A print, which is iconic Indian but has been embraced and recreated with an African vibe. The paisley motif can be seen on Khanga and Kitenges, which are popular in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Fabrics were used to trade along the famous Spice route in the 15 th century, (India to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope), influencing art in East Africa. Just as the Dutch influenced Western and Central Africa, India and the Middle East influenced a lot of the patterns and motifs we see on East African fabrics. ![]() Though the bases are mostly cotton and silks, it is purely from the patterns that we can work out where they originate. There are a lot of cross-cultural references we can make when we look at African prints and fabrics. Traditional weaving is labour intensive, time-consuming and therefore very expensive. With the type of technology available in the textile and printing industry, traditional methods that were passed down from one generation to another are slowly dying. They are now recognized purely by print and design rather than fibre structure. My main focus when creating the fabric map was looking at how countries and regions worldwide have personalized textiles. Fabric connected people to politics, religion and culture, which is why it became so popular so quickly and why it became known as an AFRICAN PRINT. Realizing that authenticity plays a big part in African prints and textiles (after the failure of trying to replicate the method for the Asian market), the Dutch used African culture to bring the fabrics to life, making it resonate with the people in Sub Saharan Africa. The prints represented emotions and at the same time used to mark celebrations, rights of passage and other messages, creating a visual language that spread across Africa. ![]() Africans proudly used it as a form of silent communication between tribes, regions and women, speaking through Art on subjects that were a taboo. The Dutch had full control of its production their success was in re-designing it using African stories told by the shopkeepers and tradesmen, fables and cultures, making it into a print that became an unspoken language. Priya Shah, Kenyan Textile Designer and Founder of Mia KoraĪlthough we know this to be an African fabric, it is neither made nor designed in Africa. As there was nothing else of this kind to compare to, West African countries welcomed this beautiful new fabric, making it their own over the years. African soldiers recruited by the Dutch in the 1800s started taking back fabrics as gifts when returning home. The Dutch then introduced the fabrics they had to African countries that were along their trade routes in the early 1800s. Thus, a fabric produced in Europe with trade in Asia in mind never quite hit the mark in its intended marketplace. Factories in the Netherlands and parts of Europe started producing wax prints on a large scale, using machines and dying processes to mimic wax printing but the Javanese preferred hand made authentic products. Ankara was introduced to West Africa by the Dutch who learnt the art (Batik), during the colonization of Indonesia. One of the most well known African fabrics is Ankara, also known as the DUTCH WAX PRINT. ![]() There are a lot of cross-cultural references we can make when we look at African prints and fabrics
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