Mina Frempong with finalists and Vlisco management
Mina Korewaah Frempong, a final year student of Rashford University, has emerged winner of the 2019 Vlisco Fashion Fund, an initiative that supports promising fashion designers to build their skills and strengthen their fashion labels.
Mina exhibited outstanding creativity and hard work in using Vlisco fabric for her designs to win the vote of the established fashion designers jury from Ghana.
Her label is called Korewaah, which exhibits a completely unique perspective and approach to design with innovative sculptural cuts.
Ghanaian runners-up were David Kusi Boye-Doe and Daniel Opoku.
She was presented with a prize of €5,000 plus an enrolment into a two-week master class in the Netherlands.
Sharing her journey to the finals with NEWS-ONE after the announcement, Mina said, “It has been an amazing journey. It was though because doing everything on your own from designing to coming out with a collection was not easy, but I learnt from it and the judges as well.”
She said aside from the financial support which would go a long way to establish her career, “the master class is what I have been dreaming of. I love to learn and experiment a lot, so this part is the best of this award.”
The Marketing Director of Vlisco Ghana, Stephen Badu, revealed that the 2019 contest which started in August was a success like previous contests.
Explaining the criteria for selection, he said in the first round, more than 700 applications were submitted to the Vlisco Fashion Fund 2019 team which reviewed the eligible applications, and then the jury conducted interviews.
“Based on the interviews, three nominees per country progressed to the next round. The remaining 21 nominees were given Vlisco fabrics and a budget. The challenge: create a collection of five outfits, a photoshoot, and a one-month deadline. During the last week in November, the juries reviewed the final collections and selected the seven country winners. Mina truly impressed the jury with her work, and has been selected as the winner in Ghana,” he said.
Mr. Badu stated that Vlisco believes in creating a platform that connects Africa’s fashion talent, creativity with the knowledge and activities of the brand in the African and global context.
He pointed out that Vlisco would continue its relationship with the other finalists in supporting them in the journey of fashion design.
“For the past six years, we have had quite a number of young designers applying and pushing themselves up. We have had six winners since we started in 2013 and they are all doing very well in the fashion industry in Ghana,” he added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri