The fabric is made from 100% cotton. I hope you will continue with us in this fascinating journey! 100% Graded Cotton, with Double-sided African print. Many of us don’t know the history of African cloth, the significance of the colours and the prints. “It’s about being an elegant woman and at the same time full of humour,” says Grosfilley. Take the Ghanaians, who see the design as a bunch of bananas, as “it’s part of their basic food as you’d eat it as a fruit or in a stew,” says Grosfilley. Depicting the wings of the Garuda bird, Indonesia’s national emblem, this print symbolises how Indonesian designs have been re-interpreted in Africa. British-Nigerian fashion designer and filmmaker Aiwan Obinyan has delved into the history and symbolism of ankara – also known as Dutch wax-print fabrics – for her first feature-length documentary, Wax Print: From the Cradle to the Grave. The basic appeal translates as: “You cannot afford to be Michelle Obama or buy the same bag as she carries, but because you can buy the pattern on wax print it’s like you’re part of it,” says Grosfilley. with the best quality fabrics in the world! “We are saying, wear something just to see the good side of things.” The quirky design is accentuated by a bright red outline instead of the classic indigo, showing new ways of using the batik technique. Wearing the design, according to Grosfilley, means that “you should look at your own business instead of looking at what other people are doing,” she says. Today, wax print fabric often tells a story to the wearer. Many of the designs found on fabrics depict events, proverbs, persons of importance or local flora and fauna. “It is casual. Patterns are then printed on the fabric again with other colours. According to Grosfilley: “This is the magic of wax print, as you see a design and you project something which may be completely different from the original meaning.” For women in Toga, it's known as, “darling, don’t turn your back on me,” when they think their man is not looking at them anymore, but another woman. They’re 100% cotton fabrics printed in bright colors with a technique that consists in applying wax resin on the fabric before submerging it in dye. They were however extremely popular in West African markets. 1950 © Vlisco Group. Les tissus joyeux et colorés du cameroun vont mettre du soleil dans votre dressing ! Originating in Indonesia, these wax-resist fabrics crossed Africa from east to west, eventually becoming popular over the majority of the continent. African Wax Print Fabric, high quality African wax. If additional colors are required, the wax-and-soak process is repeated with new patterns. As colorful and varied as the fabric it explores, this insightful book looks at traditional African textiles and reveals a complicated history that spans generations and continents. These fabrics are perfect to create your own trendy fashion! Holland Netherlands © Vlisco Group. New ideas and more modern techniques of production mean scores of designs are produced every year by makers of these fabrics. The number of times patterns are printed on the fabric again depends on the design. One of the earliest wax print designs, produced in Ivory Coast, this is now a classic. You’ve got chairs, table, so what, there’s no point,” the author says. We sell different brands: Original Vlisco Hollandais & Java wax, Julius Holland, Mitex Holland, Phoenix Hitarget & more! This fabric has long been a favorite of mine, largely due to its colorful nature and wonderful patterns. © Vlisco 11728, called “Darling, don’t turn your back on me” © Vlisco Group. Now, wax prints are worn with denim and other Western styles with men donning the print too. As far as we know, Vlisco is the only brand in the world where the customer names the product and gives a special meaning to the design. Today, the design still retains this symbolism, even used by political parties for propaganda, "as if to say, 'look, this is a good value design and I am a good value president, so you should support me because I am as good as education,’” she says. © Uniwax wax print 12003, Painted in Ivory Coast © Vlisco Group. We ship worldwide and manufacture clothing or items for events, weddings, corporate clothing. Established in 1846, Vlisco is the last remaining wax print manufacturer in Europe. Image 1 size - 20cm x 30cm. African wax prints actually came from the Netherlands. © Original HKM Design, 1920. High quality African wax print fabrics. In attempting to call these designs their own, Vlisco highlights its own fraught history. Dovetailed is an online African wax print fabric shop. Highly regarded wax prints made in Ghana include GTP, Woodin, ATL, and DaViva. It’s interesting to note that all of these African wax companies are foreign-owned. So although the message is to the man, really it is to the other woman,” she says. What is African Print or Ankara Fabric. The high-quality threads and beautiful designs make the prints … “There are colours you would not see in other types of textiles,” Grosfilley says, citing deep blue with orange. It’s an African tradition for people to wear the same fabric for a specific occasion, whether it's close family and friends at a wedding, or at a political rally where the crowd wears a print with the president’s face, or to show solidarity with a group or community. The surrealist shoe with its tongue-like heel and multiple red-varnished toes is a detail of a larger design, created in 2011, in the Netherlands. These Fabrics were first produced