SNEAK PEAK - DIANA OPOTI'S DRESSING ROOM
Saturday, July 26, 2014
So you all know Diana Opoti has been running a fashion campaign, 100DaysOfAfrican fashion (I posted about it here )
I know she has been working on a dressing room for all the clothes and I asked her if I could have a look. So The room is half done (there are unpacked boxes of artifacts Diana has been collecting as well as custom storage and display shelves she is still expecting )
Here are some shots of the room
In her dressing room...Diana Opoti curates more than apparel.
"I see traditional wooden carvings as a great way to curate how society has evolved in the way we dress. Take for instance the wooden carved soldier who represents how colonial guards (Askari Kanga) dressed in the "kaptula" (shorts) and the shirt with box pockets.
This look would later inspire safari apparel
Notice the cute box clutch from designer Doreen Mashika .
Diana also has quite a collection of African Fashion literature and coffee table books - placed in different parts of her house. This one in particular is on African textiles.
In her dressing room...Diana Opoti curates more than apparel.
"I see traditional wooden carvings as a great way to curate how society has evolved in the way we dress. Take for instance the wooden carved soldier who represents how colonial guards (Askari Kanga) dressed in the "kaptula" (shorts) and the shirt with box pockets.
This look would later inspire safari apparel
Notice the cute box clutch from designer Doreen Mashika .
Diana also has quite a collection of African Fashion literature and coffee table books - placed in different parts of her house. This one in particular is on African textiles.
The large basket at the corner is made by a Turkana cooperative and has a lampshade made from a guard /calabash
The bench in the room is a collectors item, inspired by a "Swahili Dhow" and made from old dhow wood.
This life size mannequin is so "real" Diana says it was a gift from the designers of the fashion label "Mille Collines" who are also her Fashion PR clients…notice the black linen Kaftan embroidered in gold thread from Ghana...
..The mannequin called "Goldie" has a Vlisco limited edition silk scarf wrapped around her head and is wearing a jacket in African textile from designer, Anne McCreath of Kikoromeo (Kenya)
The room, like I mentioned is still a "work in progress space". Diana is working with local artisans to create custom shelving and display shelves. A cow hide skin carpets the center of the floor
Collector items galore in this room. I love the tall, skinny wooden men from Cameroon. It's funny how traditional artisans described the man under western influence in the colonial era. Man in blue depicts a doctor (notice his stethoscope) and the one in a red jacket carries a briefcase which likely makes him a teacher or a business man.
These cast iron sculptures also describe another period in Africa. This ones are from Benin and also represent a King and a musician because of the way they are dressed.
...and the wooden afro comb ..
2 Comments
Oh my gosh! That wooden chair is gorge!
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Yess I agree. :) @WambuiKay
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