Fashion of Wednesday, 9 October 2019

Source: theafricandream.net

Ghanaian fashion designer Sally Torpey changing the African narrative through fashion

Sally Torpey Sally Torpey

Sally Torpey is the designer behind the SALLY TORPEY brands Oheemaa™ and the JAK Gentile Giant Collection which is in honour of the former president of Ghana John A. Kufuor. Sally combines her rich sense of design, culture, and heritage, along with inspiration from nature and her environment. She creates and produces simple, elegant, and sophisticated indigenous textiles and clothing for both men and women.

Sally has been a featured designer at the National Art Center of Accra in Ghana at the African Sustainable Eco-Friendly show presented by Global Women Innovators and Inventors. Her international exposure includes participation in past editions of Miami Fashion Week, as well as independent shows during New York Fashion Week and other global fashion destinations.

She is the African Ambassador for the Fashion Business Association of America, where she dedicates her time to helping promote the Africa Fashion industry.

African press outlets recognized continentally and globally have featured and recognized Sally as a supporter of women’s empowerment. In 2010, Sally founded the Sallet Fashion House and the Sallet Foundation, to supporting training for a sustainable and industrialized apparel development and production industry in Ghana. Her efforts received support from Ghana’s Ministry of Trade through the organizations she founded. Together they work to establish garment training facilities that create jobs for dressmakers and artisans in the region, creating folklore apparel. Her team is now working on creating hubs for production across Ghana.

In 2003, Sally founded Sympathy International to educate teens and young women on the importance of female reproductive hygiene. The organization has empowering teenagers and collaborating with the Ghana Aids Commission to provide education in advocacy, care, and support on the prevention of HIV/AIDS in the entire Central Region of Ghana while unearthing entrepreneurial skills.

Some media outlets that have featured Sally are the Afrikan Post, a Washington DC newspaper, Ghana web, Caribbean magazines, The CCWC and Creative Magazine of Miami in Florida, and Washington DC-based Consultancy TheAfricanDream LLC who are also her US representatives. She is also a woman young entrepreneur case study for Growth Cap UK and others. Sally speaks on International platforms across Africa and the US, on fashion business, women empowerment, and personal development matters which she is passionate about.

The Travelers Custom Made Clothing (TCMC)is one of the products created by her. It is a service that provides custom made clothing for travelers during their 3 to 10 days or more stay in Ghana. This is to ensure travelers get quality clothing on the go. TCMC reached its peak during ‘The Year of Return‘ where it expressed the rich Ghanaian and African culture through fashion. Sallet Fashion House has also built the capacity to produce for other designers and brands.

The partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development of Ghana to retool Community Development Vocational and Technical Institutes. Partnerships like the one with The JAK Foundation to design a Clothing and Accessories line named after the former President J. A Kufuor have given rise to “JAK-THE GENTLE GIANT CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES COLLECTION.”

With trade missions in the US and UK respectively, Japan and other places, the opportunities that will help create jobs and empower women and youth economically are promising for Sally and anyone who collaborates with her as she tells her story through Fashion.

On October 3, 2019, Sally was elected as the Accra Regional Treasurer for the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI). She will serve for 2years at the AGI (a non-governmental entity) which is the leading voice of the private sector of Ghana. Visit her website: www.sallytorpey.com for updates and info and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as @sallytorpey.