By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, April 06, GNA – VVIO Couture, a fashion brand based in the Volta Regional Capital, Ho, grasped the opportunity to join the lineup of designers that showcased at the 2024 Miss World Contest in Mumbai, India.
Ghana was among 120 beauty Queens representing countries from around the world in the pageant held on March 9.
Ms Pulcherie Nyuiemedi Ahoomey-Zunu, who owns VIVO Couture, found herself among three talented dressmakers that adorned Mariam Xorlasi, Ghana’s Beauty Queen, who won the 2023 Miss Ghana Contest.
The young fashion designer is a product of the Ho Technical University and won the job through fabric manufacturer Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), which is a long-time sponsor of Ghana’s beauty queens.
The textile company met the fashion brand at the 2023 Volta Trade and Investment Fair, which was organised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Ho, and she took part in a fashion show held there by the cloth manufacturer.
She produced five high craft full pieces in two days for the Ghana Queen and told the Ghana News Agency that it was beyond dreams to see her products mount the highest stage for beauty pageantry.
Her works featured prominently in official catalogues and publications of the event and caught the attention of many.
“That Friday afternoon I received a call, and it was Miss Ghana, she told me she was going for Miss World and that I was part of the designers that was making her outfit for the event. And she told me that ATL insisted that I have to sow for her.”
The designer spoke of what it felt like crafting for the world stage, saying she had to ransack her entire store of ideas and skills.
“I was supposed to produce eight out of nine designs but because it was two days work, I took five,” she said.
“For the ideas, I had some designs in my drawing book so that helped me a lot and I didn’t have to think much. But there were new designs that I hadn’t tried before.”
“The challenge was that the design took time more than I was thinking. One I thought would take two hours ended up taking more than seven hours to complete
because of the patterns. The duration was very short as they were outstanding outfits, which the whole world would see, so I had to take my time and do the right thing.”
Ms Ahoomey-Zunu had been in the fashion industry in the Volta Region for sometime, and about a year ago organised one of the biggest outdoor fashion shows in Ho.
The show had high patronage, she said, and that clients had a knack for perfection, but the challenge remained the lack of collaboration among the various brands in promoting the sprawling industry.
“Everybody here wants the work to be perfect and they are ready to patronise and so the fashion industry is growing fast here.”
“Just that when it is time for collaboration such as fashion shows, designers don’t want to come out to showcase their work and that’s the only challenge we can talk about. But we are many doing well in the Region”.
She encouraged her colleague designers to showcase the work of their dreams.
“We should not only sit down and sow. We have so much hiding inside us to show the world so let’s come out with our ideas”.
Mr Sam Arday, the Marketing Manager of ATL, said the achievement stemmed from the Company’s decades-long attachment to the beauty pageant, and that the brand’s elevation helped market the burgeoning fashion industry in the Volta Region.
“We have been supporting the national beauty contest since it begun in the 1960s and anytime the Queen is going to the Miss World, we provide her fabrics.”
“This time we decided to move to another level, so we selected three designers who featured in our shows, and we picked one from the Volta Region and two from Kumasi.”
He commended the organisers of the Volta Fair for providing the platform for young entrepreneurs in the Region and said ATL was planning some fashion shows and events as part of initiatives to support the industry.
“We want to encourage more people for the fashion industry. We want to see it improve and enhance the patronage of the made-in- Ghana concept, and so we are encouraging people to go into it,” Mr Arday said.
Mr Dela Gadzanku, Chairman of the AGI for Eastern, Volta and Oti, was elated the Volta Fair, in its sixth edition, birthed such recognition for local entrepreneurs, and gave the assurance that the association would continue to work with stakeholders to expand avenues for more opportunities.
GNA