This year has thrown a fair few surprises at the world! There is (shock horror) no festivals this year which turned out to be lucky because the trip to produce the new collection in Ghana turned from 2 months into 4! Our original plans of working with renowned Accra photographer @derrick_o_boateng to shoot the new collection had to be postponed because of the lockdown in the city and we had to go full D.I.Y!
I climb into a tro-tro (Ghana’s local buses) in Kumasi’s central market and after bumping along potholed roads for half an hour, heading south from this capital of the Ashanti Region, I find myself in the small suburb of Kromuase.
Bristol is home to some ridiculously talented artists and self starters. For our second interview in the Characters of Culture series, we turn to a woman bringing colour to the West Country, Ruby Maya, to tell us about the origins of Ashanti Empress, and how Bristol keeps her inspired throughout the winter.
Ever wondered what a standard day looks like for Ashanti Empress out in Ghana? Now you get the chance to see behind the scenes and witness almost first hand how our colourful clothing is made.
Every year, after creating the new Ashanti Empress collection we get the whole team of 35 tailors, apprentice and their families together for a big Ashanti Team excursion! This year we visited Lake Bosumtwe in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and spent the day swimming and enjoying our picnic and the glorious African sunshine!
