Owing to the wide acclaim accorded President John Mahama’s inauguration attire, the name Matthew Agambire has come to public attention.
Agambire is the designer behind the stunning agbada worn by Ghana’s 6th president of the fourth republic.
In 2024, he was nominated for a 40Under40 Award.
The Creative Director at Bondaana, Agambire designs luxury clothing for high-profile and influential personalities. He has worked for businessman, journalist and transactional lawyer Gabby Asare Okyere Darko, former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) boss Mustapha Hamid, National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Communications Director Sammy Gyamfi, and media executive and radio star Bola Ray, among others.
During his days as an undergraduate student at the University of Ghana (2009 – 2014), he busied himself with sales and marketing for tech gadgets like phones and laptops. Here, he honed his skills as an entrepreneur.
Entering into the professional world after school, Agambire worked with multinational corporations like BOSCH (2020), in the business development office. He later served at PORTWEST as the country manager for Ghana.
All the while, the young man was nurturing his fashion business towards maturity. When he finally gave himself fully to it, he established Bondaana Group, Bondaana Clothing being its lead entity.
As a philanthropist, he has notably donated cash and clothing to football academies, adding his efforts to enriching sports development in Ghana.
At the iconic Independence (Black Stars) Square, Tuesday, January 7, 2025, the NDC’s John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as president of Ghana, having decisively won the December 2024 elections. The colourful ceremony attracted people from all the cardinal points of Ghana and leaders of nations in Africa and beyond it.
Speaking to Joy News, Agambire revealed though President Mahama’s inauguration outfit was his initiative, Mr Mahama contributed to the creative process.
“President Mahama is someone who believes so much in Ghana and he wanted something of Ghana, from Ghana and by Ghana,” he noted.
“When I approached him about designing the outfit, I gave him a few ideas as to what I wanted to do. And in fact, he is actually a very key person in co-creating the brand. So he said he would need something that represents Ghana and he needed a Ghanaian to do it. So that was actually the brain behind the outfit.”
He added: “I had been planning and thinking about what to do on his outfit for the past two months. So what happened behind the scenes was that I would usually come up with something and go show it to him, and then he either approves or gives his contributions.
“So the Adinkra symbols were originally thought by me and shown to him for his approval. So it was teamwork between the two of us.”
| Manuel photography (Pic): President Mahama in his Bondaana attire at his inaugural ceremony
Adinkra symbols on President John D. Mahama’s outfit (in black in the chest region):
– Nyame Dua: ‘Tree of God’ denoting the presence and protection of God
– Gye Nyame: ‘Except God’ denoting God’s absolute power and providence
– Dwennimen: ‘Ram’s horns’ denoting strength and humility
– Sankofa: ‘Go back and take it’ denoting gleaning the best from the past
