GHANAIAN WOMEN AND FASCINATORS: THE NEW ISH

GHANAIAN WOMEN AND FASCINATORS, THE NEW ISH

A lady in a fascinator

If you have recently been to occasions such as weddings, outdooring and even church, one thing has become striking. Fascinators.  You will bear witness with me that about fifty percent of women at the event, had different forms of fascinators on to complement their look. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, where the fascinator fashion’ emanates from?

A fascinator is a headpiece, a style of millinery [the designing and manufacture of women hats], made with feathers, flowers or beads which are mostly attached to the hair by a comb, headband or clip.

HISTORY

Fascinators can be traced to as far back as the 16^th century where it was customary for Christian women in Europe to wear some sort of head covering. In the 19^th century, a fascinator was also a lightweight scarf worn about the head and tied under the chin. Fascinators went out of fashion in the 1930s and emerged again in the late 20^th and early 21^th century as a term used to describe century millinery.

CURRENT TREND

Currently, a fascinator is worn on occasions where hats are customary, sometimes serving as an evening accessory. It is generally worn with fairly formal attire and frequently worn by Christian women as head covering during church services and weddings.

The trend of wearing fascinators became popular after Kate Middleton and other   prominent guest wore the headpiece to her wedding with Prince William in 2011.

However, the ‘the fascinator fashion caught on like bush fire especially in Ghana after  celebrities and almost all  royal family members wore different kinds of fascinators to the royal wedding between Prince Harry and famous American Actress, Meghan Markle. Notable amongst them were,  famous tennis champion, Serena Williams in a playful pink fascinator, Victoria Beckham [Wife of David Beckham] in a posh navy blue fascinator featuring sparkly netting, Lady  Kitty Spencer, who arrived at Windsor [venue of the wedding] in a teal green fascinator with a knitted sculptural feature and Amal Coooney in an embellished veil hatinator. 

The event seems to have prompted thousands of women worldwide to follow the trend, which raised the demand and sales of fascinators.

The Telegraph newspaper of the United Kingdom, for instance, reported that sales of fascinators increased by 300percent following the wedding.

In Africa and specifically Ghana, the term fascinator is very popular unlike the hatinators.  In an interview with some women who love fascinators, it was revealed that most of them had a lot of knowledge about fascinators but got a little bit confused when the term hatinators was brought up.

      HATINATORS 

A hatinator has more structure than  a fascinator and it is also in vogue as milliners bring their creativity to bear. The hatinator which seems to be a new term associated with the hair accessory is said to have emerged in the early 2010s, and it is used to describe headgear that combines the features of a hat and a fascinator.

PROCESS OF MAKING A FASCINATOR

In creating a beautiful fascinator, one needs simony, crimony, feathers, beads and any fashionable African Fabric. C.E.O of Bel’s Beauty, Mabel Moses Andoh, described how fascinators are made:

“ First of all, you create ribbon loops and glue them onto your base, attach a spray of feathers that match or complement your other colors, Select a silk flower for an easy pre-made centerpiece, then finally, you glue on beads, sequins, paste-gems, or buttons to accent your base.

According to Mabel Andoh, making a fascinator is so much fun and seeing other women in her designs makes her light up and encourages her to chase her dreams.

She added that fascinators are very expensive because the raw materials for making them are scarce in the country.

The demand for hair fascinators and hatinators among Ghanaian women in recent times cannot be overlooked as they have gradually replaced the traditional hat worn for occasions.

In an interview with some women, they described fascinators as the perfect complement of their looks to any merry making event.

Grace Hammoah  Asare of TV3, said, “I wear them because I think they add up to how I dress and it fits for the various occasions that I take them to, and also, it’s invoke, I mean everybody is wearing it, and it adds some classy touch to your dressing”.

She further described how she feels when she wears a fascinator:

“I feel really good when I wear it, the types of fascinators that I wear are quite fascinating, and the styles are not that common, so you get a lot of people looking at you and it builds your confidence”.

Well, fashion they say revolves and evolves, and while it’s in vogue, fashionistas will definitely patronize it. Maybe it will also come and go, like every other fashion trend. Lets enjoy it while it lasts.