Fashion History: Famous African Fabrics (PtI)
African textiles are the primary means through which Africans express themselves. For many years, they have utilized fabric not just for personal decoration but also as a potent medium of communication. Traditional sculpture and masks have frequently eclipsed their significance. In this day and age, African fabrics have emerged as the most important medium through which modern African artists are exposing the links and continuities between past and present ways of African creative expression. Many of the old patterns and weaving techniques are being utilized today and are an essential aspect of African culture. Here are eight famous African fabrics you should know:
1. Adire Fabric, indigo cloth from the Yoruba of SW Nigeria
Adire fabric is an indigo-dyed cloth manufactured by Yoruba women in southern Nigeria. The first examples of this fabric were most likely simple knotted patterns on cotton cloth that were handspun and woven locally. Adire comes in two varieties. One is produced by tie-dyeing or sewing a raffia pattern. The second approach involves freehand painting or stenciling using a starchy paste produced from cassava or yams. Adire in both forms may be found today. Indigo dyeing has been practiced for millennia in West Africa. The first known example is a hat colored in the oniko style from the Dogon kingdom of Mali in the 11th century. The expansion of European textile merchants in Abeokuta and Ibadan in the early twentieth century provided these women with unprecedented access to enormous quantities of imported shirting material, causing a surge in their commercial activities. When Egba women from Ibadan returned with this skill, Adire dyeing began in Abeokuta. The basic form of the fabric evolved into two pieces of shirting material sewn together to produce a women’s wrapper cloth. By the end of the 1930s, the introduction of synthetic indigo and caustic soda, as well as an infusion of new, less competent entrants, had resulted in quality issues and a persistent drop in demand. The old designs were more intricate and elegant, but they were never as popular as they once were. Nigerian designers such as Amaka Osakwe and Duro Olowu have recently revived Adire craftsmanship. Michelle Obama and Lupita Nyong’o have both lately donned Adire-inspired outfits.
2. Shweshwe Fabric
Many people are surprised to learn that the history of shweshwe extends from Asia to Europe, with the majority of its evolution taking place in Africa. Shweshwe is a patterned colored cotton fabric that is commonly used in traditional Southern African apparel. Originally woven from dyed indigo, the fabric is now produced in a range of colors and printing styles that include complex geometric patterns. It is also utilized in South African fashion design for ladies and men of various ethnic groups. The fabric’s history with Lesotho's King Moshoeshoe I, sometimes spelled "Moshweshu," inspired the name. In the 1840s, French missionaries presented indigo-printed fabric to King Moshoeshoe I. The overjoyed King praised the cloth, and it quickly gained popularity among the Sotho and Zulu residents of his kingdom. In Sotho, it is also known as sejeremane or seshoeshoe, as well as tarantula (derived from the Afrikaans term “tarentaal”).
When Germans landed in the Eastern Cape in 1858, they brought indigo cloth as well. Shweshwe, also known as ujamani in Xhosa, was adopted by Xhosa women visiting German missionaries, and it eventually spread throughout South Africa. Shweshwe has historically been used to produce dresses, skirts, aprons, and wraparound garments.
Since 1982, the UK apparel firm Tootal has invested in Da Gama Textiles, an Eastern Cape manufacturer, to create shweshwe in the Zwelitsha township outside King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape. In 1992, Da Gama purchased the exclusive rights to Three Cats, the most famous brand of cloth manufactured by Spruce Manufacturing Co. Ltd in Manchester and turned it into the most popular brand recognized today.
In the early 2000s, global fashion had an impact on post-apartheid South Africa. South Africa had a modern influence, and the 2010s saw a movement toward diversity, with designers employing shweshwe for a range of purposes. Shweshwe was integrated into current clothing designs by young South African fashion designers. And much to their credit, these local designers carried their unique shweshwe clothing to the catwalks of Prague, Paris, and London.
Modern fabric printing methods have been used to imitate modern fabric printing processes. It is also used as a quilting fabric in the United States. The fabric is printed in 90 cm widths with all-over designs and A-shaped skirt panels printed side by side. Jill Scott, who played Mma Precious Ramotswe in the TV series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, used shweshwe costumes during the filming.
3. Ankara fabric/African wax print
African wax print fabric, also known as kitenge, Dutch wax prints, and Ankara fabric, is a colorful, mass-produced cotton material that is frequently worn and used to manufacture clothes, accessories, and other goods in Africa. They are multicolored cotton textiles with batik-inspired patterning that are mass-produced. The technique used to create the fabric is known as batik, which is a wax-resist dyeing technique and an old art form that originated in Indonesia. In recent years, there has been an increase in the production of textiles in Asia (mostly India and China). The fabrics they make are of lesser quality and cost less than the original fabrics made in West Africa. Because of the production procedures, the wax cloth may be classified into quality groups.
Akara is a kind of cotton fabric that is used to produce traditional batik fabric. The breadth of the cloth varies depending on the maker, but it is typically 46 to 48 inches. A full ‘double’ piece of kitenge fabric is 12 yards long, but you might be able to find half single pieces that are 6 yards long. Dutch merchants and bureaucrats got acquainted with the batik method during the Dutch colonization of Indonesia. Textile manufacturers in the Netherlands began inventing machine printing methods that might replicate batik in the 1850s.
