African lace

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“African Lace” from the early 1970s
"African Lace" from the 1980s

African Lace or Austrian Lace, often referred to as Swiss Lace, are embroidery fabrics that are primarily manufactured in Vorarlberg , Austria and have achieved an exclusive status in the African fashion world. In particular, they shape the fashion culture of the Yoruba in Nigeria, but also of neighboring ethnic groups in West Africa. The Hausa in northern Nigeria, but also the Akan in Ghana, are important customers.

history

On the African continent, Mali has a 900-year embroidery tradition. An early spread of textile techniques went from Mali to Liberia, Senegambia and to the Hausa in northern Nigeria. Kano was a trading center between the Nupe and Yoruba in the south and the peoples of Mauritania, North Africa and the Arab world in the Middle East. The old cities of northern Nigeria ( Sokoto , Kano ) and Mali ( Djenné , Timbuktu ) were important long-distance trading centers, also for embroidery goods. During the holy war , rich embroidery was still frowned upon. This changed when the ruling upper class demanded religious clothing. To avoid slavery, people wore embroidered clothes belonging to Islam . Embroidery was carried out as far away as remote villages, sometimes with the finest and most expensive materials. A network of weavers and stickers emerged in West Africa. In Liberia, cotton and wool threads were used for embroidery.

Vorarlberg embroidery

Until the 1970s, the textile industry was the leading industry in Vorarlberg. Vorarlberg generated 70% of the total added value with textiles and clothing. In 1966 a Lustenau businessman in Lagos noticed the embroidered robes of African women. This was the beginning of an intensive business relationship between the Vorarlberg embroidery industry and West African sales markets. Above all, the close business relationships between Vorarlberg stickers and the Yoruba people in Vorarlberg led to exports to Nigeria. 1977 went down in Lustenau as the year of the "Nigeria shock". A total import ban in Nigeria led the traders to illegality. Discovered smuggled goods from Lustenau were publicly burned in Nigeria. Today Nigeria is one of the main markets for Vorarlberg stickers. The foreign trade statistics show that textiles are Austria's main export good to the West African country. In 2010, embroidery worth € 55 million was produced. Around € 20 million of this was exported to Africa. The figures show a decline in exports and competition from Asia has discovered the market for itself. In 2002 embroidery exports to Nigeria amounted to 44.8 million euros. If one takes into account the indirect exports that reach their destination via wholesalers in Benin, England or the Emirates, the value of the embroidery exceeded 55 million euros last year. The Vorarlberg embroidery from Austria has a major impact on the appearance of today's West African society. The center for embroidery production is in Lustenau . Year after year, Nigerian merchants travel to Lustenau to purchase the latest collections for their home market. With the Yoruba trade, fabrics and designs spread far beyond the Nigeria area. Today, the textile industry accounts for 8% of total value added, and Vorarlberg is the fourth largest embroidery area in the world.

literature

  • HM Akou: Nationalism without a nation: understanding the dress of Somali women in Minnesota. In: Jean Allman (Ed.): Fashioning Africa: Power and the Politics of Dress. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004, pp. 50-63.
  • B.Gardi: Boubou c´est chic. Robes from Mali and other West African countries. Museum of Cultures Basel. Basel: Christoph Merian Verlag, 2000.
  • G. Gerlich: Wax prints in the socio-cultural context of Ghana. Working Paper No. 54. Institute for Social Anthropology and African Studies. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 2004
  • J. Gillow: African textiles. Color and creativity across a continent. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2003
  • ML Joseph: Introductory Textile Science. 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972
  • Business location Vorarlberg society: location documentation, March 2011

Web links

Commons : Exhibition “Lustenau Lagos African Lace” in the Vorarlberg Museum Bregenz (2012-2013)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Summary of the project study: Discovering Vorarlberg Embroidery in West Africa
  2. ↑ Video for the presentation of the project study Discovering Vorarlberg Embroidery in West Africa
  3. ^ Trendy Africa - Austrian Fabrics: the West African Heritage
  4. ^ Austrian High-end Quality Embroideries as Integral Part of West African Cultures
  5. ↑ Karin Schuh: Embroidery export to Africa . Online at DiePresse.com from July 24, 2010.
  6. ↑ Walter Fink: Beautiful fabrics for black women . In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten of August 30, 2013.
  7. ^ Vorarlberg embroidery for Nigeria . In: Wirtschaftsblatt from April 10, 2011.
  8. ↑ Sylvia Maier: Embroidery is top in export ( memento from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Online at Wirtschaftsblatt.at from May 22, 2003.
  9. ↑ Südwind - Made im Ländle for Nigeria ( Memento from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Vorarlberg's embroidery industry wants to rediscover West Africa