One of the ways in which Nigerian cultures are experiencing evolution and growth is by traditional attires being redesigned through fashion. In the first Nigerian Netflix original series, Blood Sisters, which was produced by Mo Abudu's EbonyLife TV and released on May 5, 2022, this fact is further grounded through the cultural events and costumes featured in the crime thriller series. 

Blood Sisters made it to Netflix's top ten shows with over 11 million views recorded five days following its release and was ranked number one in the top ten TV shows in Nigeria as of May 15, 2022.

This acceptance is unsurprising as there is a lot to see besides the suspense, incredible talent, and the clean cinematography. Audiences get to experience Nigerian ceremonies, and through this, also see that dressing is one of the ways in which Nigerians express their cultures. The audience also gets to understand what is worn to different occasions and why the cast wear what they do in each scene.

While Blood Sisters does not take away from the fact that the outfits worn by the cast are sourced from the cultures represented, and that they should embody the purpose they are worn for, it shows how daring the crew in charge of the wardrobe are. This is expressed through the exploration of different options of fabrics, styles, accessories, and even colours, to produce incredible fits that are modelled after these traditional outfits, yet measure up to the glitz of today's world.

The Engagement 

The engagement between Kola Ademola (Deyemi Okanlawon) and Sarah (Ini Dima-Okojie) is important for different reasons. It opens the floor for the murder, suspense, and flight that follows in the subsequent scenes. It also gives the audience a peek into what Nigerian marriage ceremonies look like for different traditions.

Traditional marriages are often held on the terms of the bride's family. They can decide to receive the groom and his family members in their house or choose another location. The Ademola family choose to invite their in-laws to a hotel for the wedding instead, which is why Sarah's father (Keppy Ekpeyong-Bassey) is seen complaining as they wait at the hotel's reception.

While the groom normally wears a traditional attire from the bride's culture, Kola Ademola sticks to the traditional costume for men from his ethnic group, which is the agbada, a fila hat, and coral neck bead. One of the most special fabrics in Yoruba culture is aso-oke. The woven fabric is befitting of an important personality and is made into outfits worn for special occasions. Kola's outfit, made with aso-ofi, asserts that as the groom, he was the most important man that day. He is also the only man wearing an attire made from aso-ofi. The three piece embroidered agbada–trouser, buba, and agbada – which is a blend of purple stripes was made by HRH Luxury.

 Femi (Gabriel Afolayan), the groom's brother and Akin (Daniel Etim-Effiong), the best man, also wore agbadas which were made by HRH Luxury, but from different fabrics. While Akin's buba's (inner wear) sleeve is styled like that of a shirt, unlike the traditional style, Femi's neck beads were made with coral and crystal beads, a re-invention of the way Yoruba coral neck beads were originally made.

Reflecting how she feels about her son and his wedding to Sarah, Uduak Ademola (Kate Henshaw), dresses like the most important woman in the room, wearing an attire made from aso-oke by Bisbod Aso-oke, and lace fabric by RemiO Couture. The attire, which was made by The Sevon Dejana Brand, is a two piece outfit of iro and blouse with fan sleeves, which is a re-invention of iro and buba which elderly women were confined to wearing in Yorubaland, regardless of the occasion. Olayinka (Kehinde Bankole) and Abasiama's (Toke Makinwa) dresses scream ‘2022 guests at a Yoruba wedding!’.

 Sarah and her mother's (Uche Jombo) outfits are inspired by the double wrappers and blouses Igbo women are known for wearing. Sarah's dress, designed by Bibi Lawrence – who is famous for making traditional wedding dresses, was made into a faux wrapper set. Her bridal coral beaded headpieces and neck beads also show how well traditional and modern-inspired outfits can be merged to achieve a good blend.

The Funeral

Death and funerals are sorrowful business amongst the Yoruba people, especially if the deceased passed awayin their prime as in the case of Kola. Mourning is characterised by the wearing of shapeless, drab or black outfits, especially for the women. However in Blood Sisters, this is not the case.

 Olayinka (Kehinde Bankole) who walked with her husband behind the pall-bearers as they carry her brother-in-law's coffin to his grave, was clad in a black shift dress and a beautiful black hat. Uduak, the bereaved mother, wore an elegant green gown made by Lady Beellionaire Luxury with a black hat sitting gingerly on her head to receive the guests at her home.

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Roles

The attires worn in Blood Sisters were used, to a great extent, to portray the personalities some of the actors embody and also the walls boxing a character into an expected act and appearance because of their role.

For Olayinka, who desperately wants her husband to be king so she can be queen, her outfits complement her thirst for power – they also place her in the position of a mini Uduak, the matriarch of the Ademola family. Olayinka is as ruthless and ambitious as Uduak, but has lesser powers. While her classy outfits have exaggerated features like Uduak's, they are toned down from competing with the matriarch's. These outfits also show that Olayinka understands the place of elegance in the status she desires.

 For Uduak, her permanent scowl, straight face, straight-spined posture, and most importantly, her dresses inarguably make her live up to the role of the matriarch of the Ademola family. The choice of the dresses' colours deepen the impact of each scene. In the evening of Kola's funeral, Uduak wears her dark green dress with exaggerated long sleeves by Lady Beellionaire Luxury, instead of the conventional black outfit, thus grounding her defiance in being bent to conform to mourning and crying for her child as it is often expected of bereaved women. On the day Timeyin (Genoveva Umeh) escapes from the religious rehab, Uduak wears a blue dinner gown by Lady Beellionaire Luxury, having dinner with the rest of the Ademolas, but the scene ends with a gloomy heaviness.

The chief bridesmaid is often boxed into an expectation. That is, her outfit should be modelled after the brides’. In Blood Sisters, Nancy Isime sweeps this expectation away with the furisode sleeves of her fuchsia pink off-shoulder top and wide-legged trousers by Lady Beellionaire Luxury, which she wore for the engagement dinner. 

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Behind the scenes

The outfit styling and wardrobe management in Blood Sisters is top notch. This made it possible for each actor to dress their character and eat with no crumbs left. For everything that was achieved, Nigerian stylist, Yolanda Okereke, was the Costume Designer and the brain behind it all.

 Okereke is an award-winning stylist who has worked behind the scenes of many Nollywood blockbusters as a costume designer. She worked with different designers, fabric dealers, and other fashion brands to create a wardrobe with a life of its own for each actor.

One noteworthy feature of the outfits is how colours were blended without being over the top or boring. For instance, the couple's purple outfits were made in different fabrics and different shades of purple and complementary colours. Olayinka's lilac skirt and blazer was spiced up with a deep purple crop top with butterfly and cap sleeves she wore on it. Okereke, who took to her Instagram page to explain how this was no easy task said, "Curating this look was tough, getting the right colours and shade wasn't a walk in the park, but eventually we got it and it all came together."

With her skill, Okereke, was able to capture the fast evolving Nigerian fashion that is inspired by traditional cultural outfits that are infused with other styles. Blood Sisters is a greater proof of how meticulous and particular she is about getting it right.