Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Queen Mercy Atang, has explained the painful experience behind the viral bread dress she wore to the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).
The reality star surprised many at the event when she showed up in a dress made from 500 loaves of bread.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Atang said that the dress was made by popular fashion designer Toyin Lawani of Tiannah Empire, not by herself.
“First of all, I was not the one who made the dress. Tiannah Empire, the king of fashion, made it. It is just for me to get the clothes ready to put on,” she said.
Atang also said the dress was very heavy and caused her physical pain. She stated that the weight of the bread left a serious wound on her back and almost broke her waist. She added that she actually cried while putting it on and had to take it off for a few seconds to catch her breath before putting it back on.
“For me, the weight of the dress almost broke my waist. If you check my back, I have a serious wound there because that bread was very heavy. I literally cried while wearing that dress. I first said I needed to catch my breath. The first few seconds after wearing the dress, I had to take it off and cried a lot. Then later, I told them I was ready to wear it again,” Atang explained.
The reality star noted that the bread dress was used as a creative way to promote her business, an idea her stylist suggested.
According to the reality star, she did not plan to attend the AMVCA this year because she wanted to focus on other business goals, but her designer changed her mind.
“I did not plan on going for this year’s AMVCA before. I had put down some things I wanted to achieve for my business. AMVCA was not in my dictionary this year. My designer later urged me to go, while I told her to do something simple for me to wear. But she told me I cannot dress simply for the event,” she added.
Even though she arrived after the red carpet had closed, Atang said she insisted on attending the event in person so people would not think the photos were fake or made by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“I wanted to go to the event physically even after the red carpet had closed. I did not want to post the picture online alone, so people would not say it was AI-generated,” she said.
