Graduate Grace sees her collection storm the catwalk at huge African fashion show

A graduate from the University of Northampton has had her women’s wear collection showcased at Europe’s biggest African fashion event.

Grace Owusu’s high-end leather wear collection made its catwalk debut at Graduate Fashion Week, in July, where it was spotted by scouts from Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL).

Her collection, which is inspired by ‘gothic architecture influencing modern architecture’, went down a storm at the show, which was held in Covent Garden earlier this month.

AFWL promotes and nurtures African and African-inspired fashion designers. It began as a response to the lack of showcases and platforms that showcased and highlighted designers from the African diaspora.

Grace Owusu

Grace, who was born in Ghana and graduated from the Fashion course in July, said: “My experience of AFWL was phenomenal – I was blown away by how much people loved my collection. It has given me great exposure and has boosted my confidence to keep doing what I enjoy most as an aspiring fashion designer.”

Grace’s collection on the Africa Fashion Week catwalk

Since showcasing her collection, Grace has received a phenomenal amount of interest in her work with the potential of showing her collection at other international fashion showcases including London Fashion Week and Caribbean Fashion Week, which is held in Kingston, Jamaica. Grace is also setting up her own fashion label with support from the Changemaker Hub at the University of Northampton.

Gavin Douglas, Senior Lecturer in Fashion, said: “This has been an incredible opportunity for Grace – this professional industry platform has allowed her to work with some of the African diaspora’s most well-known and established fashion designers.

“She is an extremely talented designer and has definitely made the most of the support and wide range of financial opportunities that are available to our Fashion students, and I’m looking forward to seeing Grace’s future career success.”

During her time at the University, Grace received a generous £2,500 scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Curriers to support her use of leather as a raw material within her final collection. She also won a £600 business support award from the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers.

Grace’s collection made its debut at Graduate Fashion Week

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