I LOVE ANKARA BUT…

I’ve always been a fashion enthusiast. Ok, I know you don’t believe me but it is true.

I may not be able to tell apart a Mai Atafo  or Ituen Basi design. Or a Bridget Awosika. Tifanny Amber. Adebayo Jones or  Lanre Da-Silva but I love what I see particularly when it comes to African print designs. Especially Ankara.

And the Vlisco ads just ‘killed’ it for me. I love Ankara! (Though, I pass on with 'kain' things I see on the back cover of some soft sells!)

But then I got inquisitive.  Where exactly is Ankara from? Did we (Africans) really create this beautiful wax print that is proudly celebrated globally as our ‘thing’? Why do I see “Dutch Wax” labels at the tip of my Ankaras?

Well, i did a bit of research to satisfy my curiosity and what I discovered blew my mind oh. Let me spare you the long history lesson and give you a short but true story.

Ankara originally came from Java (No, not that Java on your BB). It was then one of the Dutch’s colonies so I guess that gave the Dutch the license to dub the local textile industry, improve on it, and mass produced it across Europe. (Yes, na Oyinbo first wear Ankara o… deal with it, hehehe!).  

And in the process of globalizing it, they tried to sell it across the world particularly in Asia but were disappointed in Indonesia but somehow West Africa was a ready market. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now, one of the people involved in selling Ankara around then was a family by the name, Van Vlinssingers in 1846, established their company-Vlisco. I’m sure that rang a bell.

Today, Vlisco is grooving about town with their Ankara, and they are doing a damn good job. I’m yet to see an Oyinbo version of their Ads. They have successfully built a premium brand, which is now a status symbol.

I hope you know the 2 leading ‘African wax print’ manufacturing companies in West Africa is based in Ghana and is owned by Vlisco and the British respectively. Well, until China came along. China bought into the market, booting the British out of the game.

I also hope you know Woodin in Ghana is a subsidiary of Vlisco. Yeah.

Likewise  Da Viva. In case you can’t connect the dots, Da Viva is a China high-end wax print textile brand for Africans.

Don’t get me wrong o, I like Oyinbos o and trade. I just felt this Ankara thing isn't "By Africans, for Africans" as we are made to think. It's just another marketing gimmik!

Having said all, I have  an "owambe" wedding this weekend, guess what I’m wearing!