The traditional African costume called boubou is made from the classic fabric pagne. Nowadays this fabric is made and printed on industrial basis. In the Netherlands.

Vlisco, a Helmond based company, is leader in the textile industry offering high quality textiles for extremely reasonable prices.  They specialize in bold and beautiful modern designs for those of West and Central Africa, and prides itself on not ever using cliché African imagery.

Italian furniture superbrand Moroso filled their Milan exhibition M'Afrique with fabrics from Vlisco. Products by Ron Arad, Philippe Bestenaider and Patricia Urquiola differ in form, function and  structures, but are mostly made with Vlisco. 

The Dutch company first traded Indonesian fabrics in West Africa in the mid-1880s and the exotic wax textiles—fashioned by local tailors into voluminous dresses with fancy fishtail skirts and puffed sleeves—have come to represent traditional African design. In African society fabrics are more than textile. The decorative morifs convey a 'text' which embodies the people's social and religious identity. There was no written word in ancient African society and communication was solely oral. Therefore each sign conveyed a meaning. But faced with competition from cheap Chinese imports, Vlisco wants to branch out into making its own clothes, starting in South Africa where it believes there is demand for a sophisticated label with an African twist. Vlisco started a luxury fashion label in Africa.


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