PKOG is an African fashion designing company that produces clothing, bags, footwear and headgears with an African flavor for both men and women.
PKOG stands for the name of the founder and CEO the company Papa Kwame Osei.
The company has been in existence for about 18 months. It all started when Papa Kwame Osei completed his Senior Secondary School education at Achimota Senoir Secondary School in the year 2002. According to Papa Kwame, he started designing clothing when he was in his final year and term in the secondary school with a capital as little as ¢80,000.
The name of those products were PKEE. Surprisingly, sales caught up well and the products were in high demand. He was able to raise some money from the proceeds that came out of those products and went ahead to buy some machines and equipments for his work.
PKOG was invited for his first fashion competition not long after he started full time production, which was held at the aviation social center as part of an HIV/AIDS awareness program. He competed with three (3) other top Designers and emerged as the winner. This achievement actually boosted his moral and encouraged him to go ahead with what he had started.
All this while he solely financed all the activities of the company. It was after this great achievement that his parents realized the potentials he had and the seriousness he attached to what he was doing that compelled them to support him morally and financially.
Answering the question on how he gets his designs, this was what Papa Kwame had to say. “It comes when I am going to bed, the designs keep coming and sometimes, I just have to drop it and sleep. But in most cases, what I do is to allow myself to go deeper and after that I get up and write them down. I get on the average about fifty designs before daybreak.
I also do a lot of research, on the Internet, observing the environment and the current fashion trend. I try to get fabrics that are unusual, uncommon and highly Authentic for my designs. I combine different kinds of fashion accessories to get one piece. I actually do about 5-10 trials before arriving at one piece, that I believe is the best”.
When asked on how he sees fashion and designing, Papa Kwame said, he sees fashion as combining act with innovation. “I see sewing as mathematics”. I see designing as a combination of innovation and technology”
PKOG said he studied visual arts whiles in Secondary School, with a combination of Graphics, General Knowledge in Arts and Textile. He thinks this has also influenced his works. When asked whether he had had training anywhere on what he does, he said he just believes it is in his blood, “I was born with it”. He said.
PKOG can actually look at you and create a designs that will best fit and suit you. He is a talented fashion designer in the making.
Commenting on the fashion designing industry of Ghana , he said it is encouraging. “Ghanaians are becoming more aware of fabric and adapting to the style of African designers. I am hoping that more Ghanaian designers will add Ghana to their design name, that isputting a ‘G’ at the end of their names because this will project the image of Ghanaian designers on the international market”.
He said the more they see very wonderful pieces coming from Ghana , the more they get to respect Ghanaian designs and want to have them, thereby boosting the market. When Ray asked him about the future of fashion and African design, he said “its very great, we have not seen anything yet”.
About the future of PKOG, he said he presently has PKOG Kente and hopes to to improve on it He also hopes to expand PKOG and take it to the international level. He is planning to establish some form of a talent centre where young folks who have highly innovative and creative ideas can bring those ideas and develop them into something great. “This will help bring out the potentials in the young Ghanaians”. He added
Papa Kwame Osei is 20 years and was born on the 4 th of February 1984.
Source: Ray, myananse.com