Adire cloth, the indigo resist-dyed textile made by Yoruba women in south-western Nigeria since the 19th century, has moved from the wrappers of its origins into tailored suits, streetwear and international fashion collections.
Examples are held by museums in London and Washington. A century ago it supported a regional trade centred on Abeokuta and Ibadan, and dyers in Ogun State still make a living from it.
What is adire cloth?
Adire means “tie and dye” in Yoruba, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A typical piece is made of two strips of factory cotton sewn into a roughly square wrapper. Women prepared the cloth and always did the dyeing, the museum says.
The blue comes from imported indigo grains or locally grown indigo leaves, fermented and mixed with water softened with caustic soda. The cloth is dipped in a large pot, lifted out to oxidise and dipped again for a darker shade.
The pattern comes from stopping the dye reaching parts of the cloth. Makers of adire oniko tie it with raffia, sometimes around stones or seeds to leave circles. Adire alabere is stitched; the machine-sewn versions were made by men. Adire eleko uses a paste of cassava starch, painted by hand or pushed through a stencil, which leaves the underside plain blue.
Where did adire cloth come from?
The technique dates to the 1800s, but the word adire came into use in the early 20th century, the V&A says. The earliest cloths were probably simple tied designs on hand-spun local cotton, much like those still made in Mali, according to the textile historian Duncan Clarke.
The arrival of imported cotton shirting changed the craft. European merchants brought it in bulk to Yoruba towns, notably Abeokuta, and women dyers there became “both artists and entrepreneurs”, Clarke writes. In the 1920s and 1930s Abeokuta and Ibadan drew buyers from across West Africa. Dyers cut stencils from the tin that lined tea chests.
Most designs had names. Olokun refers to the goddess of the sea. Ibadandun, “Ibadan is sweet”, shows the pillars of the city’s Mapo Hall alternating with spoons. A jubilee design copied souvenirs made for the silver jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary in 1935. Makers of hand-painted adire cloth often signed the hem; two at the V&A carry a scorpion mark that curators have not yet matched to a name.
How has adire cloth changed since the 1960s?
Fashions in adire cloth turned over quickly. When the V&A bought cloths in Ibadan in the 1960s, its curators were told that a folded and tied design was the “cloth of the year” for 1964, replacing a pattern of large and small circles called “moons and fruits”.
The trade itself had already shrunk. Clarke writes that by the end of the 1930s synthetic indigo, caustic soda and an influx of less skilled newcomers caused quality problems and a collapse in demand. Interest from American Peace Corps workers in the 1960s brought a revival. By then, the V&A says, the cloth was also being tailored into men’s shirts and had found buyers abroad, especially in the United States.
Methods changed too. Hot wax and paraffin have largely replaced cassava starch, and block printing has replaced many stencils, the V&A says. In Osogbo, artists at the Mbari Mbayo workshop of the mid-20th century took up wax-resist batik, Garland Magazine reported. Many buyers now prefer multicoloured wax-resist cloth known as kampala, which some people still call adire.
Who wears adire cloth now?
Designers now cut the fabric into suits, dresses, jackets and streetwear in place of the loose wrapper, BusinessDay reported in June. Nigeria’s film industry has helped, the paper said, with adire costumes in productions such as Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo.
Ecobank hosts an annual Adire Lagos Experience, and Ogun State holds an Adire Market Week that connects makers of adire cloth with boutiques and designers, according to BusinessDay. Abeokuta’s Itoku market is one of the trade’s main hubs.
The artist Nike Davies-Okundaye runs art centres that train young women in the craft, Garland reported, and designers such as Amaka Osakwe of the Maki Oh label have used it in their collections. Michelle Obama and the actor Lupita Nyong’o have worn adire-inspired designs, both publications noted.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, which held an exhibition of adire cloth in 1984, describes its production by Yoruba women as “both an art form and an industry”. This is the second in DNE Africa’s series of country culture features, after Egypt’s koshary.
FAQ
What does adire mean?
Adire means “tie and dye” in Yoruba. The name describes the process, not the finished cloth.
How is adire cloth made?
Cotton is tied with raffia, stitched or painted with cassava starch, then dipped repeatedly in indigo. The protected areas stay pale and form the pattern.
Where is adire cloth made?
Mainly in south-western Nigeria. Abeokuta and Ibadan were the main centres in the 1920s and 1930s, and Osogbo and Ile-Ife also have long-standing dyers.
What is the difference between adire and kampala?
Kampala is a multicoloured cloth made with a wax resist, while classic adire cloth is indigo blue and white. Some people in Nigeria still use the name adire for both.
