theglowup.theroot.com: Jewelry designer and metalsmith Douriean Fletcher—who designs and retails simply as Douriean—is having the kind of breakthrough moment most artists can’t even begin to dream of. Handpicked by friend and legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter to join the costume team of Black Panther (the two previously worked together on 2016’s Roots), Douriean’s handcrafted jewelry and metalwork adorn the citizens and royalty of Wakanda—perhaps most dazzlingly as the armor and neckpieces of the incredible warrior women of the Dora Milaje.
5 comments:
In awe would be an understatement when describing how I feel about Douriean's work. I guess never realized that on movies/productions of this scale that there would be a specific jewelry designer. It makes complete sense, especially with the intricacy of the costume design for Black Panther. I also wasn't expecting that Douriean was so new to the trade. her work looks like decades of training. It's incredible the scale and style of the jewelry for someone who is self-taught and in the trade for under a decade. I would love to see behind the scenes of the making of the jewelry. She explained that most of it is hand-hammered to add on to the aesthetic of the costume design. I would love to see that process and know more about the collaboration between herself and the costume designer. I wonder how their professional relationship developed and more behind how Douriean broke through as a designer and jewelry maker.
Wow. Just wow. Like Marisa, I would never have guessed that there was a specific jewelry designer for Black Panther. The pieces integrate so seamlessly into the costumes themselves that it seems to be almost the same person who designed the costumes and jewelry! I thought it was interesting what the costume designer said about her pieces, explaining "The actual craftsmanship of those pieces was a very interesting yet challenging experience ... these pieces have a meaning. They have a specific meaning of who these women are, and what they do for their country. They’re there to be resilient and strong, and to protect Wakanda." The way we clothe and decorate ourselves expresses our character and values externally and without words. They tell a story. I feel that men often overlook jewelry as a form of expression though, as society tends to frown upon that. However, I have a necklace with an Israeli Asimon threaded onto it. It speaks to a lot of my values, but it also isn't often visible from beneth my shirt. So then, to what extent is jewely like a necklace meant to express our values to others, and to what extent is it a more personal reminder?
This article was such an interesting read as I don’t usually think to consider the jewelry designer of a movie or show, if the production even has one. Although I haven’t seen Black Panther yet, from the trailer and stills the design in this movie looks absolutely incredible. The article I read last week about the types of pattern and texture the costume designer created to match each fictional tribe is a fascinating comparison to the process the jewelry designer went through to come up with the looks in the movie. I wonder the conversations and meetings that the costume and jewelry designer needed to have in order to collaborate with one another. I think this movie is so necessary and revolutionary in a number of ways surrounding artistic design, but as the article stated, having the representation of black women in this industry is so critical to not only audiences but directors, actors, and producers as well.
The costume design was amazing in Black Panther but I didn’t know the jewelry was hand crafted. It added so much to the costumes and story. It really did fit into the aesthetic of the movie and fit to the characters as well. They adorned each person in their own unique way and added to the costumes with that ancient crafted look while also maintaining a futuristic detail to it. She achieved exactly what she set out for and needed to do for this movie. I am very impressed to hear that she hand crafted these as well because there were so many pieces, it must have taken a long time to create everything for this film. It is also nice to continually learn that not only the actors were black for this film, as they should be, but that the designers and other people working on the project were black as well. I think its very important and especially for a film like this.
It’s really impressive that she hand made and hand hammered the jewelry for the warriors of Wakanda. It’s something that is sometimes so easily to forget that jewelry and armor are a separate department working in conjunction with costume design. In many shows the jewelry takes a back seat and you might notice it, but you’re also just as likely to not. But with big shows like the Black Panther the jewelry shows up front and center. And these pieces are gorgeous. It’s also awesome the Douriean was hand picked and then told she has to put more of herself in the design meaning they wanted her to really make it exactly as she wanted and imagined rather than just filling a role in a design that they had already though of. They let her shine and she took it to heart and made it beautiful. I haven’t been able to go see the movie, but now I’m even more excited than before.
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