Head Crown to Handbag

Apr 3

Gele is a headwrap worn by Nigerian and West African women. Gele is made of diverse fabrics depending on the material of choice. For instance, the Yorubas use Aso-Oke fabric as their Gele piece to match up with the Iro (wrap-skirt). Aso-Oke is a textured tightly hand-woven, glossy, cotton cloth. Geles come in different colors and patterns. They can be woven with other materials such as cotton, silk, rayon, and metallic lurex fibers. The Gele is mostly stiff, and the reason is for easy molding to take the shape of your preference.

Bridesmaid Outfit

Diadem Abayode a bridesmaid at her friend’s wedding.

It isn’t easy to trace when the Gele began. In the 19th century were photos of women and girls wearing Geles. One of the women was Madam Efunroye Tinubu, a famous businesswoman, in 1887. During the 19th century, the Gele represented a woman’s marital status and wealth status. The bigger your Gele was, the more money you had because larger Geles cost more. In those days, When a woman tied her Gele to the right, it meant she was married but if she tied it to the left, it meant she was single. During the 20th century and beyond, Geles are worn to complete a look. The look contains Buba (Yoruba Blouse), Iro (wrap skirt), and Ipele (a shawl made of the same material as the Gele). They are worn to any occasion such as birthday parties, burials, weddings, religious gatherings, etc. Depending on the occasion there are certain types of fabric being worn and how the Gele is being tied.

Diadem’s Design is upcycling Geles. We take used Geles from our communities, wash them, and transform them into bags. We came up with the idea of upcycling the fabric when our Founder, Diadem Abayode, was discussing with a church member about Nigerian outfits when attending events. Nigerian women typically don’t like wearing the same traditional garments twice to parties; Nigerian women get new tailored outfits or purchase new ones from the store to wear to each event which leads to the accumulation of traditional wear in a typical Nigerian woman’s closet. Our first Gele upcycled bag is called Aduragba, meaning Prayers Answered and this bag is limited. Aduragba is a mini bucket bag. The body and the strap of the bag are made of canvas fabric and the lining and the drawstring of the bag are the Gele fabric.

Featured