From Beyoncé's Black Is King to runway shows in Milan, kente fabric is everywhere. We asked the Ghanaian weavers and designers whose craft is being celebrated what they actually want from the global attention.
When Beyoncé wore a sweeping kente-print ensemble in the opening sequence of Black Is King, global searches for "kente cloth" spiked 400% overnight. When Stella McCartney sent a kente-inspired collection down the runway in Milan, fashion press called it "bold cultural fusion." What neither moment fully acknowledged: the weavers of Bonwire, whose families have been producing this cloth for over 400 years.
"Everyone wants to wear kente. Nobody wants to pay Ghanaian prices," says Kwabena Asante, master weaver and owner of Asante Kente Works in Bonwire, whose father and grandfather taught him the craft. A single hand-woven kente strip, depending on complexity, takes between one and five days of skilled labour. "The margins we make are nothing compared to what it sells for abroad."
Accra-based designer Christie Brown, whose label is one of the few Ghanaian fashion brands with international distribution, is more measured in her assessment. "The attention is an opportunity if we are smart about it. The question is whether we use it to build Ghanaian creative infrastructure or whether we just supply raw material for other people's fashion statements."
Her proposal: a government-backed certification scheme, similar to France's AOC system for wine and cheese, that guarantees authenticity of Bonwire-made kente to international buyers — and keeps the economic value in Ghana.
"Kente is not a trend," says Kwabena, smoothing a strip of yellow and blue silk across his loom. "It never was. We will still be here when the fashion press has moved on to something else. We just hope Ghana gets something out of the moment while it lasts."
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Ama Owusu
Ama specialises in lifestyle, fashion, and the creative economy. Her writing champions Ghanaian designers and entrepreneurs who are redefining African aesthetics.