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12 Things You Didn’t Know About African Wax Print

12 Things You Didn’t Know About African Wax Print

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African wax print is brilliantly colored fabrics or materials that are showing up increasingly on runways around the world, inspiring designers and companies. The prints are omnipresent on clothing in West Africa and are popular in other parts of Africa. Wax prints are far more than just a fashion statement — they’re statements about the wearer’s personality, phase of life, and status. They’re about money. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about African wax prints.

Source: Ohthatsyou.com 

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

They’re made using batik printing

Batik printing is a process by which wax is applied to cloth to restrict die from permeating certain areas, while letting die get absorbed into desired areas of the cloth to create a pattern. The wax is removed with boiling water, and the process is repeated until the desired pattern is achieved.

Source: Textilelearner.blogspot.com

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

They originated in Indonesia

The first wax prints were first made in Indonesia when it was a colony of the Dutch East Indies.

Source: Thewrendesign.com 

Pixabay.com
Pixabay.com

 

The Dutch popularized wax prints

Some believe the Dutch first brought wax prints to Africa by way of Indonesia. One theory is that Dutch wax prints began as “cheap mass-produced imitations of Indonesian batik.” Some historians say the Dutch and English are credited with being responsible for making them popular in Africa. Others theorize that the Dutch at one point enlisted Africans to be a part of an army, and during their time in the Dutch army, African soldiers got access to the fabrics and brought them home.

Source: Beyondvictoriana.com 

Typepad.com
Typepad.com

 

They carry proverbs

Sometimes African wax fabrics have proverbs printed on them that are meaningful to the wearer. One cloth, for example, bares the proverb, “Ahonnee pa nkasa” which means, “Precious beads make no noise.”

Source: Thewrendesign.com

Charlotterusse.com
Charlotterusse.com

They’re showing up everywhere

Spanish designer Juanjo Oliva is credited with bringing African wax prints to large brands such as Zara. You can see them in Anthropologie chairs, Burberry dresses and Gwen Stefani’s fashion line, L.A.M.B miniskirts.

Source: Slate.com 

spyghana.com
spyghana.com

They can be casual

In some provinces of Nigeria people wear African wax print as a form of lounge wear, often wrapping an unsewn or uncut piece of the fabric around themselves with a casual top.

Source: Ohthatsyou.com

Africanurbanism.com
Africanurbanism.com

 

The patterns have names

Africans often give names to wax print designs such as “You fly, I fly” — a pattern often worn by newlyweds that shows a bird escaping a cage. As a way to put their mark on prints, African print distributors give the fabrics names. Europeans sometimes just assign numbers to the patterns.

Source: Slate.com

Kufrilife.com
Kufrilife.com

They’re not “tribal”

Many Western designers refer to wax print patterns as “tribal” prints in their marketing, but the patterns aren’t only worn by tribal members. Some historians say that calling wax print patterns “tribal” is a Western designer’s attempt to “freeze Africa as a place where ‘tradition’ is still happening.”

Source: Slate.com

Africanpremier.com
Africanpremier.com

They communicate status

The patterns are bought at markets by both the wealthy and the poor. Specific patterns can denote social status. Some are even used in a woman’s dowry, or bride price.

Source: Slate.com 

Anansevillage.com
Anansevillage.com

They can be subject to copyright infringement

A Dutch producer of wax print fabric took legal action several times when designers used its patterns without permission. Japanese designer Junya Watanabe featured fabrics he did not have permission to use in a 2009 runway show, and Vlisco, one of the main Dutch wax manufacturers, asked him to stop, according to Slate. That being said, Vlisco bragged that such a high-profile designer used its patterns.

Source: Slate.com

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

Color affects the use of wax print

A black-and-white print can be used as a funeral cloth or an outdoors cloth. However, should that same print come in only black, its use is limited to funerals.

Source: Academia.edu 

Becauseiamfabulous.com
Becauseiamfabulous.com

The patterns are fluid

The meaning and use of wax print pattern are ever changing. Some patterns never really disappear but are re-incorporated into other patterns, or perhaps change in color and in use. According to an analysis of the prints at Academia.edu, “the rebirth of patterns are determined or influenced by both social and economic factors that give new interpretation to designs.”

Source: Academia.edu