Jamati.com: Kofi, please tell our audience a bit about your cultural background.

I was born in Accra, Ghana, but spent most of my early childhood in Monrovia, Liberia. My family then immigrated to the USA when I was 12 years old and I’ve been here ever since.

Jamati.com: So you were born in Ghana but raised in Liberia is that where you started to create clothing?

Well, my mother had always designed and sewn clothes for me and my siblings and I had started drawing designs of my own while in Liberia. But, I didn’t actually start producing my designs until much later in my life here in America.

Jamati.com: I like the way Annansi rolls off the tongue…is that a play on your name as well as a Ghanaian proverb or folklore story? If so please tell our audience why you choose it as a name for your business.

The Annansi name is a combination of a lot of things. While looking for a name for my designs I began by thinking of what I knew of Ghanaian history and culture. One of the first things that stood out in my mind was the Kweku Anansi stories I heard growing up. The folklore was used to teach lessons to the young and I knew that I wanted to teach with all my designs. As I did some research to find out how I could use this to create a visual symbol for myself, I began reading about Ghanaian Adinkrah symbols, another staple in my identification with Ghanaian culture. In reading the meanings of the symbols, I came across the Ananse Ntontan symbol which stood for wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life. Through both the Kweku Anansi folklores and the Ananse Ntontan symbol I found that the spider was symbolic of change and the ability to learn from and adapt to change. If you think of a spider, it creates a home wherever it finds and weathers whatever elements it encounters there. This really resonated with me because throughout my life, I had always felt like I had to adapt to living situations. I had moved a lot in my life and with each move I tried to create a home where I could grow, no matter what the elements I came across. Thinking of all this, I felt that the Anansi spider reference exhibited what I hoped to communicate through my designs. I added another ‘n’ in the Anansi to make the name more personal and began to use Annansi as a company name.

Jamati.com: How influential was your family when you first started designing? Please expand on your parent’s entrepreneurial spirit and how that translated to you.

I owe my design skills to my mother and my entrepreneurial sense to my father. Throughout my life my parents have always had businesses. My mother worked as a seamstress, and operated her sewing business out of our home while we were in Africa. In the USA she ran her own tailor’s shop for many years and still takes customers to this day. While my mother is the artisan, my father is the eternal businessman. He has run various businesses throughout my life. Watching him open and run businesses, I learned how to analyze a market opportunity and create products that filled a need.

Jamati.com: You know it reads in your bio that you went to a science based high school how does that translate in clothing designer?

It doesn’t (laughing). Like any African parents, mine were intent on me ending up with a “real job”. For many Africans a real job is one in medicine, law, politics or a similarly “stable” industry. As you can tell it didn’t work with me. My high school and early college years were spent fighting with my parents to follow my creative aspirations. It’s been a tough fight.

Jamati.com: How would you describe the t-shirts that you create?

Annansi Clothing shirts are meant to be a conversation piece for a metropolitan clientele. It’s socially conscious premium streetwear if there is such a category. The designs are meant to challenge the notion of what pop culture is by putting African designs where it is rarely seen. It combines fresh and classic streetwear with an Africa-inspired social message. We focus on the vibrant color that Africa is known for and use graphic imagery to spark conversations between the wearer and anyone who sees our shirts being worn.

Jamati.com: Tell us who has worn your designs?

Our shirts have been worn by socially conscious celebrities like Akon and Pras. We do our best to align ourselves with personalities who think outside the box.

Jamati.com: Do you have any plans on expanding to say a sportswear line?

There are definitely plans to expand, but it’s a long term plan. From the beginning I decided to allow the clothing line to grow on it’s own terms and not get sucked into the keeping up with Joneses mentality that drives many brands into the ground. Annansi Clothing is still a very young company. While there has been a lot of temptation to expand the clothing line from the onset, my experience working behind the scenes with global brands like Armani, Y-3 and Diesel has taught me that there’s more to building a consistent brand than constant expansion. My customer wants well executed designs on quality garments and I plan to consistently give them just that and grow with their tastes. As they say, slow and steady wins the race.

Jamati.com: What makes Annansi different from other Hip Hop generation clothing lines?

Well, I try not to compare Annansi Clothing to hip hop generation clothing lines, primarily because the cut and design of our shirts do not fit the mold. While our clothing, like most streetwear lines, certainly contain hip hop-inspired elements, the construction of our garments are more classic. The cut of our shirts are much closer. Also, our shirts are inspired by social commentary and African culture, something very few hip hop generation clothing lines have. I would say our shirts are more metropolitan than urban.

