Ankara fabric

The power of the African fashion industry on the continent

Posted on April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 by Juliet Ajaab

The African fashion industry has been on the rise in recent years, and it is becoming increasingly recognized on the global stage. African fashion is known for its vibrant colors, bold prints, and unique designs that reflect the rich cultural heritage of the continent. The industry is not only contributing to the cultural heritage of Africa but also has numerous benefits for Africans, including economic empowerment, job creation, and a sense of pride in their heritage.

Economic Benefits

One of the most significant benefits of the African fashion industry is its potential for economic empowerment. The fashion industry is a significant contributor to the African economy, with the potential to create jobs and generate income. The industry has also attracted significant investment from local and international companies, leading to the creation of new businesses and opportunities for African entrepreneurs. The industry has the potential to provide employment opportunities for millions of people in Africa, particularly in rural areas where job opportunities are scarce. Fashion brands in Africa that export their products also make a lot of income in foreign currency that supports their countries.

Promoting African Culture

Another benefit of the African fashion industry is that it promotes African culture and heritage. African fashion is deeply rooted in the continent’s cultural history and reflects the diversity and richness of its people. Through fashion, Africans can showcase their traditions and customs to the world and create a sense of pride in their heritage. African fashion is not only a form of expression but also a celebration of the continent’s past and present.

Promoting sustainability

The African fashion industry has also been instrumental in promoting social and environmental sustainability. Many African fashion brands are focused on using sustainable materials and production methods that minimize their impact on the environment. They also prioritize fair labor practices and support local communities through various initiatives. By prioritizing sustainability, African fashion brands are setting an example for the global fashion industry, which has long been criticized for its negative environmental and social impact.

In conclusion, the African fashion industry has numerous benefits for Africans, including economic empowerment, cultural promotion, and environmental sustainability. The industry has the potential to create employment opportunities, attract investment, and showcase the richness and diversity of African culture to the world. African fashion has come a long way, and it is exciting to see its continued growth and impact on the continent and beyond.

The Reign Collection

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Juliet Ajaab

During the Easter period, we launched a new collection called Reign. This beautiful collection of African-inspired clothes had a bold Christian feel to it with various elements of the passion of Christ. The main colours of the collection were red, black and white. Zedi has not had a redshirt in a long time and we brought one out with this collection. How daring right? The period of Easter does that to everyone. It makes us want to look back on the past and do more of the good things, change the bad things and just be better people in general. This was certainly what we did for this collection.

New fabric

The Reign collection came with two new fabrics. For our black and yellow shirt, we decided to pair the African print Ankara fabric with a twill polycotton instead of our usual polished cotton. We have been in getting requests to change our polish cotton fabric offering and we thought this would be the best time to do that. Another new fabric we introduced was a beautiful off-white brocade cloth. It had the perfect texture for the white dress we designed. We absolutely loved it.

Couple outfits

What is a Zedi collection without matching outfits that couples can wear? In the Reign collection, we have 2 perfectly matching outfits and one that is adorably complimentary. The red is certainly the one that stands out the most while the white is our most popular because in Ghana we love our white.

Lifestyle background

We did things a little differently this time when we were shooting this collection. The backdrop was wildly different from our usual grey or white. We added some props to have more of a lifestyle look. Still, on the Easter theme, we kept the colours earthy and solemn. The browns were sold and did not compete with the clothes at all. All in all, we loved it.

The Reign collection is available in our store. You can click here to order. We hope you like this collection as much as we do and you had an awesome Easter too 🙂

Ankara African Print fabric names and meanings we love

Posted on February 8, 2021February 5, 2021 by Juliet Ajaab

African print fabric often also referred to as Ankara often have very interesting names and meanings. Each cloth comes with a unique piece of history that is worth knowing. We don’t design or select fabric based on their names or meanings but sometimes the influence happens even unconsciously. Below are some of our designs and the names of the the prints we used to make them.

Obaaba

This is a word in Twi, a local language in Ghana. It means a good woman. We absolutely love this print. The pattern’s main symbol kind of looks like something in between a flower and the atom molecule symbol in science. Science and flowers are a weird combination but if you consider science to be the study of nature maybe we could have something here.

In our Zedi top on the right below, the print we used had a pretty feminine twist to it with one side being very floral and the whole thing being a bright pink and turquoise colour. Click here to buy this top!

