Modern African Classics

Fabrics are in the heart of many African cultures. The patterns on their rich decorated fabrics represent a certain mind-set, emotion or philosophy.

As a result of our growing technosphere, the classical patterns used for generations have been redefined by the Dutch textile manufacturer Vlisco.

Patterns traditionally decorated with numbers, mathematics and letters of the alphabet were worn by people to point out the fact that they have a proper education and know how to read and write. It can also represent the importance of giving a good education to their children, saving money to realize this purpose.

Vlisco came up with an updated version of this pattern: a laptop showing this classic education related print on his screen. Suggesting that knowledge nowadays relates to our technosphere.

More to be found on: Department of History University of California, Berkeley Professor Abena Dove Osseo-Asare