African fashion has taken the world by storm as the Ankara fabric is a fashion statement not just in Nigeria but amongst global fashion and style icons.
A brief history of the Ankara fabric. Did you know Ankara did not originate from Nigeria like many people think? This African fabric was formerly known as the Dutch wax print. It was originally manufactured by the Dutch for the Indonesian textile market. But, by mistake or design, these prints garnered significantly more interest in West African than in Indonesia. On recognizing this, the Dutch decided to focus on West Africa and each print began to reflect the African Image.
Unlike as it were restricted to the usual occasion wear for weddings, burial ceremony and the likes, Ankara now fits into causal wears, formal wears (ties, blazers, accessories, footwear) etc. Luckily, this fabric happens to be one of the inexpensive traditional fabrics if you’ve noticed is used for everyday wear unlike other African fabrics such as Aso Oke which are kept for special occasions.
Ankara Fabric is generally known as “African Prints”, “African Wax Prints” “Holland Wax” (aka Hollandis) and “Dutch Wax” is a 100% cotton fabric with vibrant patterns. It is usually colorful and is primarily associated with Africa because of its tribal-like patterns and with batik printing.
