Hey guys,
Continuing on my Black History Month theme, I’m going to be giving just a few snippets of how the Black community contributed to the fashion scene in the western world, and how traditional West African fashion has inspired (and continues to inspire) contemporary Black fashion.
Today, I’m starting with showcasing a few different textiles within the West African and Central African region, and their artistic significance today.
Mbuti
This textile you see here was created by the Mbuti peoples of the Congo regions of Africa. They were primarily hunter-gatherers in the Congo forests, and were known for their short stature for which Europeans named them ‘pygmies’. The Mbuti Barkcloth is known for its intricate linework, which has significant meaning for the Mbuti peoples.
Kuba Cloth
Another textile that can be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo is this interesting textile made from raffia plants. This cloth is woven by men on an inclined loom. Next, the fabric is embroidered using a specific technique that produces a velvet-like feel on the surface.
The embroidery is done by the women. They’re known to create these clean-cut geometric shapes on the surface of the cloth that merges into another intricate geometric pattern throughout the textile.
Kente
The Akan people are a well-known ethnic group found in present-day Ghana. Most people would recognize the iconic Kente cloth, and its use in graduation ceremonies by the Black community. Kente cloth itself is a textile reserved for Akan royalty, and it’s generally woven by men in strips.
Each strip is then lined up perfectly to create the pattern and stitched together to create one large textile. Kente fabric is a ‘jacquard’ weave, and the most expensive Kente cloth are made from silk. Each textile is named, as it is believed that naming the fabric gives it spiritual power.
Adire
The Adire cloth is a Nigerian textile often worn by the Yoruba women of Nigeria. Adire means ‘tie and dye’ and is made using the resist-dye technique and indigo. Intricate patterns are painted onto the fabric using a special type of paste. Later, the fabric is dyed in indigo and when dried, the paste is washed off leaving intricate patterns of white and light blue in the indigo.
The fabric is dyed by women. The process of the Adire fabric is that it is made in strips and then pieced together to form a larger fabric that is then wrapped around the body. Today, the Adire cloth is a popular choice of textiles for many Nigerian women.
Asoke
The Asoke fabric is a very prestigious cloth among the Yoruba peoples. Asoke means ‘top cloth’ and a full garment of Asoke is usually reserved for weddings, funerals, and other extremely important ceremonies. Pieces of Asoke fabric may be seen in daily wear. Asoke is made of very rare silk and cotton blends, and is embroidered.
A long strip of fabric is woven, and then it is cut and pieced together to form a full textile that can now be made into a garment. Men traditionally wear the Asoke as an agbada over a dashiki and women wear it in the form of a gele, buba (blouse), and iro (sarong skirts).
Ankara
Probably the most recognizable fabric from West Africa, most people would be surprised to learn that the Ankara fabric didn’t actually originate in Africa at all.
It was originally made by the Dutch for the Indonesian markets, but didn’t sell well there, so the Dutch began to sell it in West Africa. It is formerly known as Dutch wax print, but overtime the fabric has become almost synonymous with West African fashion and is now known as Ankara.
Baoulé
The Baoulé textile is an Ikat-dyed indigo fabric made by the Baule peoples of the Ivory Coast. It’s often woven in long strips, and then sewn together to make a complete textile often worn as a wrap skirt (by the women) or draped over the shoulder by men.
Conclusion
I do hope you enjoyed this read. I’ll be doing a few more fashion-related posts on the blog for this black history month, so don’t hesitate to check my blog out. Like and leave a comment.
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