Drake’s surprise ‘Honestly Nevermind’ album drop has been all the rage over the past week! Fans cannot stop dissecting his caption-able lyrics and bouncing the electronic dance style music, a first for the Toronto-born rapper. Most of all, the visuals for his leading single ‘Falling Back’ have made waves in not only music, but fashion as well. The concept behind the music video was Drake saying I do to 23 brides, which in itself is enough to merit a viral reaction! What really made the video for us, however, was that one-of-a-kind cathedral length durag veil with a mega statement from start to end!
Toronto based, custom designer Chizoba Udeh-Martin, founder and Zoba Martin, has worked with Drake’s team on perfecting major wardrobe moments since the Future, Drake, and Tems “Wait for U” music video, and let us in on some of the details behind the inception and creation of the famous veil that’s about to change the bridal game.
“I have a lot of experience with wedding dresses so this was right up my alley”, she dished to Fashion Bomb Daily. She explained that the veil was a “collaborative process”, and that key stylist Caitlin Wright, whom she met during her last stint with OVO, came to her with the idea to create a dramatic durag-veil with the song title around the hem. “Lace and tulle are my favorite fabrics to work with, so this sparked a lot of creative juices. After shuffling between material options like pearls, florals, appliqués, etc., to spell out the title ‘Falling Back’, the embroidered letters custom made by LandLord Morrison were finally decided.”
She went on to explain how each letter was evenly spaced out and hand-stitched to the base of the veil. “For those two days, I guarded those letters as if my life depended on them!” she laughed, “making sure they were safe and complete.” Zoba took in that this was a major moment, not just for herself but for the single and so, in good craftsmanship to ensure it was a standout piece, she made an extra-wide cathedral veil nearly 150 inches long with lace details delicately placed around the edges. She knew exactly how she wanted the lace appliqués to sit and decided it was perfect after a fitting with one of the brides, Ashley Massiah, who entirely ate the look according to Zoba.
“There was a point when Director X and Drake walked in to see the durag veil and had a positive reaction to it, and I had a deep sigh of relief and burst with excitement inside. The entire process took about 2 days to complete and aside from custom-making the durag veil, I also worked on the set to fix any fitting issues with dresses.” The dresses featured in the video, although not custom-made by Zoba Martin, were creations of other talented designers and bridal boutiques, mainly Canadian brands!
Zoba was also quick to shout out the entire wardrobe team Caitlin Wright, Marc Andrew Smith, Tara Ocansey, Zannub Houssein and Xandros stating that none of this would have been possible without everyone involved. “It was an intense and fulfilling experience for me and grateful I was requested again to work on the latest of Drake’s music videos. This is a new experience for me and I’m loving the process.”
We love to see it! What say you?
Main Image: IG/Reproduction @caitliniswright
