Obroni Wawu October (OWO) in collaboration with the Or Foundation and Kantamanto Market Community, hosted the second edition of Ghana’s secondhand (foose) festival on October 29, 2023 at Rawlings Park in Accra.
With build up events earlier in the week, this year’s event theme “The Adeɛyie Resurrection” (to do better) is a celebration of Kantamanto Market as a globally leading hub for reuse, repair, upcycling and remanufacturing of clothing.
It was a call to all fashion enthusiasts to come back to the roots of Ghana’s culture of preservation.
The celebration, saw some captivating performances, stunning runway shows, talent shows, drip contests and thought provoking conversations by people in Kantamanto around the secondhand economy and reuse culture in Ghana.
The fashion show and drip contest had the winner going home with Gh2,000.00 the 1st runner up Gh1,000.00 and the second runner up Gh500.00 respectively.
The colorful event also celebrated some of the creatives and talented young and old designers, who are not appreciated enough for their creativity in the Ghanaian fashion industry.
Most of these designers were given the chance to show off their works, and some of the creative designs they were able to come up with.
Vendors from all over the country were well represented as they brought out their best ‘Foose’ designs for people to admire and purchase.
Foya a stylist and a vintage online thrift shop owner commended the organizations for a good work done.
She mentioned that it was her second time participating and this year’s edition was better than last year’s, and believes that the aim for the event was being achieved.
“The event was a success. It’s our second edition and my second time being here. Looking at how the first one went, we have improved a lot. I was really prepared for this and I wasn’t disappointed. Next year, I’ll definitely join in again,” she said.
The motive of the event is to elevate the conversation on secondhand fashion and its relevance within Ghanaian fashion culture and the fashion industry globally.