Jamati.com: Let’s talk about the whole campaign of Bling is Dead that you and my fellow Sierra Leonean Chosan worked on. Did it have an impact on the diamond industry? I mean are Hip Hop artists and Hollywood in general aware of blood diamonds?

The Bling is Dead campaign was the second installation of our ongoing campaign against conflict diamonds. I was fortunate enough to work with Chosan, a fellow African, to create a campaign which has come to show that young Africans have a voice on issues concerning the continent. The campaign started as a grass roots campaign where we sought to pressure the hip hop generation to re-think their obsession with diamonds. As we all know, hip hop has been one of the most effective vehicles for the promotion of the diamond industry. What I found interesting though was how our African American brothers and sisters were unknowingly fueling the suffering of us Africans. We created the Bling is Dead campaign to challenge the public and we use the same vehicles, music, fashion, and film, to affect a change in mentality and spending habits. Through my efforts on the topic of conflict diamonds, I became involved with the production of the movie Blood Diamond featuring Djiomon Hounsou and Leonardo DiCaprio. As part of a small group of Africans, I consulted with the producers of the film to make sure that the movie depicted Africans and the topic of blood diamonds in a way which was historically accurate and educational. Working on the movie has allowed me to form a relationship with The African Film Commission through which I still work with Hollywood to tell African stories and create favorable images of Africa(ns) in the media. I think over the years many more people have become aware of the illicit diamond trade. Judging from the responses I continue to get from supporters of the Bling is Dead campaign and the conversations I continue to have in the hip hop and Hollywood communities, I am confident that the diamond industry has taken a publicity hit. Rest assured, The Bling is Dead campaign plans on keeping the pressure up.

Jamati.com: How can your various platforms of design and media influence the status quo of diamonds? I mean it would seem to me that nowadays in popular culture one’s arrival is measured by how many diamonds they have?

That’s true, however today people are questioning their decisions to buy those diamonds. We’ve begun to create a climate where individuals are being held responsible for their actions and they have information about alternatives. We’ve taken a page from the diamond industry’s own campaign book by using design and media to influence buying habits. The diamond cartels have had over a decade’s head start on us, but we’re intent on reversing their monopoly and exploitation of the African diamond mining trade.

Jamati.com: As the title mentions you are a writer as well. Tell us about your blog and other writing projects that you are presently working on?

The creation of the Annansi Clothing Co. line has allowed me to challenge the image of Africa in pop culture from a fashion perspective, but it has it’s limitations. I started the Annansi Chronicles blog as a supplement to the clothing line, to verbalize the concepts which I felt were missing from the collections. Since it’s debut in April of 2006, Annansi Chronicles has grown into a product of it’s own. The blog site has become a place where I document the trends in African style and business that I see are affecting how Africa is understood worldwide. My content has been quoted in various news outlets and the blog has begun to be syndicated in select style and business channels. The site has given me a platform to expand on ideas I encounter daily and continue African conversations that are going on around the world. The beauty of the internet is that you are able to converse with your peers and customers all over the world and even form partnerships with people you may never meet in person. I was so inspired by the conversations that I had been having through my clothing line and the blog, that I joined with a group of influential marketers from around the world to author a book on how technology is affecting conversations in different communities. In the book The Age of Conversation, I write about how the popularity of African issues in western media combined with the advances in technology is opening up new possibilities for Africa to re-brand itself and do more business. The book sold over $10, 000 in less than 3 months. Along with expanding the reach of the Annansi Chronicles blog, I am hoping to author a book on some of the other trends I see affecting Africa’s brand image. If you know anyone who is willing to publish me, let me know. (smile)

Jamati.com: Speaking of brands, what is the Annansi brand, and where do you see it 5 years?

The Annansi brand is a 21st century African brand which is not afraid to break barriers. The brand’s strength is in innovation and that will continue to drive it’s growth. In the next 5 years, I see the brand gaining a wider customer base and continuing to produce quality products. Our clothing line will expand it’s reach into key cities across the globe and continue to challenge popular culture. My goal is to begin to open Annansi boutiques in major cities and create a place where the metropolitan African lifestyle can grow.

Jamati.com: Do you dream of doing NY fashion week?

I used to, but I no longer see that as a sign of success. I would prefer to do Ghana or Tanzania, or Morocco Fashion Week and allow the media to see all the talent that Africa harbors.

Jamati.com: What does the future hold for G. Kofi Annan?

I plan to continue creating products and pushing the envelope. I hope one day I can sit back on a beach in Ghana or somewhere on the continent and be confident that my company is being run by a staff who is focused on making a difference for Africa.

Jamati.com: Hey one last question what does the G stand for?

Ahhhh…that’ll remain a secret for now.

Jamati.com: All right a secret for now. Thanks once again Kofi.