When Ghanaian designer Victor Reginald Bob Abbey-Hart stepped onto the Milan Fashion Week runway last January, he carried more than a collection of denim garments.

He carried a vision: that the voluminous, hand-woven smock known as fugu or batakari — a garment once worn by warriors and kings in northern Ghana — could find a new life on the global stage.

His show, which featured jackets with raglan sleeves, coat-capes, and cargo-pocketed trousers in “dirty-washed” denim, was inspired by the deconstructed forms of traditional Ghanaian attire. For Abbey-Hart, a graduate of Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) who previously worked for Calvin Klein, the collection was deeply personal. “Coming to Italy really gave me a big door of opportunity to understand what the world really asks for, as a designer,” he told the Associated Press.

Abbey-Hart’s debut was supported by the Afro Fashion Association, a non-profit founded by Michelle Francine Ngonmo that has worked with over 3,000 creatives of color over the past decade . But his success is not an isolated story. It is emerging as a cornerstone of a broader strategic push by Ghana and Italy to transform cultural heritage into economic power — taking garments like the fugu from ceremonial occasions in Accra to the fashion capitals of Europe and beyond.

A Diplomatic and Economic Imperative

The timing is deliberate. In February 2026, Ghana’s newly appointed Ambassador to Italy, Mona-Helen Kabuki Quartey, presented her credentials to President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale.

The ceremony marked not just a diplomatic formality, but a “renewed phase in the consolidation of bilateral relations,” with culture and tourism featuring prominently in discussions.

Ambassador Quartey’s mission arrives amid growing recognition in Accra that the creative economy — fashion, textiles, arts, and design — represents a significant untapped export sector. Italy, home to some of the world’s most powerful fashion houses and a global leader in luxury goods, is the ideal partner.

The Italian government has signaled its interest in Ghana as a “growing market and a natural gateway to the wider West African region”.

The diplomatic push comes as Ghanaian creatives are making visible inroads into the Italian cultural scene. In May, acclaimed Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo will open his first solo exhibition in Italy at Venice’s Museo di Palazzo Grimani, coinciding with the 61st Venice Biennale. The show, organized by Gagosian Gallery, will see Boafo engage with Renaissance portraiture traditions — a powerful example of cultural exchange flowing in both directions.

From Ceremony to Commerce

The fugu’s journey from northern Ghana to Milanese runways reflects a deeper ambition. For too long, observers argue, Ghana’s heritage textiles have been reserved for Independence Day celebrations, festivals, and ceremonial photographs — “reduced to a ceremony when it could be an industry,” as Ing. Prof. Douglas Boateng recently wrote.

President John Dramani Mahama has emerged as an unlikely champion of this cause. Speaking after a state visit to Zambia in February, Mahama noted that his deliberate choice to wear the fugu on international stages had sparked a surge in global interest.

“By the power of social media, I have given them branding and marketing they could never have dreamed of,” he said. “I’m sure searches for fugu, batakari, and smock have gone very high”.

Mahama revealed that all his clothing is made in Ghana by Ghanaian designers, and he has set his sights on taking the smock to the United Nations as “a symbol of African identity, culture, and self-confidence”.

The Industrial Challenge

Yet transforming cultural visibility into sustainable industry requires more than diplomatic gestures and runway moments.

The global winter wear market is valued at over $300 billion annually, with premium outerwear brands like Canada Goose and Moncler built on climate-driven demand in North America, Europe, and East Asia. The African diaspora, estimated at more than 170 million people living in cold-weather countries, represents a ready market seeking authentic cultural connection.

The challenge is technical as well as commercial. Traditional fugu, woven from thick cotton strips, is designed for the harmattan winds of northern Ghana — not Helsinki winters or Chicago blizzards. Industrial adaptation will require innovation: thermal linings, wool-infused blends, water-resistant treatments, and structured designs that preserve the garment’s distinctive striped aesthetic while making it functional for global consumers.

Proponents argue that the economic potential justifies the investment. A modest export target of 500,000 premium winter fugu coats annually, at an average retail price of US$250, would generate US$125 million in revenue. Add scarves, gloves, corporate attire, and school uniforms, and the ecosystem multiplies, creating thousands of jobs across farming, weaving, tailoring, and logistics — particularly in northern Ghana, where youth unemployment remains high.

A Growing Cultural Ecosystem

The Italy-Ghana cultural partnership extends well beyond fashion. In January, Ghanaian artists and cultural practitioners led an international project in Lecce, Italy, dedicated to “decolonising heritage and liberating the imagination.” Organized by Ramdom, Museo Castromediano, and Ghana’s Artlife Matters, the programme featured workshops, exhibitions, and a public parade exploring how tangible and intangible heritage can become tools for reclaiming narratives shaped by colonial structures.

Artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo created a six-foot concrete totem representing memory and ancestry, while the “Echoes of Home” workshop brought together foreign residents in Lecce for a participatory healing process. Luigi Di Luca, Director of Museo Castromediano, stressed the museum’s commitment to redefining its role within the community and expanding international collaboration.

These initiatives build on earlier collaborations. In 2024, Ghanaian playwright Latif Abubakar partnered with the Italian Embassy to stage “The Licence,” an Afrocentric adaptation of a work by Italian Nobel laureate Luigi Pirandello. Then-Ambassador Daniela d’Orlandi expressed hope that the partnership would “set an example for other foreign countries to follow” .

The Road Ahead

As Ghana hosts a week-long celebration of its 69th Independence Day in Rome this March, complete with trade fairs showcasing textiles, music, and cuisine, the cultural diplomacy offensive is in full swing . But the ultimate measure of success will be commercial.

For designers like Victor Hart, the path forward is clear despite persistent challenges.

“Sometimes, before you even get to the room for the interview, you’ve been disqualified already,” he said of the obstacles facing Black creatives in Italy. “Take away the color, take away what I represent, just look at the job”.

His message resonates beyond fashion. As Ghana and Italy deepen their cultural partnership, the goal is not merely to export garments but to export a vision: that heritage, when industrialized with intention, can compete on the global stage. The fugu has survived the harmattan for centuries.

Now, it is being engineered for winter.