Drakana fashion, sometimes called First Tyranaen fashion, was a Khali style of dress and - to a minor extent - architecture in Zann'Elth.

History

The Tyranaen period was revolutionary for Zann'Elth. Heaps of new, previously thought impossible, reforms were made by the successful Tyrana. She also introduced a new fashion style, called Zellze'Tyrana, featuring primarily red silk accents. It only found some success within the administration and did not spread far. The main reason was that most matrons feared and respected the Tyrana so much that they did not dare to try and imitate their mistress, and suffered from the compounded fear of committing blasphemy by usurping the church's red, and so few nobles embraced this style. Nevertheless, there was a strong desire to express the new age also visually in their clothing, and so a variety of isolated daring styles emerged, but did not catch on.

In 1'980, the shadow dragon Sheesshimin allied with the Tyranaen, taking up residence in the citadel. She brought along her whole retinue, constituted primarily of houseless drow and kobolds, which quickly became known as House Drakazz. These newcomers were revolutionary in that they wore little to no clothing, contrasting sharply with the Zellze'Tyrana habit of wearing modest robes, and wore an outrageous amount of decorations that caught the eye, while staying within the socially acceptable colors of black and dark silver. What became known as the Drakana movement caught on like wildfire, quickly spreading across the female nobility.

Tyrana codes often conflicted with Drakan styles, leading to some issues such as clashes in military uniforms. Overall, however, the movement adapted quite well, clearly separating Tyranaen officials from other drow. It also survived long after the disbanding of House Drakazz.

The movement endured the centuries in parallel with Zellze'Tyrana, until the end of the Orc Wars and the rise of the Tyranaen empire. The Zannyr nobility were now elevated to one step above anyone else, and they sought to visually separate themselves from all other drow. Problematically, the leading house of Gezneth was renowned for its exhibitionism (although of a completely different style, but the fact that just this one characteristic overlapped was problem enough). Additionally, there had been a lack of prestige in draconic-style clothing, because many drow commoners now also dressed similarly, and some surface societies had also had draconic-style fashion phases. Thus, the Drakana movement grew less and less popular, until it became a symbol for low status.

In a way, the Drakana style continued on in a form of exhibitionist Zellze'Tyrana. Few matrons were self-confident enough to break from the norm, but some nobles - especially young heiresses, clergy, and extremely powerful amé - did so to mark something, usually their power. This style could both be called "Drakana" and "Zellze'Tyrana", although it wasn't actually either.

Forms

Some drow married Drakana and Zellze'Tyrana styles. Here: Tuzzaei De'Marno, Tyrana heiress, 97 OW.

Standard Drakana fashion was, at its core, exhibitionist. At the very least, an amé was expected to expose her entire abdomen and her thighs. Often, they just wore no clothing at all on their legs and feet. Sometimes, complete nudity was counted as "Drakana", but this grew out of fashion within the movement's first century. After around 1'000 b. OW, the nipples also had to be covered.

Another core characteristic was "draconic apparel". This could take multiple forms, but usually featured many horn-like protrusions and other voluminous items on the body. Relief was very important. Often, the clothes' base was black cloth, while the decorations on top were made of hollowed metal, bone, or another silvery substance.

It was also important for Drakana amé to practice their bodies and make them visually satisfying; "a sleek but powerful core makes the dress"^[1]. Thus, many incorporated physical training sessions in their daily routine, focusing primarily on abs and legs.

Clerics

The clergy, not being directly subject to the Tyrana, was already very exhibitionist, and under Drakana was even more so. Most interpreted the style only by adding draconic decorations to their usual dress, although they sometimes tuned down the red by also wearing secular black, sometimes creating confusion with Tyranaen officials. The Tyrana was not very happy about this, and Lolth herself forbade high priestesses to alter their traditional red robes in any way. She also formally forbade any priest to wear a draconic-style ornament, because this went against traditional spider symbolism.

Still, some - mainly lower-ranking clergy - attempted to get around this. Initially, some tried to marry Drakana reliefs with spider emblems, but they were all eventually severely punished, either by their matrons, by the high clergy, by Tyranaen officials, or by Lolth herself. Instead, another style took hold, that of "Drak'rimpe", "Drakan stripes". They wore only strips of red cloth and - sometimes - spiderweb dresses, flimsy and non-reusable clothing that had to be woven by spiders directly on their bodies.

Officers struggled to combine Drakana, proper, and practical styles. Here: an arachness, 49 OW.

Military

The army's dress code was relatively heavily dictated by the central authority. Although combat gear was not standardized or prescribed, it had to be practical and protect the wearer, making the core Drakana element of exposed guts impossible. Most wore normal light armor, with the Tyranaen red accents marking their official status, and were satisfied with tight black trousers. Some went further, ignoring proper military codes and completely exposing their thighs. This was a satisfactory tradeoff protection-wise, but unacceptable from a dress-code perspective.

Even in dress uniforms, it was a taboo to expose much skin, since this was "un-military-like". Most wore standardized uniforms, which were elegant black leather cuts with fancy red accents. They allowed much mobility - they had pants and were not baggy - but did not leave much skin, and especially not the abdomen or legs, exposed. Going against formal dress codes could provoke disciplinary measures, so those few that insisted on the style just wore their somewhat Drakana "combat" uniforms instead.

Ladies of the Dragon

Initially, the House Drakazz nobles were called "Ladies of the Dragon", because they wore extravagantly decorated Drakana clothes that verged on impractability. Thereafter, some amé - primarily those that came in contact with the dragon, but also some others who took Drakana very seriously - called themselves by this title, proving themselves by wearing as complicated pieces of clothing as possible. They often spent more time fine-tuning their body and adjusting their dress than praying to Lolth, to the displeasure of the goddess. After the end of House Drakazz, the Ladies also faded away, collecting more and more hate from others.