In 2015, the Harn Museum of Art organized Kabas and Couture: Contemporary Ghanaian Fashion, one of the first American exhibitions to focus exclusively on the fashion culture of Ghana, a country in West Africa. At the time, very few fashion exhibitions included designers from the African continent, much less providing a comprehensive exploration of an African nation’s complex fashion culture. Almost ten years later, African fashion is en vogue; designers from across the continent are receiving unprecedented, albeit much deserved, acclaim, while major European and American museums are organizing exhibitions solely on African fashion. It is clear that African fashion is finally in the spotlight, yet its complexities are only beginning to be explored.
Ghanaian Fashion: An Exhibition in Three Chapters highlights specific narratives prevalent within African, and specifically Ghanaian fashion, allowing visitors to better understand and contemplate the histories, narratives and identities associated with Ghana’s vibrant fashion culture. Drawing on the Harn’s unparalleled collection of Ghanaian designer fashions, the two-year, rotating exhibition invites visitors to delve into the nuances of Ghanaian fashion through three distinct iterations: I. African Feminism and Fashion (October 15, 2024 – June 15, 2025), II. The Designs of Kofi Ansah (July 1, 2025 – March 1, 2026), and III. Kabas & Couture: Then and Now (March 17, 2026 – October 4, 2026).
The second installation The Designs of Kofi Ansa highlights the career of Kofi Ansah, one of Ghana’s most celebrated fashion designers. Ansah was part of the generation of Africans who helped promote African fashion internationally. These designers, referred to collectively as “The Vanguard” by curator Christine Checinska, were the first to gain global recognition for their Afrocentric designs, as they actively promoted the artistry of their sartorial creations and the relevance of their respective cultural heritages.
Ansah is recognized for his couture-level craftsmanship, meaning his garments reflect high standards in their construction and finishing; his exacting approach to design can be seen throughout the garments on display in this gallery. Ansah also had a particular interest in creating garments that reflected African, and specifically Ghanaian, cultures and heritages. Ansah began his fashion career in London where Afrocentric fashions were not readily embraced; as he reflected: “for me to be accepted as a good designer, I had to create very British clothes.” During this early phase of his career, Ansah’s sartorial references to Africa were subtle and embedded in his garments. After his return to Ghana in 1992, his garments became more visibly, and unapologetically, African. Ansah began incorporating materials from across the African continent, such as Malian bogolan cloth, into his designs, creating fashions that were exuberant, pan-Africanist fantasies. These extravagant looks existed in tandem with his more subtle designs that obscured any immediate references to Africa. Thus, Ansah’s body of work can be understood as both fantastical and subversive.
Ansah’s appreciation for African textiles and materials remained constant throughout his career, beginning with his graduating thesis from the Chelsea School of Art, which focused on Ghana’s diverse textiles and their methods of manufacture. This exhibition thus explores Ansah’s earlier, more subtle references to African, and specifically Ghanaian, cultural beliefs and practices, through his use of specific textiles, methods of manufacture and art forms.
Let this exhibition, and its companion chapters, serve as an important reminder: African fashion is not a monolith; it is in the wrinkles, creases and folds of African fashion where some of the most compelling and complex narratives emerge.
Ghanaian Fashion: An Exhibition in Three Chapters is curated by Dr. Christopher Richards, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Brooklyn College.
This exhibition is made possible by the Myra L. Engelhardt and Lawrence E. Malvern Endowment with additional support from the Harn Annual Fund.