The Rise of the 54 Kingdoms

Interview by Ameyaw Debrah | January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Very often, in our quest to be trendy we lose some of the traditional essence that makes us African. These were elements that Nana Poku, who has over the years expressed his love and passion for Ghana through screen printing and embroidered images on t-shirts, decided to bring to bear when he started his clothing line. He teamed up with another Ghanaian, Kwaku A. Awuah, a young fashion entrepreneur to unleash 54 Kingdoms into the mainstream. With the duo’s burning passion to connect African and Caribbean cultures, they brought onboard Brey Golding, a Jamaican-American designer with several years of experience in the fashion business.

Today, 54 Kingdoms is a promising clothing company that aims to address the problem of cultural disassociation, using fashion as a means to create cultural inclusion. The team believes that as individuals migrate away from their native place of birth, reconnecting and identifying with people of similar heritage, culture, and ethnic background becomes significant. Therefore, 54 Kingdoms aspires to target this need of re-association and linkage within the African, African-American and West Indian communities via its motto, ‘identity through fashion’. Jamati.com met the team to find out more about the 54 Kingdom brand as well as to get some fashion tips for the young African man and lady. » Read more…