Cornering the market of African textiles

Woogui is an ethical accessories and tailored shirt brand was established to “reinvent the African fashion industry in Mozambique”. Picture: Supplied

“I ended up figuring out that African textiles were not, in fact, really African. They were textiles that were brought to Africa via trade,” she says. “Some of them were an imitation of textiles that existed in west Africa. So they were like the mass-production answer to handmade textiles in west Africa. There are some batik elements in some of them, but mostly they were produced in China or Holland.

“It’s kind of like a borrowed culture; it’s no longer ours,” says Zacarias. “If you look more in-depth about the design process of these textiles, there’s nothing really about African heritage in them. It’s just somebody in a company somewhere in Europe or in China or in India who is dictating what is African now.

Later, along with Mozambican fashion designer Djamila de Sousa, Zacarias established Karingana Wa Karingana, a Mozambique-based company that prints authentic African textiles, based on tradition and culture. In another print series, Zacarias pays tribute to the Mozambican capital of Maputo. “That print connects with all of us because it’s about the city we grew up in,” she explains. “It has the icons that we believe in and see every day. Like there’s a church that is very iconic. There is the public transport. There’s the dhal boat that you see here. There’s a cassia flower. So those are all things that we recognise as part of our heritage.

“On the body, they are something completely different because the dressmaker or tailor has to use that pattern in a creative way,” she was quoted as saying.“We’re fully aware that it would be very hard for us to compete with China and India price-wise, because mass production does mean more accessibility. But we are not trying to compete with them,” she explains.

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Dr Motsepe to address Africa-Asia Partnerships conference - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.The First Lady of South Africa, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, will address the Africa-Asia Partnerships in Health and Healthcare Delivery for Women & Youth Conference at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Source: SABC News Online - 🏆 32. / 51 Read more »

Miller, Tahir lead South Africa to super over victory over Sri Lanka - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.South Africa's veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir conceded only five runs in a decisive super over as they beat Sri Lanka in their opening Twenty20 International on Tuesday after both teams had finished their innings with the same score.
Source: SABC News Online - 🏆 32. / 51 Read more »

Toll from cyclone-hit southern Africa surges as UN launches health aid - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.A cyclone that ravaged three southern African countries last week has killed at least 350 people, affected more than 1.7 million others and left 15,000 people still stranded by floods, according to estimates Thursday. When extreme weather is going to hit the US,The Caribbean people are warned and informed on time to evacuate so as to save lives,did the African leaders of the affected countries deliberately not evacuate their citizens on time so they can get aid which they are going to squander
Source: SABC News Online - 🏆 32. / 51 Read more »

Make South Africa a zoo-free country: Khoisan - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader.As the country commemorates Human Rights Day, requests to make South Africa a zoo-free country, have been echoed by the Khoisan in the Eastern Cape. Isn't it already?
Source: SABC News Online - 🏆 32. / 51 Read more »