Dress
1970s
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dress was purchased by Professor Lalage Bown from Shade's Boutique, Lagos, Nigeria in the 1970s. Its founder, Folashade ‘Shade’ Thomas-Fahm had studied fashion at St Martin’s School of Art in London, before returning to Lagos in 1960 to open her boutique. Championing Nigerian fabrics and silhouettes, Thomas-Fahm designed for the cosmopolitan, working woman.
The dress is a typical Thomas-Fahm’s aesthetic as this piece is from Thomas-Fahm’s ready-to-wear label. It is an adaptation of the Yoruba man’s agbada robe, the cut used by Thomas-Fahm making the sleeves more defined than usual. Made from heavy duchess satin, tie-dyed grey and turquoise, the dress is decorated with yellow and green chain-stitch embroidery, probably machine stitched. The yellow embroidery may be a reference to the Yoruba symbol Ooya, the comb, which represents the comb used by hair plaiters, which is a recurring symbol in àdìrẹ cloth.6 It came with a matching hat in the same fabric which Bown later adapted into a drawstring bag instead.
The dress is a typical Thomas-Fahm’s aesthetic as this piece is from Thomas-Fahm’s ready-to-wear label. It is an adaptation of the Yoruba man’s agbada robe, the cut used by Thomas-Fahm making the sleeves more defined than usual. Made from heavy duchess satin, tie-dyed grey and turquoise, the dress is decorated with yellow and green chain-stitch embroidery, probably machine stitched. The yellow embroidery may be a reference to the Yoruba symbol Ooya, the comb, which represents the comb used by hair plaiters, which is a recurring symbol in àdìrẹ cloth.6 It came with a matching hat in the same fabric which Bown later adapted into a drawstring bag instead.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Duchess Satin, Tie-dyed, embroidery |
| Brief description | Dress and matching bag, grey/green tie-dye duchess satin, designed by Shade Thomas-Fahm, Lagos, Nigeria, 1970s |
| Physical description | An adaptation of the agbada robe, the cut used by Thomas-Fahm makes the sleeves more defined than usual. Tie-dyed grey and turquoise all over, the dress is decorated with yellow and green chain-stitch embroidery. |
| Credit line | Given by Professor Lalage Bown |
| Object history | Professor Lalage Bown purchased this dress from designer Shade Thomas-Fahm's boutique Shade's Boutique whilst working at Ibandan University in Accra, Ghana, 1970s. The dress came with a matching hat in the same fabric which Brown later adapted into a drawstring bag instead. |
| Summary | This dress was purchased by Professor Lalage Bown from Shade's Boutique, Lagos, Nigeria in the 1970s. Its founder, Folashade ‘Shade’ Thomas-Fahm had studied fashion at St Martin’s School of Art in London, before returning to Lagos in 1960 to open her boutique. Championing Nigerian fabrics and silhouettes, Thomas-Fahm designed for the cosmopolitan, working woman. The dress is a typical Thomas-Fahm’s aesthetic as this piece is from Thomas-Fahm’s ready-to-wear label. It is an adaptation of the Yoruba man’s agbada robe, the cut used by Thomas-Fahm making the sleeves more defined than usual. Made from heavy duchess satin, tie-dyed grey and turquoise, the dress is decorated with yellow and green chain-stitch embroidery, probably machine stitched. The yellow embroidery may be a reference to the Yoruba symbol Ooya, the comb, which represents the comb used by hair plaiters, which is a recurring symbol in àdìrẹ cloth.6 It came with a matching hat in the same fabric which Bown later adapted into a drawstring bag instead. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.2420:1,2-2021 |
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| Record created | July 16, 2021 |
| Record URL |
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