How did this dress become a crown?A symbol of oppression was transformed into one of pride.

From the show

Style and Status

A piece of clothing imposed by colonizers was reclaimed as a powerful statement of cultural identity. In the late 19th century, German missionaries forced Victorian-style dresses on the Herero people of Namibia. After the 1904-1908 genocide by German troops, Herero women transformed this attire. The dress (ohorokova) and its horned headdress (otjikaiva) became a symbol of anti-colonial defiance and remembrance, turning the oppressor's fashion into a proud emblem of Herero survival.