We wear them almost everyday, but how much do you know about the African Wax Prints? Find out!
1. 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.
2. They originated in Indonesia
The first wax prints were first made in Indonesia when
it was a colony of the Dutch East Indies.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5.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.”
6. 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.
7. 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.”
8. 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.
9. Color affects the use of wax print
A black-and-white print can be used as a funeral cloth. However, should that same print come in only black, its use is limited to funerals.
10.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.”
-AFK Insider
Which of the above can we relate to?
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