I love watching wedding episodes on TV mainly because there’s an overdose of drama and amazing clothes.
That was the case with the wedding scenes on SABC 2’s "Giyani: Land of Blood", which aired from Monday to Wednesday. It was a beautiful showcase of XiTsonga culture, something that many of us haven’t been exposed to before on mainstream TV.
Beyond the script, the costume designer pulled out all the stops to make sure that not only did they stay true to the culture, but also managed to add a modern twist to the bride’s gown that will no doubt inspire many Tsonga brides in the future.
The Tsonga print and the pink tulle ball skirt with feathers was a jaw-dropping moment and a surprise, especially since this marriage between Vukosi Moyo and Khensani Mudau was a sham.
But then was a twist: Vukosi was shot by an unknown assailant and seeing Khensani react in this massive gown, was a TV moment of pure wardrobe genius.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/GiyaniLandofblood?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GiyaniLandofblood #GiyaniSABC2 pic.twitter.com/TARyYpDmAD
— GiyaniSABC2 (@GiyaniSABC2)
Costume design plays a major role in being able to effectively tell the story the writers have written. The clothes are very much an extension of the character and fully describe where they are in their lives and their state of mind.
One of my favourite TV characters is Laura Dern’s Renata Klein on "Big Little Lies". Now bankrupt, Renata used her clothes as armour to represent how she’s really feeling.
In the fifth episode, she wore a skirt suit with a peplum and a pussy-bow blouse.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/BigLittleLies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BigLittleLiesis amazing. pic.twitter.com/TssWTQK9uY
— Buhle Mbonambi (@Buhlebonga)
And yet the addition of a belt cinching her waist, added a military element to her look, showing that she was at war and was using her clothes as armour.
The whole second season is a look into the psyche of Renata and how she’s reacting to her husband losing all their money.
As a TV viewer, it makes the experience even better when you see just how much effort has been made by all the production staff to make sure the story is best told and in as many ways as possible.