Red Brocade Corset Set

Most traditional brides come to me wanting to honour the family without disappearing into a room of red. So we built this set to do both.

The corset top carries hand mounted brocade in red and antique gold, the colour the elders will recognise and the metallic the camera will not let go of. The corset itself is constructed with twenty hand sewn bones, lined in silk, so she could wear it from the morning rites through the dinner without taking off her own ribs. The tulle skirt is generous because the day is long, layered in three depths so it moves with her instead of after her. She wanted to sit, to dance, to greet aunties without the set protesting. Underneath the tulle, a satin slip with side slits we hid in the seams so she could lift the skirt when nobody was looking.

The night ended with her still in it. Her mother in law took the dress home to keep. That is rare. The corset is currently in storage in Ikoyi, waiting for the daughter.