Fish Scale

Just like the name this cloth if you look carefully you will notice some kind of scaly pattern. The name of this cloth is straight to the point and very visual. These type of names are easy to remember.

Our Fisa collection featured this cloth. Read more about our Fisa collection here if you haven’t already. The collection is a reminder to all of us to enjoy the little things in life. This inspiration came to us during the rough pandemic centered year, 2020. Since fish scales are rough it fits in so perfectly! Shop for this shirt here.

Hibiscus

This is an oldie but goldie. Growing up the hibiscus flower was very popular especially in Tamale in northern Ghana. This cloth also has a visual name like the Fish Tail cloth. Even though it’s not a modern print it has become popular over the years. My guess it’s because of its white background which is quite rare in African wax print cloths.

Our Zedi shirt dress is super fun and girly. It’s certainly pretty like as hibiscus flower and we gave it white raglan sleeves to accentuate the white background in the African print cloth. Click here to buy this dress.

Pepper leaf

The pepper leaf cloth is a very popular African Ankara print cloth. Like most of these prints it comes in a wide range of colours. The cloth has many leaf elements or symbols in different shapes and styles. Even though there’s no symbol of pepper in the cloth my guess it’s called the pepper leaf because of the size of the leaves. Pepper leaves tend to be pretty small.

Our shirt in the pepper leaf print is super simple but fun! We chose a friendly colour for men and chose earth tones. Isn’t it a spicy shirt? Order one here.

The household gravel

The household gravel is an extremely popular African print fabric and one of our favourites! This cloth is so versatile. We have used it for both men and women’s clothes. Like the name implies the print looks like gravel stones of different sizes all lined up nicely.

We love to design with this cloth and I honestly don’t see us stopping anytime soon. You can shop for our sky blue household gravel shirt here. Shop for our top here and our fun dress here.

How to care for African wax print fabric

Posted on February 11, 2020August 3, 2020 by Juliet Ajaab

So you have bought a beautiful African wax print or Ankara dress, top or shirt. It probably did not come with care instructions so how do you care for it? How do you wash and dry it? Can you bleach it? Is it dry clean only? Don’t worry too much, we have all the answers. You can learn more about African print fabric here.

African wax print fabric is often printed on cotton fabric. This automatically means that caring for it is not going to break your bank. You can put your dry cleaning money away, or better yet spend it at our shop here! When it comes for caring for your wax print garment we will split it into three parts. That is washing, drying and ironing. Let’s start with washing, shall we?

Washing African wax print garments

Before you wash your beautiful bright garment test to see if the colour runs so you wash it with similar colours or separately. This is not necessary for quality fabric but it’s always best to keep it safe. Contrary to popular belief African wax print fabric can be washed with a washing machine. Don’t mind people who say otherwise. It is true that hand washing is a good idea but only because this way you can show more love to your garments and not over wash them.

For machine washing keep the water cool and set the machine to a gentle wash setting. Remember that Ankara fabric is more of a t-shirt type of cotton than a pair of jeans. Always remember to use a very mild detergent when washing. Harsh detergents cause the fabric to fade a lot quicker over time. African print fabric is made using wax and soaps that are loaded with chemicals can easily cause the fabric to lose its colour so using bleach is an absolute no no! Don’t be that guy, use mild soap.

Drying your Ankara clothing

When the washing is done always rinse your garments thoroughly with clean water to get all the soap out. You can dry by hand on a line or by machine as well. A spin dry will never damage your fabric neither will tumble drying. The old fashion way of drying your garment on the line in the sun is just fine too. The only thing to note here is to avoid keeping clothes on the line in the sun for too long. The sun can be very harsh. Most African print garments will dry within 5 hours on a sunny day.

Ironing African wax print garments

Ironing is the easiest part when it comes to caring for African print clothing. No special settings are needed. The cotton fabric takes heat pretty well because it is a natural fibre. With a little bit of steam your ironing will be done in no time! If your garment has applique, rhinestones or beads ironing can be a bit tricky but for normal clothing it’s a walk in the park. Creases smoothen out pretty easily and so you can comfortably do without fabric spray. Having a steam iron is a plus though. Most African print clothes can not easily be straightened with just a regular steamer so ironing is recommended.

So there you have it, how to care for your African wax print or ankara clothes. We have heard some stories about this fabric lasting longer when salt is used in the water when washing garments? We can’t really tell how true this is though. Have you tried this before? What was the result? We would love to know! To shop at our store please click here!