Project Nunway is a charity fashion show where designers are paired with The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to create a high fashion look from recycled materials.

Rashad Pridgen, a choreographer/dancer was hired as a Creative Director to instruct the Sisters to 'strutt the runway' and also to perform during the Project Nunway Event.  Engaged to create jackets for his vogue performance, I designed and produced 3 jackets.  

Vintage jackets were provided as the base garments upon which I conceptualized designs that incorporated ancient Adinkra symbology.  Originally created by the people of Akan located in the republics of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa, Adinkra symbols have a decorative function but also represent objects encapsulating evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life or the environment. Adinkra cloths were traditionally only worn by royalty and spiritual leaders for funerals and other very special occasions.  There are many different symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and beliefs.  

In the design process, I asked Rashad to choose 3 symbols to convey meanings specific to his performance. Upon receiving his choices I designed the jackets infusing those symbols with contemporized styling to carry that statement.