African Clothing And Fashion

Grassfields African Transformation: Curvick

By Bianca WatsonDec 1, 2017

GRASS-FIELDS PRESENTS AFRICAN PRINT

The African Queen Transformations

Grass-fields is delighted to introduce you to Curvick Aka Wonder women! @curvick_ is a beauty and fashion Instagrammer. She also runs a Snapchat channel where she posts her favorite foodie moments. We sat down Curvick and got the low-down on what makes her tick before we transformed her into a Grass-fields African Queen!

What made you become a fashion/beauty blogger?

'I generally don’t consider myself a fashion blogger because I’m nowhere near as consistent as a blogger should be but I seriously love fashion. For me, the decision to showcase my style was due to the lack of diversity I was seeing on Instagram for plus-sized ladies. I wanted people to see that you could be big, fat, chubby whatever and still slay. '

What do you think influences your style choices?

'My style is ‘bang on trend’-ish. Ha!. I definitely look out for new trends and then try and incorporate that into what I’m comfortable with.'

Why do you Instagram?

'I love fashion, I love pictures, I love looking good, I'm gorgeous. Why not? I just want to show other plus size beauts that it's okay to be comfortable in your rolls. Wear the damn bodycon dress!'

Do you wear African print daily?

'Daily? Nope. I do occasionally and for events. Funnily enough, when I’m in Nigeria, I wear Ankara mini dresses every other day. It’s not that I wouldn’t wear them here but my Ankara pieces are quite dramatic and I’ll look super extra strutting down to Tesco in one. Ha! Plus the weather here is not exactly ideal for it!'

Would you ever wear African print to work?

'Yes, sure! Maybe a skirt with a plain peplum top or an African print top with a plain skirt.'

How do you feel about African print?

'I love African print! I wish I lived in a country that was hot enough to rock some daily African print outfits.'

It can be hard being of Caribbean or African descent and raised in the UK. What culture do you identify yourself as?

'Tell me about it! I got bullied for being African when I was younger while my Caribbean friends got envied. Being Caribbean wasn’t all peachy but it was still ‘better’ than being African in their eyes. Never quite understood the logic behind it.'

Where do you get your confidence from as a black woman?

'I get asked this question so many times. I think it’s because I’m plus-sized as well. The real question should be why can’t a black woman- plus-size or not - be confident without people seeing it as "Oh my God. You’re so confident"?

It’s basically insinuating that being black/plus sized is a bad thing and it’s amazing that someone is still able to overcome it and be confident – which is so silly!

Don’t get me wrong, when you’re young you go through phases of ‘Am I good enough?’ etc but surrounding yourself with the right people and listening to the right things easily changes your mindset. Thanks, mum!'

What is your greatest failure?

'Well, closing my first company. I don’t really see it as a failure because I learned alot from it and I was able to pick myself up.'

What is your greatest achievement?

'Restarting my own company.'

Was there ever a time that you felt unattractive?

'Never! Only kidding! I feel it every week – you know you stand in front of the mirror and you’re like "Damn why is my belly imitating Papa Ajasco right now? Ha!!! The trick is to just vibe with it. If you got that muffin top, so what? I quite often hype myself in my mirror – it feels great.'

What is your biggest worry when wearing bright colours?

'No worries! I love bright colours. It’s just that I assimilate bright colours with hot climates, I don’t know why. I tend to wear bright colours only on holidays or during summer.'

What makes you get up in the morning?

'Money, breakfast, needing to pee Ha! I don’t know. Life?'

Do you think African culture has changed from when you were a child?

'Absolutely! A huge part due to social media. People are now being exposed to this amazing black culture that they were maybe ignorant to before. When I was young my Caucasian colleagues thought I was living in a house with lions and spears which was so far from the truth.

Now, ‘media’ isn’t just CNN and BBC showcasing some rundown part of Africa and using it as a symbol of what the country looks like. Now people can see that there’s more to Africa as a whole and let's face it, Africa is dope.'

Many black-owned businesses have sprung up in hair, make up and fashion. Why do you think black-owned businesses are suddenly becoming stronger and popular?

'Well, as a black business owner myself I think the key thing that has changed is opportunity.There are so many more opportunity! Now there are so many avenues and ways for individuals to start companies and showcase them. Technology has gone on a rampage also; you have mediums like Shopify and Bigcommerce making it super-duper easy! Whereas back then you had to pay some IT guy five grand to build your website from scratch. Black women are simply seizing the opportunities coming their way and excelling at it.'