Thaís Muniz, a native of Bahia in the north of Brazil arrived in Ireland recently, keen to spread the turban gospel. This distinctive piece of clothing emanates a variety of cultural resonances – from her own Afro-Latin American heritage, to Islamic and Indian cultures, to diva singers – as well as being practical and pretty damn cool. We spoke with Thaís about her creations, her workshops and the importance of cultural exchange to her own project.
Since you began creating your turbans in 2011, business has been successful for you. With nearly 8,000 likes on Facebook you are very popular in Brazil. How has life in Ireland been for you and your head pieces?
It has been an interesting challenge! Here people barely know that the name of my headdress is “turban”, but I feel that people are very curious about it. In fact, they normally come and say that they like it and ask me a little about its meaning or the correct name. I think they are more used to seeing Indian or Muslim men wearing them, or African women who have a more traditional style. I have a more urban style, and of course I’m aware of the symbolic relationship of the turban with my ancestry. I use the turban as an item of my own fashion, as one who uses a beautiful crown, or wears a cute necklace does. I love this cultural fusion that blends traditional and contemporary on day-to-day.
It’s such a simple idea, yet the turbans burst with statement. The aesthetic of your turbans define many things. Can you explain what they mean to you and how your express yourself through the fabric?
For me it has a relationship of aesthetic reverence of my cultural ancestry, challenging politically the standards of beauty that racism established for a long time. The history of Brazil, and especially of my city, Salvador da Bahia, has strong African cultural influences on account of the slaves who were brought there. They influenced the formation of our gastronomy, our dance, our way of receiving people and obviously our aesthetic too. In numerous African countries the turban is part of the local fashion. In the markets of Senegal, for example, it is common for you to order a dress from a seamstress with a turban in the same print. The same goes for special occasions like weddings. The turban is a popular item of clothing but also sported as a crown. It is still used as protection against the sun and sand storms by the Bedouin men crossing the desert, for example. Moreover, it is also used in several religions, such as Candomblé, another African legacy in Brazilian culture. Increasingly in Bahia, people have understood the strength of our cultural roots. For example, it was always very common for women with curly or frizzy hair to straighten their hair, to distance themselves from what was regarded as ugly or distasteful. These days, a political consciousness is proliferated through an aesthetic and cultural mix, that can be seen through this pride in showing the style that blends African traditions with contemporary traditions of Bahia, what we call Afrobaiana aesthetic. It’s interesting because eventually this popular empowerment shakes up many concepts and ends up causing peripheral cultures to circulate through the centre, taking them from a place of “exotica”.
There is a lot of work that goes into the makings of the turban in an artistic manner. What does your background specialise in?
My academic background is in fashion design and production design. I love prints and I always buy enough fabric along my journeys. The turbans came to me as a result of visual references that I have in my city and of the divas of black music which also inspired me. I started to use and experiment with forms and volumes that some girls were curious about. And every time I wore them, more girls would ask me about. One day someone said that I should start a workshop. I started researching the historical context; I fell in love with innumerable different meanings from different places in the world and started to realise the turban was a tool of cultural empowerment, a means of self-expression and a means of exchange with people. It can make people feel more beautiful, even when they have health problems: as with women who lose their hair because of cancer for example. And besides, it’s very practical on the days that you wake up late! [Laughs]
Different cultures mean different beliefs. Do you see your turbans as a cultural identity?
No doubt! They are as an element of self-affirmation too.
What do your workshops involve?
It involves a bit of historical, cultural and chronological context. The meanings of a turban is for people to be aware that it is not just a fashion adornment – it is the creation of their own personal signs and a lot of practice – where I teach an average of 12 to 15 different ways to wear the turban. From there, many people discover their favourite models and create new models too. They last an average of three super active hours, where people will realise the types of fabric that they like most, the scarves they already have come to use, since you can go to the kitchen to prepare a meal without compromising the smell in your hair to go to a wedding, party, or work.
What do you hope to gain from your experience in Ireland?
Well, I still have plenty of time in Ireland and I want to connect more with people through my “contact performance”. The main objective of the contact performance is to propose the turban as a means of exchanging experience through people. I put a sign on the street where it reads: “I do Turbans” and anyone can spend a few minutes talking while I adorn their heads. After the turban is ready they look in the mirror and always smile and to me that is amazing. A photographer records everything, and the customer chooses whether to take home an instant photo (like a Polaroid), or whether it will just be the record to share on the website and social networks *Turbante.se*. In Brazil, my first contact performance experience was for a project that had the support of an art institution, so people could keep the handkerchiefs and photos at no cost.
Here, as I don’t have financial support yet, they will have the option of taking only the memory of the experience in a photograph at no cost, or of buying the scarf. The most important thing to me is bring more smiles and experiences, through this cultural mix that I believe in so much. Here, as I don’t have financial support yet, they will have the option of taking only the memory of the experience in a photograph at no cost, or of buying the scarf. The most important thing to me is bring more smiles and experiences, through this cultural mix that I believe in so much.
Find out more about Thaís Muniz’ turban revolution at www.turbante.se and www.facebook.com/turbante.se
Words: Seana Henry
