On the global theatre of fashion, where narratives are often borrowed and trends flicker and fade, TUBO designer, Sandrah Tubobereni is aiming for different – designing looks which spark conversations beyond flashbulbs and photo ops. Attesting to that is the look Ciara wore on her recent visit to Nigeria.
When R&B superstar Ciara stepped out in a TUBO design on her trip to Nigeria for the Lagos Fashion Week, her outfit went beyond fashion. She wore a narrative. One drawn on Sandrah Tubobereni’s Ijaw heritage.
For Sandra, fabric is never just fabric; it is a parchment for storytelling, a medium for identity, and in the case of Ciara’s outfit, the very architecture for the unapologetic power of women owning their space.
Drawn beautifully from the deep well of the Ijaw Iria ceremony, the look Ciara wore stood tall paying tribute to this sacred rite of passage which celebrates a girl’s transition into womanhood. Through intensive beadwork that echoes the ceremony’s tradition, the design transforms age-old symbolism into a modern language of elegance and fashion nous. It also was also a fashion moment which went beyond triumph in celebrity styling.
“This was Tubo’s ode to home, a visual love letter to the essence of womanhood. During the Iria ceremony, the maidens typically came out bare-breasted and tattooed in oils, a symbol the designer reimagined through intensive beadwork to recreate the impression of a woman’s form. Every stitch held meaning: the structured bodice echoed resilience, the crystal tones whispered tradition, and the fluid silhouette captured the confidence and sensuality that define the Tubo woman,” says Sandra in a statement to the NewAfricanWoman.
Beads as a Second Skin: Reimagining Tradition with Intention
As Sandrah states, every element of the design is a coded message. The most striking translation being the intricate, intensive beadwork, which recreates the impression of the female form. This is a direct and elegant reimagining of the ceremony’s tradition, where the girls present themselves bare-breasted and adorned with symbolic oils – powerful symbols of purity and strength transformed into a language of haute couture.
Beyond the beads, the structured bodice stands as a testament to resilience, while the fluid silhouette captures the innate confidence and sensuality of the TUBO woman designs. Every stitch was placed with purpose, weaving a narrative of strength, onto a global canvas.
“Designing for Ciara was simply divine alignment. The Iria ceremony represents womanhood, identity, and pride, values that sit at the heart of TUBO. I wanted the world to see that our stories, when told authentically, carry the same power and elegance [and] that our culture can be couture and our heritage haute,” Sandra says.
Celebration of feminine power
Indeed, fashion, at its best, acts as a bridge and can reveal surprising harmonies between diverse cultures, and should be part of a rich, interconnected global tapestry, because while Africa’s broad cultural and creative stories are distinct, they often share a common heartbeat of grace, identity, and the celebration of feminine power.
The TUBO’s philosophy is deeply embedded into that: “At TUBO, we never try to replicate culture. We interpret it with respect, letting its shape and symbolism guide our hands without turning heritage into costume. What matters most is intention: that the woman wearing it feels held, empowered, and remembered.”
The TUBO x Ciara moment was therefore not just an alluring fashion highlight, but a declaration, a reminder to the world that when African designers are given the platform to tell their own stories, with authenticity and pure artistry, they are unstoppable.