Beginning this year, any Minister of state who consistently and elegantly wears traditional attires to public functions and other places would be given national honours under a first ever Ghana Fashion Awards programme. The award scheme, jointly put together by Renaizance Concepts and 1st Royal Events Limited, is meant to award men and women who, over the years, have brought their creativity and style to bear on Ghanaian values and traditions. Speaking at the launch of the award scheme in Accra yesterday, the chief executive officer of Renaizance Concepts, David Tay, said the global fashion industry is now multibillion dollar one, with such countries as China and the US taking huge chunks of the market and with such an economy as the Bangladesh’s largely dependent on its fashion industry. “Ghana, we believe, has left such a lucrative market in the dark, thus the need for the Ghana Fashion Awards,” he said. Mr. Tay further noted that the scheme is aimed at rejuvenating and bringing vibrancy and competitiveness into the industry, as well as unearth new talents every year and position them in the market place in order to create a vibrant fashion industry in Ghana. He said creating a vibrant fashion industry is expected to be realized by using part of the proceeds of this year’s first show to create the Ghana Fashion Council, which would be a non-profit organisation and affiliated to the World Fashion Council. He explained that “the council will regulate and collaborate the activities of fashion designers in the country, and will spearhead our drive to make Ghana the fashion hub of, not only West Africa, but Africa as a whole.” Speaking on behalf of the sector minister, the director in charge of Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Tourism, Joseph Adomako, said Government appreciates the fact that Ghanaians recognize creativity and want to associate themselves with people who use their natural talents to create designs and for that matter create employment for the youth, especially women. He urged the organisers to use the event to discourage all forms of negative practices found among the youth, “and even sometimes among us adults in the name of fashion. “We must use this fashion awards programme to highlight the good aspects of our culture and salvage those who have mistaken the concept of fashion to denigrate our cherished traditions and cultural values,” he appealed. The various categories up for recognition this year are Best Dressed Minister of State - Traditional, Best Dressed Traditional Wear Designer, Best Contemporary Wear Designer, Best Fashion Designer Training Institute, Best Jeweler and Beauty Palour of the Year. The rest are Best Designer Shoes and Accessories, Best Dressed Newscaster - TV, Best Dressed Corporate Executive and Best Dressed Movie Star. The general public has therefore been charged to suggest suitable persons when nominations are formally opened in May this year. Source: The Heritage/Ghana