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BY Azuka Ogujiuba
It is no longer news that Ade Bakare designed the costumes for the film, Ayinla, by the famed director Tunde Kelani (‘TK’). The former Commissioner for Arts and Culture in Ogun State, Mrs Yewande Amusan, with whom Ade had collaborated on Adiré projects for Ogun State facilitated the introduction. According to Bakare this was some years ago:
“Tunde Kelani told me he was working on a film on the late apala singer, Ayinla Omowura. Yewande felt it would be a perfect vehicle for my designs, knowing my love of African textiles, especially of Adiréand my scrupulous attention to detail,” said Bakare.
Following this, Bakare went on to research the late singer, in order to gain s deeper understanding of the apala exponent. A friend who, incidentally, was also involved with the project, Jide Bello, sent Ade a biography on the late singer.
He said: “Filming was to start in December 2021, but I had started designing the costumes much earlier, I felt that if I were to start in December, I would not be able to deliver on the clothes to my satisfaction. All of Ayinla’s clothes were ready before filming commenced, we didn’t even have the measurements of the main actor at the time, but I had seen photos of Lateef Adedimeji who played Ayinla so decided to go ahead.
“We started with mood boards since it was a period film set in the 1970/80s era. This gave us a feel for the look of the clothes worn at that time – from hairstyles to shoes and accessories. Research brought up a lot of interesting detail which we tried to capture in the film.”
Bakare majored in History at the University of Lagos before he went back to study Fashion Design in Manchester, in the United Kingdom. Studying History made it easier for him to compile research details and implement them for the film, Ayinla. The biopic is suffused with detail depicting Ayinla’s rich clothing involving costly fabrics such as brocades damasks and even lace all of which signify his wealth at that time. Ade used wonyosi lace which was very popular in the 80s – a fabric which was even banned from being imported into Nigeria by government due to its exorbitant cost.
In the Centenary Hall scene recreating Ayinla’s performance there, Bakare designed Lateef Adedimeji ‘s costume of wonyosi lace with loose flower petals which is how the lace got its name – “sprinkled with flowers” – like salt on food. According to Ade, designing for a film entails a lot of work:
Bakare said: “I was fortunate to have a very good wardrobe team, especially my assistant, Ade Adedamola, with whom I had collaborated on the well-known Nigerian DSTV series, Battleground. It was Damola who came to see us at our Lagos boutique to get clothes for the character, Adora, played by Shaffy Bello. So, when I was looking for an assistant, I turned to Damola who immediately accepted, read the script and we came up with a plan for the clothes – those that would be made and those that would be loaned or bought.”
“Most of the main characters’ clothes were made by us – Jayes and Danshiki tops, safari suits for Ajala, Ayo Vaughan and Bayowa and 70s inspired dresses for Deborah. This was how one could get an exact look of what we wanted to achieve. we undertook many trips to Abeokuta, Ibadan and Ijebu-Ode in search of vintage asò oké and adiré fabrics. We visited markets such as kparò(exchange or barter) markets where clothes are exchanged for household items”.
Funmi Iyanda, the TV personality, who coincidentally was in town shooting her series, Public Eye, accompanied Bakare on one of his trips to Ijebu-Ode. “It was such great fun, we ended up visiting other parts of this huge market that sold everything from clothes to exotic reptiles.”
When watching Ayinla, you will notice adiré in various forms. Bakare was given a book on adiré by the late mother of the renowned Nike Ogunlesi of Ruff ‘N Tumble, the children’s wear line. She had a fashion label called Betty O, and used a lot of adiré in her collections. From this book Ade said he noticed that in those days, “adiré had a lot of symbolic designs.”
Bakare explains further: “I was given a fabric book from the Italian silk house Taroni and I came across a design that looked African; the lady, Omolola Bejide, with whom I collaborated to design these modern takes on adiré, said it was called órògbó (bitter kola).
“Other designs we also used in the film were inspired by the encouragement of the First Lady of Kwara State, Erelu Mrs Folake Abdul Razaq. She gave me a cocoa pod ornament and asked me to design fabric with this motif. You can see all these designs in the film. I wanted to introduce both the old and new adirédesigns to a younger generation and they have become so popular in our collections that I had to copyright them at the Copyright Commission in Lagos.
“There is a forthcoming documentary on the making of the costumes for Ayinla. A friend in the United Kingdom, Funmi Akinyele, insisted I must do this so at to capture the process of making costumes for films, especially costumes that have rich historical detail.”
This film will be available for viewing on YouTube later this year. It was put together by Bola Bello with whom Ade collaborated on the film, “A Place in The Stars,” directed by Steve Gukas. Bola was also the production designer for “Ayinla.”
So, what should we be expecting next from Ade Bakare in the film world? Ade said TK was very impressed with the costumes for Ayinla and has approached him to work on another film project which will be shown in America towards the end of the year. Ade says. “I am truly blessed and honoured to work on such projects in Nigeria.”
