Gemstone Wedding Dresses

Therez Fleetwood designs wedding gowns that incorporate natural gemstones to heighten your spiritual energy on your wedding day.

 

For centuries, people have believed that certain natural gemstones have the power to generate good energy and luck.  Gemstones not only look good but wearing them also gives the bride tranquility, harmony, and balance on her wedding day.  What better way to incorporate this powerful natural energy into your ceremony than to have them hand-sewn onto your gown. Not only will these gemstones enhance your natural aura, but the faint clicking of the stones hanging below her waist when she walks down the aisle creates a sensual sound for both the bride and groom.

Gemstones are perfect for calming the nerves and heightening the senses. They provide spiritual protection. purification. stability and strength. The bride can choose stones for wedded bliss, love, luck, inner security, and unconditional love. All gowns are custom made to order. Prices available upon request. 

 

 

 

 

CLEAR QUARTZ is known as the stone of power and amplifies any energy or intention. It enhances and strengthens the aura as it protects against negativity and attunes to your higher self.  JADE, the stone of purity or purification. It is a stone that protects and supports loving heart energy. It also symbolizes gentleness and nourishment, harmony, and balance. CARNELIAN restores vitality and motivation.  It gives courage and motivates for success.  It helps in trusting yourself and your perceptions.

 

 

KYANITE aligns all chakras. It provides a balance of yin-yang energy and dispels blockages, as it moves energy gently through the physical body.It has a calming effect on the whole being, bringing tranquility.  CITRINE is a premier stone of manifestation, imagination, and personal will. Carrying the power of the sun, it is warm and comforting, energizing, and life-giving. It stimulates the chakras clearing the mind and stirring the soul to action. AMETHYST is a stone of spiritual protection and purification; cleansing one’s energy field of negative influences and attachments. It creates a resonant shield of spiritual Light around the body.

Moorish Wedding Kaftans & Kimonos

Many brides today are choosing wedding attire that reflects their heritage. Therez Fleetwood’s kaftans are inspired by the cultural influences of Moorish women. Brides who want to dress conservatively and culturally, and choose not to wear a veil, an inspired kaftan or kimono is a perfect fit. Brides can choose to complete their look with a bespoke forehead band or turban inspired headpiece. Prices available upon request.

 

 

AMAT (left) ivory georgette with gold embroidery; YAMINA (center) mint chiffon with bold, colorful embroidery; ASIA (right) ivory georgette with antique gold embroidery. All belts are detachable. Headpiece sold separately.

 

 

Cowrie shells, seed beads, and trinkets adorn these beautiful accessories by Ayida Honor.

Museum Exhibits

It’s was dynamic, bold, and colorful! It’s street style, and it’s high fashion. – New York Times

An exploration of how black style has evolved in New York City and how hip-hop has turned fashion on its head. Hip hop has made black style big business, showcasing black designers and claiming a global market of consumers eager to buy the latest in Black Style Now. The exhibition features garments by pioneering as well as contemporary black designers and outfits worn by style-setters such as Beyoncé, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and LL Cool J. Jewelry, accessories, footwear, and clothing by major hip-hop mega-brands are also on view, as are photographs of fashion icons past and present.

 

Therez Fleetwood’s BABWE dress on display. Baby blue, gold, chocolate, and ivory silk dupioni with cowrie shells embellishments.

Black Style Now Exhibit

 

 

FashionArt

Fashion Designer, Therez Fleetwood and Visual Artist Kottavei are creating FashionArt with a purpose.

 

The Veil of Womanhood. FashionArt collaboration with fashion designer,Therez Fleetwood. Visual Artist V. Kottavei.

 

 

Novelist Nnedi Okorafor made her red carpet debut at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, ((top center, top right) where she promoted her upcoming HBO series, Who Fears Death, based on her award-winning book. Hand-painted by visual artist V. Kottevai on silk gown made by Therez Fleetwood.

 

 

Fashion Art Fusion
Art Meso Exhibit 2018 – “Truly in bloom, inspired by saturated color and personal growth. Women oftentimes gather in clusters reaching towards the nourishing sun much like sunflowers. The women themselves are the seeds planted that grow with proper tending.”

All That Jazz! Celebrating The Fabric Of Our Culture

As a designer, I love it when I am able to be self-expressed with my creations. This dress was created exclusively for the finale of “LEGACY – Celebrating the Fabric of Our Culture” in Philadelphia, PA.   For all you jazz enthusiasts… this one’s for you!

 

August Wilson Center for African American Culture hosted the Multicultural Arts Initiative’s third annual celebration of diversity in the arts with “Legacy: Celebrating the Fabric of Our Culture,” a program celebrating diversity and richness of the arts and fashion.

The evening culminated in a fashion show with the models of the Utopia Modeling Agency in a program titled, “FashionAfricana.” But this wasn’t your typical fashion show with models strutting fancy duds on a runway. The fun and creative styles were showcased as part of a skit, produced by Mark Southers of Pittsburgh Playrights Theatre Company, set in a 1940’s night club. The models of the Utopia Modeling agency acted as patrons to the club as the skit unfolded to the music of the PJO.

 

 

Creating this dress was an extremely long process.  I used double-ply silk satin fabric, 1/8″ gold metallic cording, bugle beads, and seed beads.  There is also a built-in corset and crinoline underneath. Here is the design and construction process below;

THE DESIGN PROCESS:

jazz laying out sketches
SKETCHING – I sketched all the Jazz band musicians. Including singer, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, bass, piano, drums, and guitar.
jazz tracing onto fabric
LAYOUT & TRACING: I placed the sketches along the bottom of the dress and then traced the images on the fabric to create the lines for stitching.

jazz fabric and trims
MATERIALS: I used double silk satin fabric and 1/8″ metallic gold cording. Also included hand-sewn beads.
jazz sewing
SEWING: I machine stitched the 1/8″ trim (inch-by-inch) along the chalk lines and hand hand-sewn the beaded trims to create the artwork on the dress.

FINISHING TOUCHES: I hand-sewed bugle beads and small round gold beads to create a design and texture on their clothing.
ABOUT THE DETAILS: A piano key pattern was created along the hemline with the 1/8″ gold cord.