African Wax Prints (Ankara)
Ankara is forever an "owambe" fashion legend, a Friday go-to wear and the "I am proud of my roots" African regalia. African fashion is emblematic with opulent designs - known for being anything but boring. Historically, prints have always been the focus. These are rooted in tradition, harnessing original, native techniques in their creation, using local artisans.
African wax prints, also known as Ankara and Dutch wax prints, are omnipresent and common materials for clothing in Africa, especially West Africa. They are industrially produced colorful cotton cloths with batik-inspired printing. Typically, clothing for celebrations is made from this fabric.
Wax prints are a type of nonverbal communication among African women, and thereby carry their messages out into the world. Some wax prints are named after personalities, cities, buildings, sayings, or occasions. The process of making wax print is originally influenced by batik, an Indonesian (Javanese) method of dyeing cloth by using wax-resist techniques. For batik, wax is melted and then patterned across the blank cloth. From there, the cloth is soaked in dye, which is prevented from covering the entire cloth by the wax. If additional colors are required, the wax-and-soak process is repeated with new patterns.
The Dutch wax prints quickly integrated themselves into African apparel, sometimes under names such as “Veritable Dutch Hollandais,” and “Wax Hollandais”. Women used the fabrics as a method of communication and expression, with certain patterns being used as a shared language, with widely understood meanings. Many patterns began receiving catchy names. Over time, the prints became more African-inspired and African-owned by the mid-twentieth century. They also began to be used as formal wear by leaders, diplomats, and the wealthy population.
The costly produced wax fabrics are increasingly imitated by alternative ways of manufacturing. The so-called "fancy fabrics" are produced in a printing procedure. Costly designs are printed digitally. These fancy fabrics are more intense and rich in colors than wax prints. They have brought color to African fashion and have gradually gained recognition in the global market.
Aanuoluwatomiwa Oke
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