Since the recently-held Glitz Style Awards, the blogosphere has been buzzing with criticisms and praise for rap doctor Okyeame Kwame over his outfit for the night.
His critics have scourged him for adorning himself with a look never seen or experienced on the Ghanaian Fashion scene.
The half-body white tuxedo and pant were artistically combined with an equally half-body kente print dropping down his shoulders like an abusua panyin who is struggling to keep his cloth in place.
Honestly outlandish was the ensemble yet beautiful and mind-blowing. That is why I have issues with those who have chosen to label the musician turned fashion icon as looking like “a Wakanda citizen with identity crisis” on that night.
This is not only uncharitable but also exposes our lack of appreciation for high-end fashion and its relevance to the country’s steadily growing fashion industry.
In an Instagram post, Okyeame Kwame (OK) explained he wanted to look different and unusual on that night. Thus, he instructed his designer to push the boundaries of what is accepted as fashionable in Ghanaian society and he achieved the perfect look. This was an important risk worth taking as it resulted in The Tailor’s Tailor [his designer] stretching his innovative button to put the look together. No wonder OK received compliments from ace fashion designer and fashion educator Joyce Ababio, whom he said described the outfit as “avant-garde”.
What we should note is that the person of interest here is painstakingly developing such brand awareness that he takes each occasion and opportunity seriously. This may be the reason he chooses his styles, cuts, colours and patterns in a way that echoes a certain brand.
Have you noticed he has even built a body just right to accentuate the art he wishes to express with his clothing?
Okyeame is not a mere celebrity who checks in with dress codes, rules and conventions of the fashion society. He is an artist whose fashion sense is progressive yet screams culture, heritage and proudly Ghanaian.
His eyebrow-raising styles over the years - which he took a notch higher this time around - makes him look like an African warrior-king who also appreciates modernity.
By rejecting common mentality, he has pushed for originality and new possibilities in fashion, especially men’s fashion, and showed the way for others who are free in mind to join in shaping the future of the Ghana Fashion Industry.
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