in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). On top of their vibrancy, they are fabrics full of hidden messages. Also know as Dutch wax print or Kitenge fabric. These fabrics are perfect to create your own trendy fashion! Made from Super Wax, which is softer, thinner and has an extra colour, wearing this more expensive fabric symbolises prestige. Vlisco introduced wax-prints to West African markets, and their fabrics are still best-sellers in those countries. The owner, Adaku Parker, is a barrister turned designer. While its origin is debatable, the meaning in Africa cannot be a mistake, though it is called other names such as “African prints”, “Holland wax”, “Dutch wax” and ”African wax prints”, the umbrella name remains Ankara. This vibrant and colorful patterned African wax prints have permeated Africa and has since gone mainstream. African wax print is a 100% imported product and idea, in other words, it is foreign. These are also clothes with deep meaning: often, fabrics have hidden messages.African wax prints actually came from the Netherlands. Attempts were initially made to introduce the batiks to Europe, but these efforts were not successful. The book is a detailed exploration of the fabric’s origins, techniques and cultural currency as well as a showcase of vibrant, eye-popping designs. It has an interesting history, originating in Holland, intended as a knockoff of Indonesian Batik print. 100% Graded Cotton, with Double-sided African print. The fabrics were customised and designed to reflect local African tradition, culture and symbolisms. Quite simply, it just says, 'Africa.' Elson & Neill Wax Print A13922 Flag and Crown, United Kingdom © Cha Textiles Ltd. A fly swatter may seem like an everyday symbol, but actually it symbolises power and prestige. Once wielding great economic power selling gold and ivory to the British and other countries, today these kings and chiefs are more symbolic. These ankara fabrics are perfect to create your own trendy fashion! African Ankara Wax Print/ West African Fabric/ 6 Yards Fabric (en anglais) 40,99 € Impression de cire africaine d’Ankara/ Tissu ouest-africain/ Tissu 6 Yards/ Bleu, Jaune et Orange “So you are part of a group but at the same time you are unique." Origin. © Vlisco A1315, called “Eyes see, but the mouth does not speak", 2011. Why? From there, the cloth is soaked in dye, which is prevented from covering the entire cloth by the wax. These are the brooms used to swat away the mosquitoes and other flies from the kings and traditional chiefs of the Akan people who live across the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Vlisco designs speak volumes when stories are attributed to them. African fabrics are as beautiful and varied as the countries and cultures they represent. Wax prints are a textile like no other. High quality African wax print fabrics. Designed for Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to Nigeria in 1956, Grosfilley believes this wax print was given away to ensure a crowd gave her a warm welcome - as the visit was shortly before the country gained independence. Good quality, durable 100% cotton fabric. Fabric stories Though created in The Netherlands, our designs come to life in Africa where traders and customers name them. The most sought after African wax prints today are produced in Holland by a company called Vlisco. When making your own wax printed fabric, consider symbols that mean something to you and your family history. The largest choice of ankara fabrics in the world. The wax is broken off by machine. More recently, cheap Chinese copies have made wax prints more accessible to the rest of the world. Image 2 size - 90cm x 115cm or 1 yard. This groundbreaking book reveals the complex origins of African wax print fabrics. The process to make wax print is originally influenced by batik, an Indonesian (Javanese) method of dyeing cloth by using wax-resist techniques. Holland, Netherlands © Vlisco Group. “In real life, the men don’t understand or don’t care as they don’t pay attention to the meaning of wax print. Indeed, its history starts when batik wax-resist textiles were first imported into Africa from Indonesia in the 1800's through West African soldiers that served in Indonesia from early to just beyond the mid 1800's. The method of producing the fabric is called batik, a wax resist dyeing technique and ancient art form that originates from Indonesia. The process of making wax prints originally required batik. When electrical fans were introduced to Africa in the 1980s, they appeared on wax print as signs of modernity (as did mobile phones). Today, Ankara dominates international clothing industries and many … Take Beyoncé, who rocked the printed cotton fabric for her baby shower last year, asking her guests to wear African-centred gelées, kufis and wax-printed pieces.“It is everywhere but at the same time people don’t know really the story and the meanings of this textile,” says Anne Grosfilley, author of a new book, African Wax Print Textiles, published by Prestel this month (£45, available here). There’s Kofi Annan’s brain, the heart of Barack Obama and this one, named after Michelle Obama when her husband first became the president of the United States, in 2008. By Yard, 6-Yard or bulk, buy Vlisco, Uniwax or Hitarget and design your own African-print dresses. African fabrics have bright colours, idiosyncratic designs and patterns that are hand-made which give us a sense of a rich cultural meaning. 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