Papa Oppong, illustrator, designer and one of the fifty fashion persons we profiled at the start of the year has debuted his new collection ‘Makola’ at the DC Fashion Incubator Showcase. Oppong was one of two international designers chosen to enter the prestigious residency programme for fashion designers, the other was Tsemaye Binitie (Nigeria.).
The new collection has strong earth motifs, with applique vegetables applied on wrap jackets, blousons and coats. Inspired by the market women of Makola, a sleepy village in the designer’s hometown, it seeks to interpret the essence of these women and distil it into high fashion. In the words of the designer…
“Devastating fires, congestion, commerce and most importantly, an uncanny beauty envelopes the popular Ghanaian market known as Makola…
“Do my melons entice you?”
“Do you want a bite of my succulent oranges?”
The market women of Makola seductively call out to you as you meander through its narrow paths…these women are powerful…layering their garments in the quirkiest manner, their planet-sized sun hats involved in a strong love affair with the barely existent African shade.
Soon, you realize the Makola market women don’t only tug at your sleeves, they tug at your heartstrings as well….
Awula, Auntie Ofoole, Mamkpa… I celebrate your endurance…your beauty…your strength…“
-Papa Oppong
The first images have been released via the designer’s instagram account and from what we see, we cannot wait to see the full thing.
A photo posted by Papa Oppong (@papaoppong) on
Make us proud Papa.