IIt was a zipper that kickstarted Kwadjo Owusu Ansah’s project. “I had a flannel shirt that I made out of bleach,” recalls the self-taught fashion designer. “I hand-sewed a zipper into the back of the shirt and I loved it, so now most of the things I make have zippers.” This device, and Owusu Ansah’s obsession with it, became the driving force behind his innovative streetwear brand, Animated People.
Professionally, Owusu-Ansah goes by the name Damukojo and works full time in marketing for a wine and spirits company, but she sees her fashion line as an ongoing art project rather than an up-and-coming brand. “I want people to tell their own story,” says Owusu-Ansah, 31. “Find your own meaning in my art. Analyze it. Think about it. Why are men wearing miniskirts now?[I want people]to question it when they see the work. It starts a conversation.”
Animated People’s aesthetic is colorful and quirky, Y2K-by-way-of-West-Africa. Most pieces feature upcycled denim sewn together with flannel and canvas, and embellishments like zippers, snaps, studs and other hardware, with textures popping up everywhere. The latest collection includes vibrant helmets reminiscent of jester hats and bunny ears. “This was the first piece I actually got into manufacturing, and I’ve made over five of them,” he says of the distinctive headpieces. “I’ve made close to 50 now. We’re not promoting it or marketing it, and we haven’t had an official photoshoot yet, but amazing people are finding us.”
Owusu-Ansah was born in Yonkers, New York, and grew up in Ghana before moving with his family to Connecticut as a teenager. As an adolescent, he learned to use a sewing machine by watching YouTube videos. “I wanted to finish my jeans like that, so I found a video, went to JoAnn Fabrics (a fabric and craft store) and got the tools and did it myself,” he recalls.
He’s been living in New York City since 2016. He first found work at a custom embroidery studio, which gave him access to a giant embroidery machine in his spare time. At that point, he’d been running the side hustle for four years. He and a friend who also made clothes shared the cost of a large Singer sewing machine, which cost about $60 apiece, but the machine often broke down.
The sewing machine her mother bought her is still in use, and with no other employees, Owusu-Ansah takes on all the administrative tasks involved in maintaining the brand, including bookkeeping and processing orders.
Owusu Ansah runs the Animated People Instagram account and says the most effective form of marketing is to go out in your clothes and start conversations with people – he managed to get Anwar Hadid to give him a helmet during Paris Fashion Week.
I live by the philosophy “Don’t quit when you’re tired, quit when you’re done”
Kwadjo Owusu Ansah of Anime People
A McKinsey study last year predicted that luxury brands will grow at a faster rate than non-luxury fashion brands. Non-luxury independent brands certainly have potential, but the road to profitability is undoubtedly slow. Owusu-Ansah’s day job allows him to nurture his projects without worrying about revenue. “When you’re a kid, you spend your pennies on candy and sweets. Because my brand is sweet, I spend all my pennies on clothes,” he says.
Owusu-Ansah sews and needlework in a spare room in the apartment she shares with her longtime partner, artist Onon Erdenemandak. The two met while attending different universities in Connecticut, when her school’s fashion club invited him and other student designers to a fashion show. The two now collaborate on both designs for Animated People and custom embroidery brand Onko Studios. As Owusu-Ansah says, their shared home is a haven for work, play, and art. And a place to sleep a little, every now and again.
This spring you attended Paris Fashion Week for the first time. What was it like?
It was my first time going to Europe and my first time going to Paris. I visited Ghana last December for the first time in 15 years. It made me realise how much work I’ve done since I left Ghana. I felt the same when I went to Paris. I felt like I’ve grown. I’m saving up money to go out and do a runway show again.
You have a full-time job, how many hours a week can you spare for Animated People?
I work 9-5 in the food and beverage industry, but I love Animated People so much that I work 9-5, then 5-9, sometimes all night. I live by the philosophy of “don’t quit when you’re tired, quit when you’re done.”
How does sustainability fit into your philosophy?
I started by making old clothes better. I don’t want to put more fabric out there than is already there. I don’t want people to come to me asking for a full set of clothes. I’m more comfortable supporting what you already have in your closet. I have an idea to host denim workshops around town where people can bring their old denim and I can cut it up just like I would cut a pair of pants. I try to use or save every last bit of fabric because you never know what you’ll need.