Isi Agu Print,

The Rise of the Isi Agu Print

20.7.15 4 Comments




So... One day i was busy minding my own business and stalking people on Instagram when i came across this picture that made me fall in love! (read full story after the cut)


It was a picture of Noble Igwe (of 360nobs) in a simple but very significant tee shirt... The ISI-AGU print tee shirt!! 
Noble Igwe in his Isi-Agu Tee shirt

I had never thought of this print as sexy and trendy... Until i saw this picture and - believe me - it was love at first sight! 

The Isi-Agu (Lion head) swede fabric is a traditional attire worn by chiefs and rulers of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria - which is where i come from - so you can understand why i was excited to see it in regular fashion style. Finally something for us Kings to wear!




I obsessed about it for the following few days and - as i like to have most of the things i fancy - i eventually set out to get mine

 I searched online and found the tee shirt at giddimint website (here) for N6500 

but i decided that i wanted a dressier piece in that print and had to decide between buying the Tee and altering it or buying the fabric and making a dress with it. I decided to make a dress. I bought the suede fabric (the actual ones for chiefs!! yikes) from Garki Market for N1500/yard (bought 2 yards, should have bought three because it doesn't stretch and i ended up mising fabric) and i spent two days fighting to make this dress happen!! 

Then I traveled to lagos with the dress and a the lovely Komi Akoso took pictures of me in it ( see the fine fine pictures here). I even got inspired to create this Photo-shopped image which i am not sure what it looks like because i am a bit rusty with my photo-manipulation skills 

 feel free to share this image or use it as your display picture in social media


I was a bit worried that they would hold village meeting for me for using such a traditionally significant fabric to make a dress but luckily i stumbled on the Fashion Engineers blog (here) where she also used the fabric to make a dress or i think she wore an actual one as a dress... either way i have found a partner in crime!! lol



I AM so looking forward to seeing this print explode and become used in different fabric types (I can totally picture myself standing on top of a mountain in a flowy chiffon isi-agu dress, posing as a roaring lion ... or, realistically, at a function) and i feel it will help promote the igbo culture...I hope our igbo elders wont mind though.

Would you rock this look?
Tags: Isi Agu Print,Style

ChiomaJenni is a multi-talented female based in Nigeria. She loves to embrace life, learn new things, experience new places, play dress up, discover lifes truths and share her findings with you all

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4 comments:

  1. Stanley Akpoke22 July 2015 at 22:56

    I love the dress... you look really gorgeous in it! I like the idea of taking this fabric from the fringes of contemporary nigerian fashion, to main stream.... I'd love to see more!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @jaylicioussss6 August 2015 at 12:01

    I love the dress, I doubt the elders Will mind so much, since they hardly wear the material themselves these days, it Will be refreshing to allow us rock it in different styles as long as its modest enough, and we don't go adding red titled cap to it,it Will help promote our culture

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ChiomaJenni11 August 2015 at 15:51

      Thanks dear,
      let me know if you make anything of your own with the fabric

      Delete

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