There’s something about adding lace to a garment that instantly brings out some elegance to it. I love mixing lace in most of my designs; the softness, the sleek demure that lace has always accentuates most body types and gives you that sexy feel without trying too hard. After months of being on a creative sabbatical as it were, I decided to get back to my scissors, my fabrics and of course some lace, and decided to bring some creations to life.
I love working with Ankara fabric; the bold prints, the bright colors, the texture and not to mention the African feeling that oozes when you proudly wear a dress that screams; I’m African and proud of it. When this two lovely young ladies approached me to create some modern African designs for them, I was more than elated to challenge my creativity with them!
Many young ladies especially tend to shy away from Ankara fabric; they say it’s too motherly for them, or it’s just not their style but lately we have seen how Ankara fabric has taken over the world by storm thanks to celebrities such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani who have been spotted in some lovely African prints, that it’s finally become a print that everyone wants their hands on!
I went for a fun look for these designs to give the dresses a flirty yet fun look. The yellow fabric was fun to work with, since the print already had an illusion of lace fabric to it, which toned down the yellow and gave it a soft touch.
Initially I had thought of doing short sleeves, for this blue dress, but I felt the lace wouldn’t come out the way I wanted it to, since the fabric was too busy in itself, hence why I opted for long sleeves for the bodice.
Judging by the smiles in their faces, I’m pretty sure they loved their dresses and I hope they will include more African fabric in their wardrobe!
Ankara fabric doesn’t have to have be boring, if you’re not comfortable wearing it on its own,you can play around with it by adding some cotton/ linen or lace fabric to break it! It is part of our African culture and we should be proud to wear it loud!
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