Streetwear in Ghana has been emerging rapidly over the last couple of years and definitely deserves to be observed more. We decided to interview the talented head of the Ghanarian streetwear brand Subwaestudios, Christopher Akpo. During this Interview we will get a closer look on how the brand works and what it stands for.
First of all, introduce yourself and tell us what you do
I’m called Christopher Akpo, 23 years old, a student of the University of Winneba studying Communication and media studies and the founder and designer of Ghanaian emerging brand Subwaestudios.
I personally have no idea what the street wear life is like in Ghana. Tell us more about the culture and the relation to fashion
The street wear culture in Ghana is evolving at a fast pace and beginning to mean a lot to young people here through influence from music, urban culture because every kid wants to look different. More talents are here that need to be recognized soon.
What’s the meaning behind the name of your brand?
Subwaestudios is a curated concept out of respected fields of fashion design and art described as Storytelling Unisex Brand With Aesthetic Evolution. The brand is built with high standard materials based and produced in Ghana.
Where does the inspiration for creating a new collection come from and how can we see it in your collections?
I have a team of 2 members and we all join force from sourcing, experimenting, production to shipping in our mini space in Accra. We want to utilize the limited resources from our environment for production in a sustainable way. We are building a signature in our designs by unformalizing formal garments, introducing more geometry in our past and upcoming collections/projects as well. Inspiration for Subwaestudios is birthed from our geographical landscape, architecture design shapes and art. There are tshirts from our past collection that involves symmetry, exposed seams etc. which are going to be reoccurring themes in the process.
What inspired you to enter the world of fashion?
Starting from my background I was kind of raised in a creative household. My mom was a fashion designer back in my younger days and she quit because she was growing older and had less energy, I visit thrift stores in accra every Saturday to buy cool vintage clothes and come borrow my mom’s sewing machine to rework on them, add patches to make them look different and so that i can take cool pictures for the gram when I visit art galleries and parties with friends, I began to find more interest in the work and had passion in it, I decided to continue the legacy of my mom in a bigger way through Subwaestudios.
Who’s your favorite designer and why?
My favorite designer is Yohyi Yamamoto a true inspiration.
Describe your brand with 3 adjectives
My brand in three adjectives are Minimal, Diverse, Artistic
How do you communicate your design and what kind of group are you targeting?
The brand is mainly targeting the young age between 17 to 35. My job is to establish or reestablish informations that people don’t really know exist. Subwaestudios is here and about to present new ideas or reintroduce new ways of doing things through our designs aesthetic.
Where you do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I want to really build the connection between art with the brand through art installations, projects, presentation shows. To be able to build collaborations with few organizations or brands, consumers finding Subwaestudios collections in selective retail stores in the world, and moving into an independent working space.
