UK-based label Morts and More hopes to expand their client base by showing at Ghana Fashion and Design Week
ACCRA, GHANA — Facing saturated, recession-strapped American and European markets that favor established high-fashion designers and mass market retailers like H&M and Target, some black designers are taking their business to Africa in hopes of finding success. London-based partners Sena Dale Mortoo and Joshua Umoren are among this wave. Taking advantage of the upcoming Ghana Fashion and Design Week (GFDW) sponsored by Vogue Italia, the duo will officially launch their new label Morts and More on the Continent.
“I was in Ghana over the New Year to really assess what the market was like,” Mortoo explained over email. “Within a couple of days I met a number of parties who wanted our products or knew of people who would be more than interested.” The duo hopes their GFDW show will go a long way in helping them gain name recognition and new clientele.
Morts and More is just one of eight foreign-based black labels showing at GFDW. Prospecting for new customers, designers will be flying in from Texas, Montreal, Milan and other international cities to present their wares to press and potential consumers in Accra’s tony Movenpick Hotel.
Though Africa is a continent with some of the weakest purchasing power and lowest incomes in the world, Arise Magazine editor-in-chief Helen Jennings believes it’s smart business for fashion designers to put a stake in the ground. “It’s a small but significant market that will grow at a rapid rate over the coming years,” Jennings told us. “Getting your foot in the door early is the canny thing to do.”
Designer Titi Ademola moved to Accra, Ghana to launch her brand Kiki Clothing. Image: Titi Ademola
Designer Titi Ademola got her foot in nearly a decade ago. Seeing opportunity in Africa, the Nigeria-raised, London College of Fashion grad left America where she did a stint working for Burberry in Atlanta, and set up shop in Accra, Ghana. Seeing that the womenswear and formalwear sectors were crowded, she initially launched Kiki Clothing as a children’s sportswear brand. Soon enough, her customers were saying of her pint-size designs, “Wouldn’t it be nice in an adult version?” Nine years later, Ademola has expanded Kiki to offer adult sportswear for men and women as well as footwear.
“I started in my mom’s garage with one tailor,” Ademola explains. Today, she has eight tailors on staff, plus two she places orders with when her team is fully allocated.
Opportunities notwithstanding, doing business on the continent isn’t always smooth sailing. Though Ghana has a National Tailors & Dressmakers Association to train aspirants in a three-year certificate course, Ademola had difficulty finding qualified workers. Additionally, Ghana, in particular, does not have a ready-to-wear culture. With clothing stores just beginning to crop up in the big cities, there is currently more business for designers who do custom work for their clients.
That said, Ademola believes the opportunity for growth outweighs the challenges, crediting the nation’s stability. “Ghana’s stability economically and politically has really helped,” she says. “The stability attracts more and more potential clients for me.”
Londoner Sena Dale Mortoo isn’t ready to make a permanent move to Africa just yet. “I think if the business became wildly successful in Ghana we would definitely look at permanent operations and investing in full-time employees,” he explained. Even if that were the case, “I don’t think we’d completely remove ourselves from the UK.”
That said, his vision for Morts and More includes having a major African presence. “We know our products will do well in the likes of Nigeria and a number of other countries in Africa,” he said. “Ghana is just the start for us.”
To learn more, check out this story from BlackEnterprise.
