At The Other Style, we are strong proponents of the radical idea that not every African fashion brands needs to be a luxury or a premium brand. There are several demographics all needing specific clothing and design labels need to tap into those niches to meet those demands. This is what Ghanaian high street label Wear Ghana is doing with its new collection, the GIGI collection.
The GIGI collection is the brand’s first proper foray into the athleisure trend that has swept the world and birthed collaborations between high street pioneers like Top Shop and mega superstars like Beyonce and Pharrell Williams.
Wear Ghana puts a spin on the trend by creating a line of unisex pieces, overlong polo shirts that can double as dresses, drop crotch pants with multi-strap detailing and multi-hued dress shirts. As is favored in Ghana, the brand also incorporates African inspired print wax in the form of insert panels.
Abena Awura, creative director of the brand speaks on the motivations behind the collection as thus:
At WEARGhana, our aim has always been to help Ghanaians look great at all events, wearing made-in-Ghana outfits. We noticed that while a lot of progress had been made in the formal and semi-formal categories, we really didn’t have worthy alternatives for casual foreign outfits like the polo shirt. And we realized that was a huge market.
Angorkor, the other half of the WEARGhana duo added, “GIGI is a t-shirt with unique statement print details. It’s both dressy and casual. Initially we were torn between presenting it as gents or ladies wear, and then ended up thinking, “why can’t it be both”? A ‘dress shirt’. So we tested the concept for a while and the response was overwhelming.”
We like that the GIGI Athleisure line steps away from the monochromatic trend that seems to define most of the collections and collaborations that capitalize on the trend, though at some points the kaleidoscope of colours veered almost to the point of being cartoonish. But this is a first experiment and very interesting and we’re now piqued to see what Wear Ghana does with the trend in future collections.
