Not quite Gangnam style

Welcome to Oweho, a port city on the southern coast of Garz that is home to its own laid back style.

One of the things I'm enjoying most in this book is getting to write about other places in Arbea. There is still a lot to learn about the society that Gemmy lives in (and we will). But it's nice to get out there and see some of the other contrasting cultures. 

Here is a brief (unedited) description of the people of Oweho:

"Where everyone in Bansho was reserved, you could tell by just looking at the people of Oweho that relaxation was the centre of their society. Gemmy’s mother would call it ‘lose moral fortitude’ but to Gemmy it was exciting.

"Even their style lived out loud. All of their clothing was loose fitting billows of fabrics. The men wore wide shorts that went down past their knees in brightly coloured mismatched patterns. The few who bothered to wear shirts wore a kind of mesh vest or simple swells of thin colourful fabric.

"Women, young and old, were much the same. They either wore long shapeless dresses - volumes of sheer fabric with wide belts or sashes synched round their wastes - or similarly baggy skirts with the same light fabric or mesh tops. Still, there was elegance - their dresses with plunging necklines and steep armsayes opening out in a suggestive manner; the only accents to their clothing being large colourful jewellery.

"It was all a very well planned, care-free style, even their hair. Older men tended to have completely shaved heads. But younger men had a strange sort of reverse-Rhe’zan cut. Their head was shaved all over except for large quaff of hair at the front that was styled to protrude in any direction. The women also wore similar cuts or wore their hair up in what Gemmy could only compare to a bird's nest. They tied their sun-bleached and knotted hair into buns at strange angles and allowed it to poof-out. They used colourful bandanas to help keep it aloft. They added to the look by affixing large flowers or shells all throughout the jumble of tresses."

Oweho fisherman

 

Here's a sketch of Sem decked out in some Oweho fashions. I think the style suits her.

The Oweho style (and particularly for women and their hair) was inspired by a girl I worked with, Clementine Robertson. She is a brilliant artist from Australia and had the most amazingly beautiful curly hair. I could always tell her emotional state by it. As she was finishing her dissertation at Uni it was, more often than not, just piled up on top of her head - to me it always seemed sculptural, like another work of her art. When she was calm it was equally inspiring, flowing downward in rivulets, spilling over her shoulders like a dazzling frisky shawl. If Emersus Project were ever made into a film, she would be first on my list for costumes and conceptual art as I think, in her hands, Arbea would be taken to a whole new level of incredible.

Enjoy!
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