How ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Costumes Were an Avenue for Faith

“We Are Lady Parts” facilities on an all-woman Muslim punk band who are earning new music their way, making an audience, and balancing their own lifestyle on and off phase.

Costume designer Computer system Williams created just about every woman’s wardrobe to honor her marriage with her religion whilst also employing costume to act as an avenue for cultural and self-expression.

The series, streaming on Peacock, follows 5 women— Amina (Anjana Vasan), the freshly recruited direct guitarist Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), Woman Parts’ guide singer Ayesha, (Juliette Motamed) Lady Parts’ drummer Bisma (Religion Omole), the bass participant, and Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse), the band’s supervisor.

“All of these women of all ages are next-generation migrants, like me I was born in the U.K., but my roots are from Nigeria and Ghana. When I was contemplating about these four women, for me, it was about actually seeking to have an understanding of who they had been culturally and marrying that with a London vibe,” Williams claims.

Four of the 5 band customers put on some kind of regular Muslim head coverings. Williams introduced on several Muslim ladies to her design team and undertook several hours of study to accurately portray how style and faith run aspect by aspect.

“A head masking is a head masking, now how you do that is entirely up to you and I wanted to exhibit that there is no one way to do it. You can have range in a team of Muslim sisters,” Williams claims.

Williams broke down each rocker’s signature design and style.

Amina

Amina has her sights established on locating a everyday living lover and acquiring her Ph.D. in microbiology. But, when she joins the band, her designs improve. In excess of time she finds a new consolation amount in her id. Amina is typically uncovered in pastel-coloured hijabs and negligible makeup.

“Amina was a person of those figures where when you start the venture you have such a clear strategy of what it is that you want to do. And then, as you get into the venture, that notion keeps twisting and turning. And I assume marrying her demure sensibility with this want, and kind of need, to split out of this mildew and to lean into this new place that she was inhabiting, that felt good to her — that was like my greatest challenge, how do I make, how do I make great costumes for a lady who loves A-line skirts and button-up blouses. And is now in a punk band.

“There’s the scene where by Girl Components is carrying out a Dolly Parton music and Amina’s even now acquired her A-line, large-waisted skirt on, but she’s acquired this shirt with a horse print on it. And it is the initially time we definitely see her in darkish colors, and it is her edition of leaning into what it means to be punk, but it’s nevertheless genuinely sweet. It’s what she could be exterior of what we usually see her in, which is pastels and closely-embroidered two-piece sets.”

Bisma

Bisma normally takes great satisfaction in her heritage and generally sports dazzling West African turbans and political t-shirts. She’s also the calmest member of the band. When she’s not in the band, Bisma spends time advertising her artwork on her avenue stall.

“Bisma is Nigerian-British, she’s my sisters and me, and my cousins, and mother’s friends’ children — it’s a satisfaction in African prints, but incorporating that in a way the place it feels modern and has a Western vibe, but you even now holding on to what’s genuine to your cultural identification.

“Her artwork performs a significant part in who she is. The interior structure of her condominium is a whole lot of upcycled, reclaimed furnishings and items. I wished to carry that via to her wardrobe — about 90% of it is thrift shop finds with autumnal colours, macramé, and nearly anything that feels Afro-centric.

“We employed a ton of Omolola jewellery from a youthful Nigerian jeweler, and a lot of her jewelry is from about Africa or certain tribes in Nigeria applying symbols that imply something to Nigerian lifestyle.

“Bisma’s vibe is tremendous vintage. Almost everything desires to feel like it is had 3 lives just before coming to her, but when it hits her, it helps make sense.”

Ayesha

Ayesha is the band’s drummer. She’s also an Uber driver with street rage. For her outfits, she’d activity sparkly Center Jap abayas and drapey headscarves with spectacular eyeliner.

“Ayesha’s vibe is who Juliette is in true everyday living. So instead than me building the outfits, I took additional of a curatorial tactic to her structure. I curated her wardrobe, and collaborating with her. I’d say, ‘Here, what do you consider? What type of appears to be would you make?’  So, we experienced an afternoon of just attempting every little thing on.

“That to me, felt real to who she was simply because she would carry in a lot of herself in the character. I think sometimes when you’re carrying out a character who is so stylized it can feel a little bit pressured. I did not want that to materialize so she was a large section of developing what she wore — dim shades, anime prints, major metallic detailing, and slogan t-shirts from Aborigine brands.”

Momtaz

Momtaz is the main of the band. As the group’s manager, her target is to switch them into a massive accomplishment.

“I wanted to make positive that a lady who wears a niqab could decide on up one particular of the niqabs we designed and wear and feel like it in good shape the intent. I did not want it to be like this unusual style point. Every thing has to just feel purely natural. It couldn’t sense like the display was styled. I’m not likely to try and improve the niqab from what a niqab is what I want to do is just give you variations of this while nonetheless trying to keep it modest and fitting the reason of getting included while also allowing for our actress, Lucie, to experience that she was also bringing one thing amazing to the present. She has to expend these eight weeks covered and I can visualize that that’s very a big issue to acquire on, especially when the ladies are coming out in glance soon after look. I think Ayesha had 37 appears in the full clearly show even though we developed four niqabs for Momtaz.

“But it was seriously important to me that Lucie felt that some style and design, treatment, and consideration experienced been taken into her costumes, but that they nevertheless match the objective.”