FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Wild Card Prize - Lovely piece of research and adaptation and wonderful to see representation of a pre-colonial Sudanese style of clothing
Akoko’s Wedding Dress
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
The book "The River and The Source" is by Margaret A. Ogola that traces the lives of three generations of women. Beginning with the story of Akoko set in her rich traditional Luo culture through to all the children of Awiti into the 20th century. My entry is inspired by Akoko’s traditional wedding garment. She was married before colonization so it means that her dressing was very minimal. The book gives an overview description so I researched on what she would have worn at the time with references from historical photos of precolonial dressing for Luo’s. A great resource was the Pitts Rivers museum website. http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/Luo/luo/browse/special/all/page1/
Luo’s did not wear clothes but adorned themselves in ornaments. They had beaded ornaments on their necks, arms, legs and waist. The men’s accessories were more flamboyant than the ladies. The only time they wore a covering was after they were married. The loincloths ranged from an actual animal hide to a strings of beads made into a covering. I also borrowed some inspiration from some Luo tribes from Sudan that had corset like waist ornaments as part of their garments.
Outline the construction…
I picked a brown cotton fabric to symbolize the animal hide. I designed the garment shape of a bustier with a loin cloth attached to it on front and back. I beaded the front section. I also decided to add a waist corset to further accentuate my waist as described in the book but also to give the waist ornaments more character.
I had two main challenges, beading the corset as well as beading the front part of the loin cloth. The corset itself was my first attempt at a waist cincher and I used plastic bones which worked quite well. There was a bit of a fit issue but all in all it came out well
The front part of the loin cloth gave me some structural issues because of the weight of the beads but I came up with a way to stabilize them with wire rode’s inside. I used a variety of locally available beads a mixture of plastic beads and clay beads. I used nylon thread to string the beads.
Getting brace accessories was also a challenge so I resorted to making beaded ornaments with gold colored beads. I made the bracelet, necklace and anklets. When modeling the garment I chose to cover my sides with a fabric which is not part of the costume but I felt would still compliment it and still keep the theme intact.
I looovvee the beading on this! It makes the whole thing look so rich and unique. The waist corset is also such a nice touch, great job!
Thank you Bethany, i truly appreciate it
Great job on all the details! I love how well-researched and thoughtful all your choices were.
Thank you Diana, I truly appreciate that you noticed that, thank you
So cool!
Thank you Sarah, i truly appreciate it
This is stunning: the elegant simplicity of the bodice but it is so well fitting, the beading, the inspiration. I love it. I now have the book on my to read list.
Awesome , I am glad to have inspired you to check out the book, it was one of my favorites. Thank you so much for the compliment i truly appreciate it
Love the beading! The Bodice is stunning
Thank you Megan, I truly appreciate it
Thank you Megan, I truly appreciate it
the colors are so beautiful and I love the beading
Thank you so much Teresa, I truly appreciate it
This is absolutely fantastic!! I really enjoyed hearing about how you researched the history of the garments, and incorporated that into your design. The waist cincher is awesome — a very excellent first go, and I hope it inspired you to keep making more!
I absolutely LOVE the beading on this, both the focal points in the centre of the cincher, and the beautiful drape of the bead strands on the skirt!
Great work!!
Thank you so much Andrea, I am definitely going to make many more, I truly appreciate your feedback and lovely comment
I really love the string beading detail you added. <3
Thank you so much Melanie, truly appreciate it
I love this! And I’m definitely adding the book to my list.
Thank you Melanie. I am sure you will love the book its an amazing story and thank you for the compliment as well truly appreciate it
Beautiful! Absolutely love love love!
Thank you Jade, I truly appreciate it
Lovely interpretation. Your beadwork, and design overall is stunning.
Thank you Jaye, i truly appreciate it
Wow, I really love it, and especially all the research that went into the look you recreated (And your small modelling deviation, that you explained !) Sounds like it was a challenging project structure-wise, and it worked out beautifully in the end !! Very well done !
Thank you Emeline, i appreciate you feedback. it was indeed tricky when the beads weighed down the apron section. I had to find a way to hold up the structure. Thanks again
This is lovely. In the past I’ve had some sudden surprises adding beads to a garment and finding out the weight of the beads created some challenges– I think you navigated those challenges well, and I liked reading about your problem-solving. All your pieces– the jewelry, the waist cincher, the loincloth skirt— feel like a character, but also like fashion. Well done! Good luck from Icarus!
Thank you Rebecca, indeed this process was full of surprises and had to think fast. I finished my work very last minute as well, because of the holiday season being busy. I am glad you felt the character come through. I truly appreciate your feedback
This is beautiful! I love that you drew inspiration from other African cultures than the original text and wove that into your design. Waist cinchers and working with beads always SEEM like they should be easy, but they’re not. So a big round of applause to you for making the final product look light and effortless! Well done!
Thank you for your feedback Sarah. So true, its does “seem” easy but its definitely not. Thank you for noting my diverse inspirations. I appreciate this alot
This looks amazing!
thank you Alexandra i truly appreciate it
It is nice to see a take on a native African style. The apparent simplicity is deceptive. It looks comfortable but still beautiful. The boning in the loincloth was a clever touch. I am now trying to picture your design made using the soft leather you simulated with the brown cloth. It really is a lovely design.
I would like to read this book…
Thank you so much Stephanie, I am glad I have inspired you in some way. The book is available on Amazon so definitely a fun story and an easy read as well. The leather would have been way better for sure but I am glad I figured out a way to stabilize it, it had really stressed me out. Thanks again for your thoughtful comment
I love your imaginative use of adornment. Those beads are really spot on! I understand using brown fabric as a sub for animal hide. Very well done! Thank you!
Thank you AnnaCatherine, I am glad you like it, I truly appreciate the lovely comment.
Great job! So cool!
This is so striking, and I’m impressed that you made your own jewelry on top of all the fitting and beading. Really well done!
Your dress at first seems simple, but upon closer inspection has SO much beautiful detail! I am very impressed with your problem solving for all of the beads added. Stunning work!
This is beautifully done. As a bead artist and fellow researcher, I have SUCH an appreciation for the care and love you put into this dress! I am learning to improve my sewing skills, and appreciate your embracing the challenges and dedication to make unknown details come to life! The waist garment with beads is awesome! I’m looking forward to learning more about the stories too.
Love the beading – and the choice of music on the video is so happy!
Thank you Nora, i truly appreciate it