Patience Torlowei
{{short description|Nigerian fashion designer (born 1964)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Patience Torlowei
| image = Patience Torlowei1.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Patience Torlowei in 2019
| birth_name = Patience Etipou Torlowei
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|7|24|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria
| death_date =
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| nationality = Nigerian
| education = Yaba College of Technology
| field = Textile Artist, Fashion Designer
| training =
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| website = {{URL|https://patiencetorlowei.com/}}
}}
Patience Torlowei (born 24 July 1964) is a Nigerian fashion designer. She is the creator of the "Esther Dress", the first piece of couture ever to join the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art's permanent collection.
Early life
Born in Enugu to Ijaw parents, Torlowei graduated from the Textile Arts and Technology faculty at the Yaba College of Technology. She moved to Belgium in 1989. As a fashion designer she has worked to create bridal clothes and lingerie as well as ready-to-wear attire.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/lifestyle/5370/patience-returns.html|title=Patience returns|website=Nigerian Voice|accessdate=Jul 9, 2019}} She founded her first fashion line, Patience Torlowei BVBA, in 2006.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2014/10/01/history-on-a-hanger/|title=History On A hanger|first=Forbes Woman|last=Africa|date=Oct 1, 2014|accessdate=Jul 9, 2019}}
Career
A dress designed by Torlowei, Esther, is currently owned by the National Museum of African Art (NMAA) in Washington, D.C.; it is the first piece of haute couture to enter the museum collection. It depicts scenes of oil and diamond extraction and of war, and is made of a variety of materials including gold fabric.{{Cite web|url=https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/i-am/|title=I Am . . . Contemporary Women Artists of Africa|website=africa.si.edu|accessdate=Jul 9, 2019}} The piece had been previously featured in a fashion show at the museum in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://mshale.com/2014/03/07/national-museum-african-art-showcases-eco-friendly-african-design/|title=National Museum of African Art showcases Eco-Friendly African Design|date=Mar 7, 2014|accessdate=Jul 9, 2019}} Torlowei was included in the 2019 show "I Am… Contemporary Women Artists of Africa" at the NMAA.
See also
References
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External links
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-dress-comes-out-of-pain-patience-torlowei-creates-fashion-from-the-highs-and-lows-of-modern-africa/2019/08/21/880e9d8e-bd26-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html?noredirect=on The dress comes out of pain: Patience Torlowei creates fashion from the highs and lows of modern Africa] Washington Post, August 22, 2019 (with photos of the "Esther Dress")
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Category:Nigerian fashion designers
Category:Nigerian women fashion designers
Category:21st-century Nigerian artists
Category:21st-century Nigerian women artists
Category:Yaba College of Technology alumni
Category:Nigerian expatriates in Belgium
Category:People from Bayelsa State