Aishamanne Williams on Her Prom Dress Featuring Erykah Badu, Angela Davis, and Lauryn Hill

De Elizabeth
Updated
"Honoring inspirational, radical, unapologetically honest black women was important to me."

When it comes to DIY'ing your prom dress, the sky's the limit. After all, remember the gown made entirely out of trash bags that went viral earlier this year? Or the student who doctored up a Fashion Nova dress to make something totally red carpet worthy? If you need some creative inspiration of your own, look no further than Aishamanne Williams (or @ajahnidhana on Instagram), whose 2018 prom dress is a literal work of art.

As seen on Aishamanne's Insta page, she wore a strapless white dress with the faces of Erykah Badu, Angela Davis, and Lauryn Hill drawn onto the gown's full skirt. The 17-year-old tells Teen Vogue that she was inspired by designer Kyemah McEntyre's dress for the 2016 BET Honors, adding that she loved the idea of having artwork on her own dress. "I've always been very inspired by those three women and what they stand for," Aishamanne said of Erykah, Angela, and Lauryn. "I love Erykah Badu's music...her spirituality, [and] the way that her energy speaks to mine. Listening to her music and her words makes me feel at home, so I wanted to pay homage to her for making black girls like me feel loved and represented. Lauryn Hill's unapologetic blackness has always inspired me as well; I've admired her skillful lyricism and soulful music since my childhood. I've also learned a lot from Angela Davis. I consider myself to be an intersectional feminist, and from studying her words and life, I've learned a lot about feminism, race, and class."

So how exactly did she make this dress that honestly looks like it belongs in a museum? With a dynamic all-star team, of course. Aishamanne presented the idea to her friend's mother, designer Donna Weekes, who got to work on the dress itself. The drawings are the creative talent of Nyiesha Mallett, an 11th grader at Aishamanne's school. "[Nyiesha] painted the images that I showed her," Aishamanne explained, "and then I gave the skirt back to [Donna] to complete."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBz2i1ltBy/?taken-by=ajahnidhana

When Aishamanne showed up at prom in her custom gown (along with gorgeous gold jewelry), her classmates were in total awe. "I knew that I'd look completely different from everyone there and I wasn't sure how well that would be received, but everyone appreciated the uniqueness of it," the Brooklyn student said, adding that her peers even voted her Best Dressed at the dance.

If you're considering a creative dress of your own, Aishamanne has some words of wisdom to share. "Just ask yourself: 'Who am I? What am I most passionate about? What message do I want to deliver to my classmates, and to the rest of the world?' Once you know that, create something true to yourself. Everyone is already unique in their own way, so you don't have to try to be different - just allow your dress to reflect you naturally."

For this 17-year-old, coming up with her passion was the easy part. "Honoring inspirational, radical, unapologetically honest black women was important to me, and that was the message I wanted to leave behind to sum up my four years of high school," she said. "Think about what you want your dress to say about you."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkEHUu_FsUw/?taken-by=ajahnidhana

Related: Teenager Makes a Prom Gown Out of a Fashion Nova Dress

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