Cecil Duddley Mends
Renowned Ghanaian fashion designer and founder of CDM Fashion Couture, Cecil Duddley Mends, made the fashion industry proud when he won two prestigious awards at the 2ndNational Brands Innovation Awards held at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, last Friday.
The awards ceremony, which was held on the theme“Redefining Branding: The Heart of Caring,” was graced by a number of personalities including chief executive officers (CEOs) from a number of organisations.
Cecil Mends was honoured with the Innovative Fashion Brand of the Year award, recognisinghis company’s outstanding contributions to the fashion industry.
In addition, he was bestowed with the prestigious title of Fashion Brand Business Leader of the Year award.
This award acknowledges Cecil’s exceptional leadership skills and his ability to steer CDM Fashion Couture to new heights of success.
Known for its exceptional designs and high-quality garments, his company, CDM Fashion Couture has become a symbol of innovation and style.
His creativity and hard work were first acknowledged in 2017 when he received the coveted “Fashion Designer of the Year” award at the Ghana Peace Awards.
Since then, he has continued to push boundaries and redefine fashion standards, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.
CDM Fashion Couture, one of Ghana’s leading fashion institutions, has spearheaded innovations in fashion training and skill development front as far as the garment-making terrain is concerned.
Situated at Baatsona off the Spintex Road in Accra, CDM offers a certificate in fashion and design, diploma in fashion, pathway programmes, and other preparatory courses which fall within the scope of programmes run by CDMSD.
Speaking to BEATWAVES after receiving his awards, Cecil Mends explained that in line with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agenda, the institution “emphasis on training people for self-employment means establishing a center-based training facility equipped with the TVET curriculum to help promote skill acquisition and industrial development.”
He added that the institution is boosting TVET by driving innovation in fashion training, saying,“the institution has an impressive track record and has now taken the tangent to impact the skill-set in the upcoming generation”.
“The school’s curriculum is geared towards developing the full creative potential of students to design to fit the needs of the country and couch a niche of relevance in the fashion space while establishing a gainful employment avenue in the process”.
Notably, Cecil Mends has gone beyond his role as a designer by dedicating his time and effort to training aspiring designers free of charge.
His commitment to nurturing talent and passion for creating exceptional garments have earned him recognition both locally and internationally.
By George Clifford Owusu