For our American readers, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage (April 30, 2016 – January 22, 2017) is a must see exhibition. In my opinion, it is perhaps one of the best fashion exhibitions since the Brooklyn Museum’s Killer Heels in spring 2015 and even surpasses the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s China Through the Looking Glass in terms of depth and nuance in its discussion of the “West meets East” fashion narrative. Further, it pairs its canny observations with well-curated, stunning textiles.
Dress, designed by Inge van Lierop for Vlisco. Bloom collection, season 2, 2014. Cotton; wax block print. The Bloom collection included the classic Fall Tree design from 1933. The designer has cleverly cut and reconfigured the thirty-six inch repeat into a seath dress, using the borders to define its shape.
The original Fallen Tree print. Cotton, 1933.
The exhibition focuses on the colorful wax printed textiles (batiks) associated with Central and West Africa. Although consumers in Africa and the diaspora have historically embraced the fabrics as African, the textiles have long been designed and manufactured in Europe– mainly the Netherlands and United Kingdom. The most luxurious of these textiles are the wax prints designed and manufactured using an eight-step process in the Netherlands by Vlisco, founded in 1846. The company began by exporting imitation batiks to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) however, three decades later, Vlisco found a new, lucrative market in West Africa.
Around 1906, Vlisco acquired a duplex roller printing machine following the example of its main competitor, Haarlem Katonen Maatschappij (Haarlem Cotton Company). This machine replaced the original La Javanaise from 1852. It too replicated the crackling effects characteristic of Indonesian batiks. Additional colors were added by hand block printing, giving each textile its own character. Vlisco no longer hand blocks additional colors; these are now replicated by machine. However, each length of wax printed cloth continues to be unique. The steps involved in producing a wax printed cloth are shown in the textiles on this photograph beginning with the top row: left to right, then bottom row: left to right. 1. Cloth printed with Resin 2. Cloth with Resin is dipped into a color bath 3. The Resin is mechanically removed 4. A second layer of color, in this example pink is added 5. The resin is chemically removed, which results in white irregular bubbles 6. Additional colors, in this example blue are fitted into the design 7. Another color is added to the areas previously unstamped, in this case, yellow is added to the mirror. 8. The cloth is finished Text Copyright: Philadelphia Museum of Art
The printed cloth leaves the Vlisco factory identified solely by a stock number. However, the female traders who sell the cloth in open-air markets, known as Mamas, and their customers name the patterns after local proverbs, current events, politics, religion, and material culture. One design can have many interpretations depending on the community where it is sold. The most crucial point is that it is only through this collaborative naming process that the prints acquire social meaning, status, and value and ultimately become culturally assimilated into society.
Textile. Designed by Cor van den Boogaard. Sparkling Grace collection, May 2010. Cotton; wax block print. This design featuring the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star logo pays homage to the women market traders. The brand is seen as a symbol of their success.Textile. Designed by Haarlemsche Katoen Maatschappij – Haarlem Cotton Company. 1930; printed 1987. Cotton; wax block print. The names of many patterns identy with a womans family and marital relationships. In Côte d Ivoire, the classic Jumping Horse, also known as Je Cours Plus Vite Que Ma Rivale I – I Run Faster than my Rival – expresses the rivalry between co-wives. In Nigeria, Igbo women favor this design for Aso-Ebi – family cloth – to express unity at their annual womens meeting, held every August.Dress. Designed by Inge van Lierop for Vlisco. Tell collection, season 3, 2015. Cotton; wax block print. The 1950s classic shirtwaist dress is made in an updated version of the 1930 Jumping Horse pattern shown in the previous image. The textle has been recolored in vibrant blue, pink and gold.
The exhibit thus asks the question– are the textiles European or African? Or can they be both? Whilst the design and production process of the unique fabrics takes place in the Netherlands, they are not named and endowed with meaning until they are sold at market in Africa. Further, the Mamas provide customer feedback to the Dutch whole-sellers, such as which prints are selling well in what colors and which designs are popular or not. The sellers then take this into account when manufacturing fabric and designs, and the Mamas, also known as Mama Benz, receive high status, wealth and respect in their communities. Recently, perhaps in acknowledgement of the prominent role local communities play in the evolution of the textiles to garments, Vlisco has attempted to move the design process to Africa, employing African-based designers.
Gala Dress. Designed by Lanre da Silva Ajayi for Vlisco. Splendeur collection, season 4, 2014. Cotton; wax block print. Lanre da Silva Ajayi is one of Nigerias foremost fashion designers.
Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage is a wonderful exhibition and worthy of a visit if you are in the Philadelphia area.
