Is It Okay For Corset Fashion To Be The Norm For Nigerian Native Dresses?

Another banger comes from the stables that gave us beaded bodices, off-the-shoulder necklines, and peplums. This time, it is the corset trend that has the whole Asoebi corner of the Nigerian fashion industry in a chokehold. Corsets have over a 500-year-old legacy; that is plenty of time for opinions and arguments to develop. One side argues that this trend is uncomfortable, severely restricts movement, and enforces sexual stereotypes about women. Some others believe that especially in today’s world where they have been reimagined and have more modern variations, they can be a means of self-expression.

While its benefits remain debatable, this trend that dates back to European royals has successfully infiltrated the Nigerian wedding fashion scene and you can now hardly attend a wedding without seeing a good number of the ladies decked in various eye-popping corset Asoebi styles. When asked why the corset trend has remained in style for so long, Oluwaseyi Adeoye of Sé Adeoye, a bridal and womenswear brand in Lagos, Nigeria said, “This trend is now a standard for Nigerian traditional dresses primarily because it helps attain the illusion of a conventionally desired body type, especially with the rise of BBLs”. “It is a way the girlies can participate in the trend without having to go under the knife or make a more permanent decision for a temporary fad.” She adds that as long as variations of the hourglass figure continue to be the preferred body type, the ways to achieve that would persist. The corset trend will continue to come in and out of fashion. 

Since the corset wave does not look to be ending soon, we spoke to 6 Nigerian women about what they feel about corset fashion for traditional Asoebi styles and whether or not it’s a harmless shift that will naturally phase out or if it is a pandemic rooted in toxic body image stereotypes.

Amina, 24

I have always associated corsets with discomfort but then they got into mainstream fashion and I find it more restrictive because it looks like for an outfit to look flattering, it has to give this illusion of a tiny waist, which is not practical for a lot of other body types and shapes. We see women squeezing their backs into corsets, cutting off airflow into their bodies just to fit into a dress. I cannot imagine the last time I saw Asoebi styles without corsets and I want to assume that the BBL fashion contributed to this but I still think it is a trend that will fade away soon. I also do not think that it is okay that corset fashion has become the standard for Nigerian weddings; people attend these parties to eat, dance, and celebrate, and can’t be doing all that in a corset so uncomfortable that you can hardly move. We need to go back to Asoebi styles that were for every body type and did not need a corset to look flattering.

Mirabel, 30

The only aspect of corset fashion that I find restrictive is how it enforces some beauty standards by promoting a certain body shape as the norm because some women feel they have to carry out surgical procedures to attain this body shape. That is what makes it restrictive. Women go out of their way to make themselves uncomfortable just for a snatched waist and all that. I won’t say this fashion trend is snuffing out other Asoebi styles, it’s a trend for a reason, it will pass just like the oleku craze passed. To be honest, I don’t care if it is the standard, provided that women are not making themselves so uncomfortable, just to have the illusion of a certain body shape. Let everyone do what they want to do, this too shall pass. 

Hosanna, 27

It’s the body stereotype wahala. We do not all have hourglass figures, so why force it? Before this wave, stylists used to make dresses to suit their client’s body types. Now they’d rather add fake hips, butt, and boobs to create the shape. I don’t know when the trend will end, but I am sick of it!

Vivian, 25

Omo, I don’t know but I think corsets can be weird. I have seen brides and even guests struggling to breathe well in that thing. Fashion is all about comfort and elegance for me so corsets are a no. Women in the Victorian era fought to leave it behind so why go back to it? I don’t even like bras like that so corsets are a huge no.

Moyo, 21

The corset wave is just three years old in Nigeria as it started to gain traction in early 2021 when the sheer neckline and trumpet sleeves were phasing out. I for one think it is already beginning to phase out. Notably, European wedding couture usually heavily influences Nigerian fashion. So, since wedding couture is changing styles, we should expect a change soon. I think it’s just harmless tho. For one, the style is pretty when it is made well, maybe that is what has sustained it so far. Women don’t stick to unflattering styles for that long. 

Esther, 23

I don’t think that it is a trend that is likely to fade out anytime soon. Before now, there was a waist trainer phase and even before that, the flat tummy wave has always been in. Corsets just have a way of pandering to all of these phases. While corsets in and of themselves are nice, their abuse is concerning. The number of videos I have seen of women struggling to exist in these contraptions is an eyesore.

Born and raised in Ibadan, Ayanlowo Eniiyi graduated from the University of Ibadan with a degree in Communications and Language Arts. Her essays are featured in Project Myopia, Adventures From Magazine, and others.