Tetteh Adzedu

Tetteh Adzedu is a Ghanaian fashion designer and the founder of the label Adzedu of Shapes. He is known for preserving and modernising African tunics and traditional textiles in menswear, and his tunics have been worn by several African heads of state.

Early life and training

Adzedu was born in 1949 in Odumase Krobo. He first trained as a tailor and then studied fashion design, graduating from the Ardis School of Fashion Design in Washington, D.C. in 1978.

Career

Through Adzedu of Shapes he built a reputation for men's tunics made with haute couture techniques. He has described himself as a stubborn traditionalist who does not alter the basic designs, while experimenting with embroidery and appliqué. He has trained designers at his own fashion school and is a former chairman of the Ghana Fashion Designers Association.

Recognition

He won the Ghana National Award for Export Achievement in 1990. In 1998 he was one of three African designers, with Oumou Sy of Senegal and Alphadi, to receive the Principal Prince Claus Award. On 7 November 2026 he was among seven pioneers honoured at the inaugural Black Star Fashion Week in Akosombo.

Personal life

Adzedu has nine children, including Russell Adzedu.