Fashion must become a pillar of Ghana’s creative economy – Abla Gomashie

Ghana's Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called for fashion to be recognised as a “strategic pillar of the country's creative economy.”

Speaking at the 2026 Black Star Fashion Summit at the Movenpick Ambassador in Hotel on Wednesday, the minister stressed fashion's power to create jobs, draw investment and boost exports.

She pointed to Ghana's cultural assets, including Kente, Fugu, Adinkra symbols, beadwork and embroidery, as a foundation for innovation, while urging stakeholders to look beyond the runway. “With deliberate investment, improved production capacity and market access,” she said, “the industry could create thousands of jobs, particularly for our young people.”

“We must therefore deliberately integrate fashion into Ghana’s tourism offerings,” she said. “Our fashion weeks, textile exhibitions, cultural festivals, heritage tours, creative markets and fashion showcases should become important features of our national tourism calendar.”

Gomashie also touched on the government's ambition to “make Ghana a destination where people come not only to see our attractions but also to experience our creativity, engage with our culture and invest in our creative industries.

“Through initiatives such as the Black Star Experience, we have an opportunity to promote Ghana as a vibrant, year-round destination for culture, entertainment, fashion, music, heritage and creative enterprise.”

The 2026 Black Star Fashion Week is the brainchild of the Rex Omar-led Black Star Experience and is running under the theme: "Put Fashion On".

According to organisers, the initiative is, among other things, a call to “name the names by recognising and crediting the designers, stylists, artisans and makers behind what we wear; to back what we love by buying, stocking, commissioning, funding and creating opportunities for Ghanaian fashion; and to show it off by taking Ghanaian fashion into our offices, schools, sports, music, retail, travel and onto the global cultural stage.”

The festival climaxes on 7 November at the Royal Senchi Hotel in Akosombo, with the “Presidential Runway" fashion show.