Ghana's first Black Star Fashion Week: designers from 16 regions and President Mahama on the runway
A summit in Accra, a runway by the Volta at Senchi and a designer from every corner of the country: Ghana is giving its fashion industry a national stage, and the President has promised to walk it.
Photo: Danigarcia3k — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ghana will hold its first Black Star Fashion Week on 4 and 7 November 2026: a day of talks for the industry in Accra, then a runway show at Royal Senchi, the resort at Akosombo on the Volta River. Emerging designers from all 16 of the country's regions are taking part, and President John Dramani Mahama is expected on the catwalk himself, dressed by Ghanaian designers.
Two days, two places
The week is run by the Black Star Experience Secretariat, the government's year-round programme for culture, tourism and the creative arts, with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Creative Arts Agency behind it. Its coordinator is the highlife star Rex Omar (Rex Owusu Marfo), who admits he is no fashion expert. A steering committee of fashion professionals, chaired by the designer Joyce Ababio, shapes the programme.
Day one, the Black Star Fashion Summit, is about the business of fashion. Designers, buyers, investors, manufacturers and policymakers meet at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel for keynotes, panels, masterclasses and hands-on workshops. The subjects are the ones that decide whether a label grows: raising money, getting ready to export, selling online, new textiles and factory production, plus branding, AI, sustainability and protecting a designer's work.
Fashion is the biggest in the creative industry in Ghana.
Rex Omar, on Hitz FM's Daybreak Hitz
A designer for every region
At the heart of the week is the 16-Region Designer Programme. Each designer creates a collection that reads their home region through its culture, heritage, local materials and craft, then gives it a modern cut. Five are picked at the end of the Accra programme, and one of them earns a place on the flagship runway at Senchi.
Taking the main show out of the capital is deliberate, Rex Omar told the Ghana Diaspora Town Hall Meeting at Osu Castle Gardens in September.
“We don't want the Black Star Experience to be situated only in Accra.”
The Presidential Runway
The 7 November show is billed as the Presidential Runway. When the Black Star Experience launched on Black Star Square in May 2025, Mahama promised to walk a catwalk, changing outfits three times to show off Ghanaian tailoring. Organisers now say Senchi is where he will make his runway debut.
“Anytime I walk out, I will tell you which designer sewed that particular dress.”
Around the show, a Fashion Village will gather designer stands, shopping, textiles, artisans, beauty, technology and food, with music, dance, storytelling and visual art alongside. Awards will honour people who have built Ghana's fashion industry, and buyers, retailers and manufacturers will be there to meet designers. The theme is "Put Ghana On": wear Ghanaian, and carry it abroad.
Making a trip of it
Organisers are working with the Ghana Tourism Authority and tour operators on outings for the day before the show, and plan hiking and quad biking on the morning of the runway to show off Senchi and Akosombo. Guests who book hotels through the Black Star Experience get reduced rates. Writing in Graphic Online, Francis Doku argued that the runway could draw visitors in its own right, with Glitz Africa Fashion Week following in Accra from 10 to 13 November.
- 1 May 2025The Black Star Experience launches on Black Star Square, Accra, and Mahama pledges to walk a catwalk.
- September 2026Rex Omar announces the President's runway debut at the Ghana Diaspora Town Hall Meeting.
- 30 September 2026The full programme for the first Black Star Fashion Week is published.
- 4 November 2026Black Star Fashion Summit, Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra.
- 7 November 2026Black Star Fashion Show and Presidential Runway, Royal Senchi, Akosombo.
- 10–13 November 2026Glitz Africa Fashion Week follows in Accra.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Star Fashion Week 2026?
The Black Star Fashion Summit is on 4 November 2026 at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The Black Star Fashion Show, billed as the Presidential Runway, is on 7 November at Royal Senchi, Akosombo.
Will President Mahama walk the runway?
Organisers say he will make his runway debut at the 7 November show in Senchi, keeping a pledge he made at the Black Star Experience launch in May 2025 to change outfits three times and name each designer.
How are the Black Star Fashion Week designers chosen?
Emerging designers from all 16 of Ghana's regions each present a collection inspired by their home region. Five are selected at the end of the Accra programme, and one of them goes on to show at the Senchi runway.
Who organises Black Star Fashion Week?
The Black Star Experience Secretariat, coordinated by Rex Omar, with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Creative Arts Agency. A steering committee chaired by designer Joyce Ababio guides the programme.
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