Ever since I learned the art of fashion, I decided that I will not be making clothes or dressing to look beautiful but in order to make a statement. Every outfit I wear or make no matter how complicated or simple it is, for me, it has to speak for something

For this specific look, I wanted to communicate different messages. My heritage, our lives and the season we are in right now, it may be chaotic and a little bit hard to understand when someone looks at it.

I chose Bantu knots for my hairstyle, they represent my traditional side. A home once upon a time when our forefathers lived with no fear of pandemics or losing loved ones to diseases that cannot be controlled. I silently wished that when this pandemic is over we will go back to a moment where we are in peace and joy maybe not the same but better.

I used shells as my necklace and head accessory because I wanted to remind myself of home, the coastal sandy beaches where I was born and that I have always loved. I wanted them to maintain their original form so I didn’t do much to them.

For my mask, because I am asthmatic I used to feel suffocated upon wearing one so I decided to make myself a colourful one that will give me positive vibes so that I can focus more on how it looks rather than I can’t breathe and it worked.

My crop top is for the modern lively times that we had and hope that we will have them once again, a walk at the beach, a night out, a walk-in town or spending time with family and friends. I choose Ankara for this because it reminds us that we are colourful people full of love and joy. 

For my skirt, I went with newspapers for this because to me this is what describes us most, we are all concerned about what the society says or thinks. What is happening around us, what we see on the news and what we read. At times we don’t even question if it is the truth or not, we judge too harshly without being neutral. That’s why I decided to paint over the papers hoping that when the pandemic is over we will just have colourful news. The blue for harmonious news, the gold for fortune and grey for being neutral.  A new beginning for us all regardless of race, tribe, gender or country because this pandemic has taught me one thing, we are all uniquely equal regardless of where we come from or who we are as a people.

In Africa different colours mean different things, yellow represents the colour of happiness and prosperity, orange on the hand can represent femininity,  preciousness, royalty, wealth, spirituality, vitality or hospitality. Black means bad luck, danger and it also means the colour of the precious people, green means the fertile lands we own, vegetation and grasslands which is a source of great wealth while blue means love, harmony, togetherness and peace, red symbolizes death and grief, fear but also wealth, purity, love, marriage, and beauty and lastly white which means peace and the spirit world of our ancestors. It all depends on how you will want to view it.

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