REPOSITIONING TRADITIONAL HAND EMBROIDERY FOR CONTEMPORARY FASHION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Embroidery art is one of the significant attributes of Nigerian dress culture that has offered a means of livelihood to its practitioners. However, it has been observed that the current hand embroiders are mostly people from the older generation who learnt the skill through the apprenticeship system. Consequently, the loss of interest in this traditional art by contemporary textile artists in preference for machine embroidery might eventually lead to the extinction of this aspect of our cultural heritage. Therefore, there is a need to reinvent this Nigerian traditional textile art by employing hand embroidery beyond using it for apparel design. This study employs a qualitative research method. Data for the study were sourced from textbooks, journals and articles relevant to the topic. Observations from personal experiences were also used. The study highlighted embroidery stitches that are not commonly used by traditional embroiders which the contemporary embroiders could adopt to create works that will follow the current embroidery trend. The study also suggested areas where hand embroidery could be applied outside its traditional usage, to make it a viable venture for the contemporary textile artist. Therefore this study is advocating that hand embroidery should not be allowed to fade away because it enables the artist to implore creativity in producing unique pieces, unlike mass-produced machine embroidery.