FABRICSTAR EYES ASIAN MARKET

Fashion designer Mrs. ZerthaSarquah owner of Fabricstar designs based in Ghana has disclosed to Malaysian based blog – Face of Agulu, in South Africa that one of her biggest dream is to take her design to the Asian market. According to her, the Ghanaian Kente which plays a major role in her design is so colourful that the Asians would love it.

Speaking with FOA’s Justin Kingland, she said her fashion home is among a number of fashion homes in Ghana that is promoting Ghanaian fabrics across the globe.

Asked what makes her designs unique, she said her designs always stands out because of the artistic blend of Kente with other African prints adding that  her fashion line caters for both male, female as well as children.

Mrs. Sarquah also disclosed that the Ankara print equally plays a major role in her designs. She said she is now experimenting with designs and fabrics from other African cultures and she feels that when she blends those prints with the kente -which is the most popular and expensive traditional garment of the royal Ashanti people of Ghana, it would make any one wearing her designs look like royals.

Describing how she started, she said, “I found myself in this industry at a very young age that was after I finished my GCE “O” Level.  I was actually doing it for fun, my mum had a sewing machine then which I use to experiment with but later I went to school to get an NVTI certificate in fashion design after which I went to Accra polytechnic then to the university for a BSc in management.

“As I always say, when I observe designers who are educated, I realize they excel faster than those who just depend on their talent alone; that was why I went to the university to get a degree in management.”

The fashion designer says she is a member of the Ghana Association of Visual Artist (GAVA). According to her, she owns a graphic shop back home in Ghana and this enables her to do all her designs before sewing them.

She also said her business experienced a serious growth in Ghana after the government of Ghana started a campaign that encouraged Ghanaians to wear African print to work on Fridays.

She said apart from visiting other countries to explore their market and source for shops that could distribute her brands, she basically capitalizes on the Ghana Art Council to distribute her designs. she also added that Ghana’s international airport, as well as the government Art  and Craft shop and the Duty Free Arts and Craft shop are areas where she gets to sell her designs to foreigners especially those travelling back home  from Ghana.