A new style trend has hit the African continent, starting an uproar in the streets of Accra, Ghana.
DJ Evans Mireku Kissi, more commonly known as Steloo, has challenged the norms of African fashion by presenting his own version.
Decked out in tailored blazers, bright colored hats, denim shirts and well-fitted shorts, a group of young Ghanaians, led by Kissi, are paving the road of personal expression through fashion.
The tradition of wearing conservative Western suits and shirts over the years is now being questioned by many in Africa, all due to the quirky style of Kissi.
“I have found myself as an artist,” Kissi said in an interview with Reuters. “I like the fact that it is creating drama in the minds of the people.”
The group of aspiring trendsetters use social media outlets to publish selfies, share their creative outfits and launch their styles far beyond Accra, the capital and largest city in Ghana.
The “hipsters” of Ghana are painting the streets with what they feel should scream 21st century African culture.
“As a designer, I am very invested in my wardrobe,” said Alicia Rangel, a graphic designer at Art Center College of Design. “I find that wearing current styles isn’t satisfying for my own sanity. I really like to think of myself as an empty canvas.”
Fashion has been used as a form of expression dating back even further than the 1600s, when people had to wear letters on their clothes to show immorality. According to the Wall Street Journal, it was not until the 1800s when department stores arose and ready-to-wear clothing was birthed. Partisans took to the streets with their various trends, causing the creative class to think more deeply and passionately about fashion.
However, while the U.S. constantly strives to represent diversity through fashion, Africa has just begun its journey. It has been a norm in Ghana to dress according to that of society.
The good thing about their late start is the lack of awkward and embarrassing trends they don’t have to look back on. Many in the U.S. are still trying to forget their mullet years or frosted tips, while others secretly keep a tight hold on their parachute pants.
Today, fashion is used to illustrate one’s culture, time or fashion transformation throughout the years. The fact that the young group of Ghanaians are finding their sense of expression through fashion is quite amazing.
They are starting a movement in a very simple way.
“[Kissi] is doing a great thing,” said Rangel. “Going against the norms in a society with so many different issues is brave and extraordinary.”
Using the streets as their canvas, the Ghanaian group parades around Accra as the art, using patterns and fabrics as their medium.
It is a freeing feeling to know that you can wake up in the morning and put on something that you are comfortable, confident and beautiful in, or something that screams your personality. Being in a country where styles and fashion trends are diverse, we forget the privilege we have of wearing clothes as a form of personal expression.
“I go to an extreme of liking a current trend, a certain style,” Rangel said. “Then I move onto something new, but I always keep an aspect of that particular look. I think that’s what makes me diverse in the sense of fashion.”
We have always been taught to never judge a book by its cover; however, one thing that many of us first notice about a person is his or her wardrobe, and we form our first impressions based off that.
First impressions may be everything, but with fashion, there is always so much more than meets the eye.
“I believe it’s more about sending a message to others of who you are and where you come from,” said Audrey Rose Munoz, a junior fashion merchandising major at California State University Northridge (CSUN).
Although the idea that fashion plays a huge role in personal expression is hardly a new one, hopefully the fashion evolution that Kissi has started will continue to be a major influence in global fashion trends. Kissi makes us all stop and think about the simple privilege we have in choosing our clothing and the fashion trends to follow.
Here at APU, we see trends like the Birkenstocks or man buns roaming around campus. These simple fashion trends can make or break a person, as well as categorize oneself.
Kissi has started the evolution of personal expression by fashion in Ghana and who knows maybe in 10 years we will see the make or break trends that followed his.