It is the capital of Turkey and it is also the name of a popular fabric worn by many Africans. Ankara Fabric commonly known as “African Prints”,”African Wax Prints” “Holland Wax” and “Dutch Wax” , is a 100% cotton fabric with vibrant patterns. It is usually a colorful cloth and is primarily associated with Africa because of its tribal-like patterns and motifs. It is also a very versatile fabric a
nd many items can be made such as hats, earrings, blazers, and shoes to name a few. To make Ankara an even more versatile fabric, companies have most recently included Ankara prints on chiffon for clothing such as kaftans
& socks
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LLULO – (Source)
Ankara print Fabrics are made through an Indonesian wax-resist dyeing technique called Batik.In this technique, methods are used to “resist” the dye from reaching all the cloth, thereby creating a pattern. The lack of divergence in color intensity helps with the determination of the (front) right and (back) wrong side of the fabric. Ankara print fabrics are sold in 12 yards as “full piece” or 6 yards as “half piece”. The fabric company/Producer, The Type of Fabric/Product and Registration Number is printed on the Selvage of the fabric, to notify people of the quality and to protect the designs from imitators. The wax fabric can be sorted into categories of quality due to the processes of manufacturing. The colors comply with the local preferences of the costumers. Some wax prints can be named after personalities, cities, building, sayings or occasions. Victoria Rowell Obama Dress Emmy 2009
Ankara Print Fabrics can be worn for regular outings, but many people consider it a luxurious fabric and it wear it for special and formal occasions.
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GWB Commission presents Green White & Blue Ball 6 , Photography by Paul Hance
–Original Post on All Things Ankara (HERE)
Some people wear it as “asoebi” for special occasions such as birthday celebrations,weddings, balls etc. Asoebi is a Nigerian word and means “clothes of the family”. Family members, relatives and close friends usually dress up in similar attire for a special occasion. Even though Ankara Fabric is associated with the African culture, it’s origins are not authentically and wholly African. Dutch wax prints started out as cheap mass-produced imitations of Indonesian batik fabric. It was originally intended for the Indonesian market but found a more enthusiastic market in West Africa, where it became symbols of traditional and high quality fashion. From West Africa, this fabric spread to other parts of Africa and all over the world.
