{{Short description|Ghanaian fashion designer (1951–2014)}} {{Infobox person |image = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people. Non-free and "fair use" images, e.g. promo photos, CD/DVD covers, posters, screen captures, etc., will be deleted - see WP:NONFREE --> | name = Kofi Ansah | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1951|07|06}} | birthname = | birth_place = Ghana | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2014|05|03|1951|07|06}} | death_place = Accra, Ghana | occupation = Fashion designer | education = Chelsea School of Art
| spouse = Nicola Ansah | children = Joey Ansah, Ryan Ansah and Tanoa Sasraku }} '''Kofi Ansah''' (6 July 1951<ref>Nana K. Duah, [https://issuu.com/nanak.duah/docs/kofi_ansah_brochure_final_914bbbd29c161d "Kofi Ansah 1951 - Eternity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320053129/https://issuu.com/nanak.duah/docs/kofi_ansah_brochure_final_914bbbd29c161d |date=2022-03-20 }} (Celebrating Kofi Sasraku Ansah: official commemorative brochure), 6 June 2014, p. 4. Via ''Issuu''</ref> – 3 May 2014) was a Ghanaian fashion designer. He was considered a pioneer in promoting modern African styles and design on the international stage.<ref>[http://www.okayafrica.com/2014/05/06/kofi-ansah-ghanaian-designer-pret-a-poundo/#slide1 "Ghanaian Designer Kofi Ansah Passes On"], Okayafrica, 6 May 2014.</ref> He was married to Nicola Ansah and the father of actor Joey Ansah, Ryan Ansah and visual artist Tanoa Sasraku.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Biddles |first1=Claire |title=Want to know the grotesque truth about the oil industry? Then look at their tacky paperweights |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/sep/29/oil-industry-paperweights-tanoa-sasraku-artist-interview |website=The Guardian |access-date=8 October 2025 |date=29 September 2025}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Ansah was born in Ghana in 1951<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/fashion-friday-celebrating-kofi-ansah-a-pioneer-african-fashion-designer/|title=Fashion Friday: Celebrating Kofi Ansah, a pioneer African fashion designer|website=myjoyonline.com|date=4 May 2018|access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref> into an artistic family and his interest in art and design was encouraged by his father, a photographer and classical musician.<ref name=BBC />
Ansah studied at Chelsea School of Art, graduating in 1979 with a first-class honours degree in fashion design and distinction in design technology.<ref name="BBC">Elizabeth Ohene, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27413464 "Kofi Ansah: Ghana mourns fashion guru"], BBC News Africa, 30 May 2014.</ref>
He initially made his name working on the UK fashion scene as he made headlines on his graduation when he made a beaded top for Princess Anne.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/africa-fashion-the-new-blockbuster-exhibition-at-the-v-amp-a-8dqf706t2|title=Africa Fashion: the new blockbuster exhibition at the V&A|newspaper=The Sunday Times|author=Alice Kemp-Habib|date=5 June 2022}}</ref> In 1992 he returned to Ghana,<ref name="BBC" /> where he set up and ran the successful design and creative concept company Artdress.<ref name="GBC" />
He was the founder and past president of the Federation of African Designers.<ref>Elizabeth Kalu, [http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/06/top-fashion-designers-putting-africa-on-global-fashion-map/ "Top Fashion Designers Putting Africa On Global Fashion Map"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021124848/http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/06/top-fashion-designers-putting-africa-on-global-fashion-map/ |date=2014-10-21 }}, ''Ventures'', 2 June 2012.</ref><ref name="JoyOnline">Ernest Dela Aglanu, [http://www.myjoyonline.com/entertainment/2014/May-30th/funeral-held-for-designer-kofi-ansah-body-to-be-cremated.php "Funeral held for designer Kofi Ansah; body to be cremated"], Joy Online, 30 May 2014.</ref> Characteristic of his style was the use of quilting, embroidery and appliqué.<ref>Belinda Otas, [http://content.yudu.com/A1uain/NAW11/resources/58.htm "Africa's Top Ten Male Fashion Designers"], ''New African Woman'', Issue 11, Autumn 2011.</ref>
He died at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital,<ref name=GBC>[http://www.gbcghana.com/1.1749604 "Burial Service For Renowned Ghanaian Fashion Designer Kofi Ansah Held in Accra"], Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, 30 May 2014.</ref> aged 62, on 3 May 2014. His funeral was held in the forecourt of State House in Accra.
==Awards and recognitions== Ansah won the prestigious Ghana Quality Awards Diamond Division in October 2003, for clothing and textile with Artdress Ltd, and his company was the winner of the Millennium 2000 African Fashion Awards.
He also designed the anniversary fabric for the Ghana@50 Golden Jubilee Celebration. He designed the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 African Cup of Nations staged in Ghana,<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="JoyOnline" /> and in 2009 was the chief designer at the Festival of African Fashion and Arts (FAFA).<ref>[https://newafricanmagazine.com/latest-and-current-affairs/current-posts/21st-century-ghanaians/ "21st Century Ghanaians"], ''New African'', 1 March 2012.</ref>
He was posthumously honoured in November 2015 at the ETV Ghana Fashion Awards for his "immense contribution to the fashion industry and the prestige of the nation."<ref>[http://www.ghananewsagency.org/social/kofi-ansah-honoured-in-ghana-fashion-awards-2015--97561 "Kofi Ansah honoured in Ghana Fashion Awards 2015"], Ghana News Agency, 28 November 2015.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160422045258/https://www.businessinafricapays.com/case-study-with-kofi-ansah/ "Changing the Face of Ghanaian Fashion"], Business in Africa Pays.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansah, Kofi}} Category:1951 births Category:2014 deaths Category:African fashion Category:Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Category:Ghanaian fashion designers