Samuel Oyebolu
Right from time, fashion trends had always been a significant aspect of human culture as they are posed as potent tools in parading elegance and vibrancy.
Till this day, everyone want to look and feel good, particularly when cladded in attires that exude their traditional heritage.
The intriguing aspect is the way it depicts our cultural ancestry and also helps preserve our arts and customs.
Thus, every country with its unique fashion symbols holding secrets to their long gone past, as they embrace and embody their history in its whole with so much endearment and delight.
Our great country, Nigeria, in its peculiarities as an embodiment of a diversified ethnic group, thrives on its numerous features and legacies of several fashion ideas and customs being passed down through generations preserving our cultures and heritage, while never being outdated.
A prime example is our ever awesome “Adire,” An indigenous fashion know as tie and dye, coined from two yoruba words; “Àdì,” meaning tie and “Àre”,” meaning dyed or soaked.
This fascinating fashion style originated from the yorubas one of the 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Adire was said to have emerged from the Egbas, popularly known as Abeokuta, a place in Nigeria.
It originated from the Jojola’s family, a compound that is the first to produce the first Iyalode of Egbaland, Iyalode Sunmonu.
It is a material that’s designed with wax, which has different methods of producing patterned design with gleaming arrangements of tint and hue.
Many fashion enthusiasts appreciate the intricate patterns and vibrant colours as it can be used to make any form of attire, be it traditional, classic, casual, or official clothing due to its patterns.
Adire has a variety of patterns, and for every pattern, it demonstrates how the design of the fabric is being made.
Batik, for instance, is done with candle wax pattern, but it’s not entirely from Nigeria.
Cracks are another form of pattern that is made from the rumpling of fabrics smashed and squeezed rather than tieing.
These varieties have their own methods and processes to give results. But one thing is common for every process of adire. It always yield the result. There is no need for planking as ironing of the fabric isn’t allowed in the system.
As typical of all our cultures in Nigeria, whereby each craft has a pronounced territory and specified point of trade, Adire takes its stronghold at the Itokun market in Abeokuta, with people coming from several parts of the world to purchase this beauty in its most genuine and sacred form.
However, this influx had also left us with a loophole, as foreigners could tap into this glory by making printed forms with little or no respect for the delicate and intricate aspects of our art.