An Assessment of the Costume Design of Yolanda Okereke in Craig Freimond’s Blood Sisters

Abstract

Abstract: Costume design is a pivotal visual element in a cinematic narrative. It serves as a visual language that communicates character traits, thematic concerns, and cultural nuances to the audience. Thus, costume represents the artistic and visual interpretation of a film. As one of the most noticeable elements on screen, it offers the audience a direct connection to the characters role in a film. To this end, this paper critically examines the costume designs of Yolanda Okereke in Blood Sisters in order to uncover the creative and technical techniques that she used to shape the visual identities of the characters and the themes in the film. This paper adopts a qualitative research method, supported by descriptive and analytical tools. Primary data are drawn from interview with the highlighted costume designer in order to reveal her creative and conceptual techniques in costume design of the aforementioned film. In addition, secondary data are derived from scholarly journals, articles, books and online resources. The theoretical lens of Affective Materialism by Giuliana Burno is also employed to foreground the paper. This findings reveal that, the costume designer of Blood Sisters creatively designed the costumes to reflect the characterisation and cultural heritage of characters to the audience. The costume designer uses her creative inventiveness to manipulate the elements and principles of design to add depth and meaning to the characterisation of the film. It is also discovers that the costume designer used costumes to convey social status and power dynamics among the characters to the audience. This study therefore concludes that the costume designer does not only enhance visual storytelling but also contributes significantly to character development, cultural authenticity and audience engagement in the film. This paper then recommends that costume designers should keep in mind the elements and principles of costume designs in their design concepts in line with global best practices. Also, that, Nollywood film industry, and tertiary institutions where costume designs are taught should organise trainings and workshops for students, costume designers among others, so that they can be properly trained in the art of costume design. Keywords: Assessment, Costume design, Character creation, Aesthetics, Bloodsister, Film