Nigeria is rich with a plethora of traditions – over 300 of them, which have distinct representations in the form of clothing. Traditional textiles have a rich history dating back to hundreds of years, worn during celebratory occasions and religious ceremonies. For many of these textiles, their significance is lost in a fast globalising world like ours. Some Nigerian designers have chosen to hold on to these textiles, giving them relevance in a modern context.
The South Western part of Nigeria boasts of textiles like Aso Oke, the flashy fabric made for Owambe, a symbol of affluence and of the Adire, a more casual but equally craft-intensive clothing. In the South-South, we see raffia intricately processed and used for many things from traditional masquerade attires to accessories. Up north, occasions feature outfits made with brocade, a fabric made of beaten wax clothing while the intricate weaving and colours of the middle belt tell a story of bravery.
As the years progressed, these textiles began to be applied in very different ways, transforming our view of fashion as we know it. For example, the Adire fabric is now infused in crafts across the globe featuring in more use cases than clothing while the Indonesian Batik techniques went on to influence the popular Ankara fabric. While our rich history endures, fashion’s dynamic future continues to be unveiled by new designers. Here, I will tell the story of 2 major fabrics, Adire and Aso Oke, and how they’re now being used in a modern context.
What are these traditional textiles?
Adire
The word literally translates to tie and dye. Adire is a resist dye technique that makes use of yarn or raffia to tie plain white fabric in different shapes and patterns before dipping it in dye. The coloured fabric is then unravelled to showcase distinct patterns. Traditionally, Adire made use of plain white cotton fabric and leaf dye but over time, this technique expanded to incorporate other types of fabric and dyes.
Aso Oke
This handwoven cloth is made on a loom, a weaving machine traditionally made with wood. Here, already spun thread from the cotton plant is passed through each other in a rhythmic dance of sorts creating intricate patterns and desired motifs. The resulting fabric is thick and vibrant and is often used as festive outfits for weddings and other events of that nature.
A transformation of Nigerian textiles
The designers featured here pull inspiration from already existing traditional techniques to create refreshed fabric for clothing. For some, it’s using specific traditional features to create the whole piece and for others, it’s using the same process on different types of fabric. Whatever their application, Nigerian designers are proving that they are in a class of their own proudly representing and showcasing their culture to the world.
These are some of my favourite Nigerian designers who have put a new spin on traditional textiles.
Deola Sagoe
For over a decade, Deola Sagoe has redefined fashion in Nigeria, exporting the industry and its many talents. She was the first Nigerian to have a standalone show at the New York Fashion Week, creating a demand for African clothing and designers. Deola’s signature iridescent Aso Oke fabric pulls from the traditional Aso Oke that often includes panels of shimmering threads in the weaving process making the designer highly sought after among brides in search of a modern adaptation to traditional wedding attire.
Her designs, even though she just stopped bespoke services, are unique because has held international audiences captive earning her a plethora of awards like the International Quality Award (the diamond category) of Excellence and Business Prestige at the Quality Summit in New York and the Super Brand’s Certificate of Excellence in Fashion Design and Label in 2010. Now, she has inspired many other designers to do the same, creating a new wave of African bridal designers.
Dye Lab
The brand incorporates two traditional techniques into its designs, Aso Oke and Adire. Dye Lab’s desirability comes from the simplicity of its pieces as well as its commitment to a consistent narrative. Dye Lab is very specific about creating small batches of its pieces because of the time taken to create them. And so there’s a larger demand for their pieces than they can produce. Some pieces are made in the Adire style popular with the North Western part of the country and they use Aso Oke embroidery on the neck and cuffs giving the otherwise simple clothing a regal appearance.
This is Us
Over 5 centuries ago, the famous Kofar Mata dye pits in Kano State, the Northern part of Nigeria created indigo coloured tie and dye fabric using dye from the indigo plant. While the craft is slowly going extinct due to urbanisation, This is Us, an urban streetwear brand is on a mission to improve the craft’s popularity and showcase its rich history. The brand creates fabric using Funtua cotton, cotton woven in Funtua, Katsina. This fabric is used to create different casual pieces like shirts, shorts, dresses and pants.
Kilentar
The weaved Aso Oke and Adire infusions from Kilentar employ a more minimal approach to design. The brand boasts handcrafted cotton fabric designed in contemporary fashion but with splashes of tradition across every piece. Kilentar’s acclaim has spread far, walking fashion weeks in London and, quite recently, New York.
The Ajoyo dress and set for example is made out of Aso Oke patchwork placed in rectangles of varying sizes across the expanse of the clothing. The Kosi dress on the other hand incorporates spots of Adire design on what appears to be soft flowy white fabric. Each little piece has been touched by tradition, from the artisans who weave or bead the fabric to the techniques chosen and employed to tell Africa’s story.
Hertunba
I am such a fan of Hertunba’s approach to body positivity but it is their translation of African fabrics that takes the cake. During the Lagos Canvas, I selected 2 pieces from the Lulaland collection that I believe capture the essence of Nigerian textiles and the journey. They were the Idia dress and the Coat of Many Colours showcased at the Museum of Modern Arts in Majorca, Spain.
The Idia dress is created with the Adire dyeing technique but instead of a single colour, it incorporates a cascade of colours to its signature ruched design. The fabric is sourced in the North, ruched in the west and dyed in the South of Nigeria, using traditional experts that are well-versed in the craft. A similar sentiment is used in producing the Coat of Many Colours. Hertunba uses 1 woven fabric each from 4 geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Aso Oke is one of the fabrics used, the others are the Akwete from the east, the Ibetayo, from the north and middle belt and the Itivie from the South.
The brand has been quite transparent about the end-to-end production process, from upcycled polyester or sourcing rayon, to weaving and tailoring by local artisans, all the way to the consumer. The process is joyfully slow, with many hands on each piece to ensure uniform quality.
Let’s talk about Sustainability
It is fascinating to see Nigerian brands work to preserve our rich culture and in some cases, revive age-old traditions but we cannot have this conversation without referring to the sustainability of these practices. For many, this simply means how affordable and how eco-friendly the clothing is. But over here, there are a few more considerations.
Many of these textiles are created with hand-woven, time-consuming, labour-intensive techniques. In addition, many of the skilled artisans are fast-fading generational talents who learnt from their elders. Naturally, these factors should lead to more expensive textiles to cover for the back-breaking work required but this is not necessarily the case. A 2018 study showed that more than 40% of textile workers are not paid a legal minimum wage and the few who are paid slightly above minimum wage are paid less than half of liveable wage.
Florentina Agu, the creative director at Hertunba, shared some of the ways her brand caters to these artisans. All garments are woven by the artisans who create them traditionally, keeping the craft alive in these communities while paying them a premium for each fabric. The brand also ensures that it makes use of recycled polyester, a fabric that landfills all over Africa have an excess of as much as it uses natural fibres.
While the modern application of these fabrics may have increased their demand, the working conditions of the artisans remain unchanged. Some artisans in the Iseyin community of Oyo state, a predominant weaving community, said they make from 500 to 1000 naira profit on every fabric sold and this profit is their source of livelihood. This sort of low profit compared to the high cost of living cascades to other issues like the children of these artisans being out of school because of the inability to pay school fees and resorting to child labour to feed the family.
It’s wonderful to see more Nigerian designers build global acclaim using traditional fabrics, the effects of this win will be felt throughout the production chain. However, we look forward to seeing how this will improve the livelihood of artisans, inviting even more people to the business and craft.
