Emmy award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has shared the reason behind her decision to wear a kente gown to the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.

In an interview with Lexis Bill on The Personality Profile on Joy FM, Ralph disclosed that she wanted an outfit that reflected Africa, especially since her hit show 'Abbott Elementary' was nominated for an Image Award.

Sheryl mentioned that she stumbled upon a photo of a beautiful woman wearing a gorgeous kente gown while browsing the internet and then tracked down the gown's designer, Pitis GH, and requested a custom-made kente gown that reflected "true, real, and royal Africa."

The actress added that she worked closely with the Ghanaian design house to choose the colours and details of the outfit that reflected Africa.

“I was strolling through the internet and I saw this beautiful woman, looks like she and I were from the same tribe, and she had on this gorgeous kente gown and I loved it. I asked who the designer was and found it on the Pitis GH page.

“I told them I know that the show (Abbott Elementary) is going to be nominated for an image award and I want to have something that reflects true, real and royal Africa. We went through picking the colours and all that,” the actress noted.

When the gown arrived in the US, Ralph was stunned by its beauty. She felt like a princess when she put it on and said that people were silent as she walked the red carpet.

“When it arrived and I opened the suitcase, it was so beautiful. When I put it on, I felt like Cinderella or one of those girls you see in stories. It was so amazing and so beautiful. And when I went out the door and hit that red carpet, people were silent, and they had never seen anything like that before,” she added.

She, furthermore, discussed creating two more outfits with Pitis GH for future award shows.

The gown itself is made from a bright orange kente print with ruffled sleeves and a bead-encrusted bodice while the skirt was also a kente print with added brown detailing at the train and a mermaid-style silhouette

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