Former Big Brother Naija housemate Queen Mercy Atang has spoken about the experience behind her viral “bread dress” worn at the 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), revealing that the outfit left her with a severe back injury.

The reality star attracted widespread attention after appearing at the event in a gown reportedly made from 500 loaves of bread.

In an interview with BBC News Pidgin on Friday, Atang clarified that she was not responsible for designing the outfit, crediting fashion designer Toyin Lawani of Tiannah Empire for its concept and execution.

“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 described the outfit as extremely heavy, saying the weight almost affected her waist and left her with a painful wound on her back.

She explained that the dress required weeks of preparation and several fittings before it was completed.

“She asked me first to come and fit myself with the dress to look for places that need adjustments. It took weeks to get the dress ready,” she said.

“But for me, the weight of the dress almost broke my waist. If you check my back, I have a serious wound there. That bread was very heavy. I literally cried while wearing that dress. I first said I needed to catch my breath.”

According to her, she broke down in tears immediately after putting on the outfit and had to remove it briefly before gathering herself to wear it again.

“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,” she added.

Atang said the bread-themed outfit was also meant to subtly promote her business, a concept suggested by her stylist.

She added that she initially had no plans to attend this year’s AMVCA, as she was focused on business goals and preferred a simple look for the event.

“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,” she said.

However, she noted that her designer eventually convinced her to attend and insisted she wear a more dramatic outfit instead of a simple one.

Despite arriving after the red carpet had ended, she said she still made sure to attend physically so the photos would not be mistaken for AI-generated images.

“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 added.

Atang expressed surprise at the level of attention the outfit received, saying she expected mixed reactions but not widespread viral coverage.