African wax prints actually came from the Netherlands. In the second half of the 19th century, fuelled by the industrial revolution and colonial expansion, new markets opened in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) as well as Africa.
African Wax prints have an interesting and (literally) colourful history. West African textiles have always existed, but it was Dutch settlers in the 19th century who helped contribute to and create the designs we would recognise today.
Traditionally, the wax was applied to fabric in places that the manufacturer didn’t want the dye to penetrate, then dye is applied over the top of this to create beautiful, colourful and intricate designs. Today, a lot of wax prints are created digitally, allowing the manufacturer to produce a wider range of designs in far greater quantities, although the traditionally made fabric is still available, albeit rarer than it used to be. This method was originally used in Indonesia in Batik printmaking, although slight adjustments were made to the process to speed it up, creating Dutch wax prints.
DREM FABRICS AND ACCESSORIES offer a wide range of high quality Wax prints representing the colourful traditions and ethnicity of Africa.
Our wax prints comes in 6 yards per piece. We can supply any quantity of wax print fabrics ranging from one (1) piece to one thousand (1,000) pieces per order. For Example, we Supplied 450 pieces of wax print fabric for the Award winning movie BLACK PANTHER back in 2015. We have also done so many large supplies for Asoebi for many Nigerian parties, church programs and other beautiful events.
