Story of a global concept

In 1846, the Dutch entrepreneur Pieter Fentener van Vlissingen bought a textile factory which originally provided upholstery fabrics and handkerchiefs and renamed it Vlissingen & co. Inspired by the batiks designed in Indonesia (which was then a Dutch colony), the company shifted its goal and started to recreate the batik by optimizing the dyeing process to make the fabric more affordable. Three decades later, Vlissingen & co switched its focus on the West-African market after a ban on the imitation batiks because of a flaw in their fabrics. That new market was a logical target due to the existence of luxury trading route between Europe and West Africa, and the popularity of the fabrics among West-African soldiers who served in Indonesia before returning in their home country.

In 1927, the company was rebranded as Vlisco, a contraction of Vlissingen & co, although the fabrics were already widely known as Dutch Wax or Wax Hollandais. In that period, there was an increasing number of counterfeit batik sold in West Africa. Several companies based in Switzerland, England, and France started to produce imitation batiks due to its popularity in that region. Purveyors of Vlisco fabrics became increasingly concerned with authenticity and protecting their business from the counterfeited fabrics. In response, Vlisco decided to stamp its fabrics with the tagline “Guaranteed Dutch Wax Vlisco”, using proof of authenticity to stand out from competitors.

In 1966, Vlisco began to develop regional brands with production and distribution taking place respectively in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Today, each brand carries its own style, identity, and market segment. Every year, Vlisco launches a quarterly collection of wax-printed cloths designed in the southern Netherlands, under their premium luxury flagship brand. The company has mastered a complex manufacturing process, mixing machine and hand printing, to produce their distinguished batik. However, some aspects of that process remain rooted in the indigo resist dyeing technique that the founder first adapted to industry.

Impact in African culture

Over time, Vlisco has developed a symbiotic relationship with African consumers and traders, so that the brands are mainly driven by consumers’ taste. While Vlisco’s aesthetic still evokes batik, the patterns are full of culturally specific references and symbols that resonate with their largely female clientele. The buyers and resellers often name the patterns after proverbs, catchphrases, sociopolitical events, or religion, with narratives often becoming iconic. So, one design can have many interpretations depending on the context of use. It is through naming that the prints acquire social meaning and value, and become culturally assimilated into African society.

Some intellectuals and conveyors of the African culture have criticized Vlisco for designing and selling products using the label of African prints, that they say are not entirely authentically African. Nevertheless, the question of whether Vlisco is truly African or not is subject to debate since the fabric now defines intrinsically the West and Central African fashion. In fact, several artists and designers view Vlisco’s Afro-European heritage with a larger perspective. For instance, the designer Walé Oyéjidé, creative director of the menswear company Ikiré Jones, uses Vlisco fabrics in his clothes and tapestries. The renowned artist Yinka Shonibare, whose work explores colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation, uses Vlisco fabrics to create many of the Victorian-era clothes that make up his work.