The word "dashiki" has roots in Nigerian Yoruba and Hausa culture and is generally translated as "man's shirt." The Dashiki was made popular in the western parts of the world by Oba (Yoruba word for king) Ofuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi, who was born Walter Eugene in Detroit, Michigan, USA in 1928. He became interested in African Studies at the age of 16, and travelled to Haiti at the age of 20 in order to be exposed to African religion from indigenous Africans. Soon after, he returned to the U.S. and began a small scale manufacturing business which included African attire, most notably dashikis. (Wikipedia)
Today, many African Fashion houses such as Afrokulcha, offer their clients dashiki in different styles. The following are pieces from Afrokulcha's SS 14 collection, available online at www.afrokulcha.com
Dashiki fabrics, also known as Angel or Angelina fabric, are made in a variety of colours.
The best quality of this fabric comes from West Africa in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast etc. There are many imitations that have surfaced from other countries such as China. Take caution!
Do it for Africa, For the love of dashiki, the love of African print.
xoxo
