A cloth that never went away
Adire, the indigo resist cloth of Abeokuta and Ibadan, never disappeared. It moved to the market stalls and the everyday. What is new is a generation of dyers in their twenties who draw their own patterns and sign them.
Cassava paste and patience
The classic adire eleko pattern is drawn freehand with cassava paste through a feather or a stencil. Where the paste sits, the indigo cannot reach. A cloth can take two days to draw and nine dips to dye.
- Oniko: tied with raffia before dyeing
- Alabere: stitched with thread to resist the dye
- Eleko: drawn with starch paste by hand
Why we pay before we cut
Every dyer we work with is paid for the metre before it is dyed, at a price they set. It means a young dyer can turn down a cheap order and spend the time a pattern needs.
Wearing it now
Our Adire, re-cut collection treats the cloth as tailoring. Indigo fades with wear, and we think that is the point: a coat that records the years you wore it.
