Black Panther chestplate, All photos by Laurel Marcus
If you saw Marvel’s “Black Panther” (2018), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022), or “Coming 2 America” (2021), and even if you only saw ads for these films, you can probably conjure up in your mind’s eye what Douriean Fletcher’s striking Afrofuturistic jewelry looks like. The term ‘Afrofuture’ refers to a speculative vision of the future that is rooted in African culture and aesthetics, a theme that is central to Fletcher’s work.
Douriean Fletcher, Tinu Naija
Costume Designer Ruth Carter met the young (she’s now only 38!) artisan jewelry maker in 2015 and tapped her to come up with what adornments could be worn in a utopian African nation. Carter’s request was that they seem ancient and modern at the same time.
Fletcher’s contemporary necklace
Fletcher’s inspiration included both Alexander Calder and Art Smith, incorporating brass, 18k gold, or silver-plated works of fantasy, some with inlaid stone work. They are incredible creations of engineering and beauty – many of them done under tight time constraints, as she explained during a luncheon in her honor last Wednesday at the Museum of Arts and Design.
Helen Drutt, Tinu Naija, Barbara Tober, Cheryl Riley
This new exhibition, “Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture,” runs until March 15. The luncheon, in a room with a great view overlooking the park, was well attended by many fashion industry notables including Chair Emeritus Barbara Tober, Nicole Miller, Art Gallery owner Helen Drutt, Kay Unger, B Michael, Artist and former MAD exhibition subject Machine Dazzle (who I had the pleasure of sitting next to), Susan Gutfreund, Sharon Bush, Michele Gerber Klein, Janna Bullock and other art and fashion enthusiasts.
Machine Dazzle
Co-curators Sebastian Grant and Barbara Paris Gifford toiled tirelessly on this exhibition for three and a half years, and it shows. The exhibition includes three parts of Fletcher’s career: her formative years, her film collaborations, and her contemporary practice.
“Working with Ruth (Carter) has been a really cool and interesting process,” said Fletcher during a brief talk and slide show following the lunch and right before the exhibition walkthrough. “She needs someone who can keep up with her change of designs…someone who can navigate and change and shift to be able to fit the story.”
Jonn Nubian & Naja Sayej
Usually, jewelry is sourced rather than custom-designed for a film; however, Carter recognized Fletcher’s ability to bring characters to life with her handcrafted designs. This led to an unprecedented achievement as Fletcher became the first jewelry designer accepted into the Motion Picture Costumers Union.
Tim Rodgers and luncheon guests
One important piece featured during the luncheon was the sculptural chestplate worn by Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in the sequel’s death scene. Fletcher described how it was “quite emotional with the cast and crew grappling with Chadwick Boseman’s (T’Challa, the Black Panther in the first film) death.”
Silver chestplate
“Chadwick died between the first and the second film, and we kept looking for him to come into the room. There was a lot of death to process, and I only had one to two weeks to create this piece. There was no time to overthink it.” She also decided to add purple stones from Africa to give the child Shuri powers, as she would be the Black Panther after her mother died.
I did not see either film, so I inquired about how Ramonda died. When I heard it was from drowning, I couldn’t help asking the curator if perhaps, without the heavy piece of jewelry, she might have survived (haha).
Necklace and headpiece
Fletcher also had to create duplicates of a lot of jewelry for some of the extra cast members on repeat and in a hurry. These pieces would often get ruined in battle sequences, and they were needed for additional scenes. This process required meticulous attention to detail and a quick turnaround, showcasing Fletcher’s skill and dedication to her craft.
Bracelets worn in Black Panther
One of her personal gold-plated brass necklaces was worn by Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia (in a yellow dress) during the UN scene in the original 2018 film. It looked remarkably similar to the one Fletcher was wearing with her yellow dress at the luncheon.
A few pieces of Fletcher’s jewelry are for sale in the MAD gift shop as well as at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, NJ.
