The final chapter of Ghanaian Fashion returns to the exhibition’s roots: the museum’s inaugural exhibition on African fashion—Kabas and Couture: Contemporary Ghanaian Fashion (2015). In revisiting Kabas and Couture, the exhibition hopes to remind visitors of important components from this groundbreaking exhibition, while highlighting changes that have occurred in Ghanaian fashion over the past ten years. To achieve the simultaneous acts of “looking back” and acknowledging the present day, the exhibition is thematically organized around the dichotomy of THEN and NOW.
THEN refers to the past, which is inclusive of historical textiles, early Ghanaian designers, the initial expressions of a designer’s aesthetic, and the Harn’s original exhibition on Ghanaian fashion.
NOW is represented by recent trends and innovations in Ghanaian dress and fashion, the latest designs of specific designers, emerging designers, and new avenues for exploring topics related to Ghanaian fashion.
Ultimately, this third and final chapter of Ghanaian Fashion is a celebration of Ghana’s vibrant and complex fashion culture, which continues to amaze, surprise and inspire Ghanaians and global citizens alike. Let this exhibition, and its previous 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 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.
