MARVEL-OUS!
Black Panther-inspired presentation wows at N.Y. Fashion Week
NEWYORK— Afrofuturism is now at New York Fashion Week.
Marvel Studios sponsored a small Black Panther-inspired presentation, “Welcome to Wakanda,” on Monday featuring designs by LaQuan Smith, Chromat, Wale Oyejide of the brand Ikire Jones, Fear of God and others, including the jewelry of Douriean Fletcher in a capsule collection.
Fletcher, based in Los Angeles, said she was hired by the film's costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, to create some statement pieces for the superhero blockbuster after she met Carter through a mutual friend, actress CCH Pounder.
“CCH Pounder had a jewelry party for me and invited Ruth. She saw my work and she liked it,” Fletcher said.
After doing a few pieces for the Roots reboot, which Carter worked on, Fletcher told her she dreamed of creating “these really big ornate dresses and all these wearable art pieces, and Ruth said, ‘Hey, I have this opportunity. If I get it, I want you to come with me,’ and that’s what happened.”
Among Fletcher’s work in the highly anticipated film is a bold amethyst and 18-karat gold plate piece at the top of a costume worn by Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda. It’s featured in one of the movie’s posters. Fletcher also hand-pounded gold-plate armour pieces for the female warriors of the Dora Milaje.
To say there’s buzz about the Ryan Coogler-directed film based on the character from the comic series is an understatement. Mania is more like it. Excited fans have said they plan to show up at theatres in African garb.
Smith has seen the movie and created a trenchcoat with a matching jumpsuit — both pieces covered in black sequins.
“I wanted it to resonate with the idea of female empowerment, women that are strong,” he said. “I wanted to do something that was sexy and powerful and aggressive because there’s a lot of technology in the film."
Oyejide did a men’s suit with a coat and scarf. One of his scarves made it into the movie, which he said shows off the nuances of people of colour.
Chromat designer Tolu Aremu has seen the movie once already but plans to go again in a Nigerian dress to celebrate her history.
She worked on the orange pattern design with Chromat founder Becca McCharenankara fabric from Lagos, courtesy of Aremu’s second cousin there. They added a
neoprene top to the dress to honour the technological
“I thought of my mother,” Aremu said. “Growing up she’s always worn African garb and I wanted to make this an ode to my mom, being the superhero in my life. Afrocentric fashion is moment right now.”