“Let’s not just make [the movement] a one-day event, let’s create something that’s going to be impactful and yearlong, so that’s why we decided to call the line Fashion Rising because we’re employing women. We’re not going ‘hey we’re going to keep raising funds to keep your kid in school,’ we’re going to give you help and support for what you’re already doing,” explains Dawson. “That was the whole premise — we’re going to rise together. We’re going to collaborate and you’re going to be able to put your own kids through school.”
Dawson and Abrima, who both travel often to Ghana as well as other African countries, work directly with resident artisans, designers, artists, photographers and bloggers.
We’re trying to tell long-term sustainable stories that are coming out of Africa to the outside market, as well as the inside market. It’s hard to find brands that are really working through the whole value chain,” says Erwiah, who previously worked at luxury label Bottega Veneta for 10 years, of the economic opportunities that have been created in Ghana, as well as other African countries, with the launch of Fashion Rising Collection. “We do our own textile to sewing and cutting to like every element of craft through the value chain.”