Thursday, February 08, 2007

Costume profile: Yasmine



Anike's sister, Yasmine was supposed to be a gentle, submissive young girl, who was torn between the duty to her dead brother and obedience to the King. Yasmine chose to obey the King's edict by not assisting her sister and keeping to herself whatever knowledge she has of Anike's plans. Yasmine was given a pale blue top and a two-toned blue skirt. Her shawl was made from a sheer violet fabric with golden vines embroidered into it. The colours served to give her a "cooler" predicament, not like that of her older sister, who was the embodiment of fire and rage. Her skirt has a similar pattern to Anike's, a slight gesture of their kinship.

As such, her outfit was also designed to be more lady-like, preserving her femininity while giving the character an air of class. This feature is further enhanced by her jewellery and accessories. Yasmine's top is a theatrical modification of the traditional wrap-around top that was popular in the Indochina region. A similar version was worn by women of the Indonesian archipelago, typically on the islands of Jawa and Bali. The skirt is essentially of wrap-around design popular among the peoples of South East Asia. In the olden days, this would have been a piece of loose batik or songket cloth, which was fastened about the waist by a belt and a "jewelled" pending (buckle). The pending is another indicator of class, and was only worn by royalty and the wealthy.

The pectoral is an addition to traditional dress, which did not exist in olden times. A similar article of clothing may be found in that of the Minagkabau women and those worn by the natives of Borneo. However, these were usually made from embroidered fabric or beads. Ancient Egypt was the true inspiration for this piece of attire. Pectorals were often worn by the Pharaoh and royalties as symbols of status. The pectoral was added it to provide the kingdom of Anike with a distinct, identifiable character that was not too alien to the style of dress that was being portrayed. This pectoral is also worn by Anike, and pectorals of different designs were allocated to Maniaka and Nadim. In the case of Maniaka, his pectoral was part of his armour.

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