagine how much money they can make”.

To him, Ghana should transition from the bespoke system as it is not making fashion designers any money.

Speaking to Docta Cann on Happy 98.9 FM’s Showbiz Xtra, Mark said, “In Europe, only the rich go in for their measurements to be taken and clothes are sewn for them. But same cannot be said for Ghana. The bespoke system is what we do here but there is no money in that. We can change that. Just like you see great British brands having their shoes labelled, made in Vietnam and China, we can also make Ghana a hub for such productions.

For all these to be possible, Mark appealed to Ghanaians to wear made in Ghana stuff more.

He said: “If we do that, we can organize expos and get all the support we need. International brands who come for these expos will see our geat outputs and ask for supplies from us”.