By 1854, Jean Baptiste Theodore Prévinaire had adapted a Perrotine, Louis-Jérôme Perrot’s mechanical block- printing machine created in 1834, to instead apply a resin to both sides of the fabric. In the batik technique, this mechanically applied resin replaced the wax. The popularity of batik textiles was primarily attributable to the presence of West African soldiers serving in Indonesia. Because of their well-known hidden meanings, African women’s textiles are sometimes utilized as a means of nonverbal communication and expression. Some wax prints are named after people, places, structures, quotes, or events.
For many years, several distinct manufacturers in Europe, notably the British and Dutch, manufactured the cloth until production moved to African countries. The success of the trade led other manufacturers to enter the market, including Scottish, English, and Swiss firms. By the mid-twentieth century, the rich population’s prints had become more African-inspired and African-owned. For African women, wax textiles are a form of capital.
Before the 1960s, the majority of African wax cloth marketed in West and Central Africa was made in Europe. Today, Africa is the center of high-quality wax print production. ABC Wax, Woodin, Uniwax, Akosombo Textiles Limited(ATL), and GTP are among the African manufacturers.
4. Aso oke, woven strip cloth from the Yoruba of Nigeria
In English, Aso oke means "top cloth," referring to high-status clothing. The Yoruba people of West Africa invented Aso oke fabric, which is a hand-woven textile. The cloth, which is usually weaved by both men and women, is used to construct men’s robes called agbada and caps called fila. Women’s wraps, known as iro, and head ties, known as gele, are also weaved. New processes and manufacturing procedures have been investigated to reduce the weight and thickness of the Aso oke fabric.
The process of manufacture has remained unchanged for generations, but new techniques and production methods have been investigated to make it more accessible for casual use. Yorubas wear Aso oke cloth for important events such as holidays, marriages, funerals, and chieftain title ceremonies all over the world. Yoruba religion adherents all wear traditional textiles and headgear. Aso oke is a traditional Yoruba women’s clothing composed of four sections: Buba, Etu, Sanyan, and Alaari. Designers have also structurally manipulated and combined animal and floral motifs into defined shapes of grids and geometry, suited for computer design applications, to make this ancient traditional fabric more modern.
5. Kente fabric, woven appliqued cloth from the Asante and Ewe of Ghana
Kente cloth, a textile consisting of handwoven cloth, silk, and cotton strips, originated with the Fante people of Ghana, who sold it in baskets. Kente is derived from the term kenten, which means "basket" in the Akan dialect of Asante. Kente may have evolved from several weaving techniques that existed in Ghana before the 11th century. Kente became popular among Akan nobility during the 17th century, during the development of the Ashanti Empire. In the early nineteenth century, master weavers and Kente homes could be found throughout Kumasi.
Unique Kente fabric is commonly woven in 4-inch-wide strips. Kente patterns are believed to have religious, political, and even monetary significance. Historically, monarchs from ethnic groups like the Ashanti and Ewe wore the cloth in a toga-like way. Today, wearing Kente fabric to celebrate important events is common, with highly sought-after Kente brands headed by master weavers, and colors designed to symbolize cultures and beliefs. The print is utilized in the design of academic stoles in graduation ceremonies all around the world. Red is associated with death or bloodshed and is frequently worn at political rallies; green is associated with fertility and vigor and is worn by females during puberty ceremonies. Yellow signifies splendor and maturity and is worn by chiefs; white represents purity or triumph; yellow indicates glory and victory. Gold signifies eternal life and is commonly worn by chiefs; blue represents love and is frequently worn by the queen mother; and black meaning aging and maturity and used to signify spirituality.
Kente manufacturing is divided into three categories: real Kente fabric created by traditional weavers, Kente print made by businesses such as Vlisco and Akosombo Textile LTD, and mass-produced Kente pattern generally made in China for Westerners. Kente weaving is famous in the towns of Bonwire, Sakora Wonoo, Ntonso, Safo, and Adanwomase. Cloth manufacturing is influenced by gender as weaving Kente has historically been considered a masculine activity. In June 2020, US Democratic Party officials sparked outrage by donning stoles made of Kente fabric to demonstrate their opposition to institutional racism. The African-Nigerian researcher behind the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, on the other hand, had objected to the decision. The use of Kente in Louis Vuitton’s autumn-winter 2021 collection by American creative director Virgil Abloh, whose grandmother was Ghanaian, had generated concerns over ownership of the woven fabric and its image. There was also a dispute over Louis Vuitton’s use of a printed and monogrammed version of Kenten in Abloh’s spring-winter collection. The first appearance of this Kente cloth pattern was on the cover of Vogue’s May 2021 edition, on a dress worn by American poet Amanda Gorman. Authentic Kente is still one of the most popular textiles on the market today due to its bright beauty and royal heritage as a material suitable for kings and queens.
-Keren Beya
@kerebear_520