Hi Glitz Lovers,
Below is an interview conducted by one of my Editors about my experience at the recent past New York Fashion Week event. It feels good to be back home and I hope you enjoy my interview.
You were invited to be part of New York Fashion Week ’17 production team. How was the experience like for you?
The experience was amazing. For someone who produces fashion shows, it was amazing to be part of a leading New York based production team; to produce shows on an international level. It was amazing receiving the invitation to be part of their team, to contribute and also to learn. It was fantastic.
How was the atmosphere like at the runway shows?
They were amazing with the typical New York feel. They are not different from how we have it here in terms of production. We saw a lot of plus size models this year for the first time at NYFW, one thing I found very interesting. Most of the designers showcased clothes in different sizes. Hopefully, we can have some African designers on the shows as well soon.
You took photos with some big names in Hollywood. How did it feel like? Were you star struck?
Honestly, I wasn’t star struck. I saw many people but there were a few people that I liked. They were very nice backstage and I got to take pictures with them. I took pictures with Zora, Miss J, Danielle Brooks and others. But I was actually star struck meeting Heidi Klum but I didn’t take a picture with her. I’m not the type of person who gets all excited about taking photos with celebrities. I appreciate people for their craft but I tend to stay back to watch and observe. I took some of these photos because I wanted to document my experience and share with you.
How differently are things done on their runway shows compared to Ghana?
It’s not that different; it’s the same process. NYFW has been in existence for about 20 years so some of the things we are doing now are what they used to do years back so the processes and strategy behind producing the shows are different. They have more paperwork involved. But in terms of fitting and others, it’s basically the same. Their processes have somewhat become the global standard. That was the main thing I wanted to observe so as to get our African designers ready for international fashion shows and the global market. If the designers don’t know how they are expected to behave and produce their shows, how can we groom our industry to be able to break into the international market? This was really important to me to observe and adopt some of their processes to make ours better.
How are preparations going for Glitz Africa Fashion Week 2017 and what should people expect?
GAFW is going to be amazing. This is our 5th year producing the show so we are very excited about it. We still have our challenges because we are still a very young industry when it comes to fashion and so as a business, we struggle getting funding for the event. But we keep going; we have a very creative young team around us who are committed to producing a great event. We want people to come and enjoy it. We also have seminars which I’m very passionate about because fashion isn’t all about runways. It’s the business and networking behind it which is more important. There’s also a party so we’re going to have fun as well. It will be amazing. We are hoping to make Accra and Ghana proud again; Africa and world media and designers, get ready for us!
