Pleats for Vlisco

In the summer of 2010, Eugene was invited by Vlisco in the Netherlands to share some of his technical knowledge with the fashion team there. Vlisco is the supplier of cotton wax-print (the famous ‘Wax Hollandais’) for the high end of the West and Central African market.

 

 

The team wished to have some of their cotton fabrics pleated for their collection Reflet de Lumière 2010. To stabilize the pleats, Eugene treated the cotton with an opaque coating, something that normally cannot be done in industry. In turn, the team made this treated fabric into a beautiful limited edition of dresses. Fantastic to see the fabric on bill-boards in Africa, and just as wonderful to work inside such a positive and ambitious company.

 

 

Vlisco was founded in 1846 and developed its’ own very special industrial adaptation of the Indonesian batik, or wax print. The fabrics were sold in Indonesia, at that time a colony of the Netherlands. African soldiers, mostly from Ghana, took the fabrics back to their homelands. Vlisco started exporting to Africa in 1876 and still does very succesfully. All designs are made in the house, and produced using a laborious combination of wax printing, dying and pigment printing. Part of the techniques and recipes has been kept secret until this day…

 

 

 

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