The Adire has been the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigerian long age fashion of dressing and still is but improved and made more desirable.






What Is Adire ?

In Nigeria ,when the word Adire is mentioned, the next line of thought sways directly to "tye and Dye" . Adire is an indigo- dyed clothing made in the southwestern Geo-zone of Nigeria, the clothing used for Adire is a cotton material as Adire is made through a wax resist method to prevent the material from absorbing excess dye with exhilarating patterns and designs in hues and tints . In time, the craft "Adire" was made and indigenously recognise by skilled Egba women from Abeokuta,Ogun State who traveled to Ibadan(a southwestern yoruba state in Nigeria) to learn the Adire craft and came back to Abeokuta to establish the craft. So it is practical to say the Egba women weren't the pioneers of the craft but a means of inducting the Adire craft by making it popular in all state of Nigeria.


The Adire making crafts has been imbibed in various schools extra curricular activities and in so doing played a vital role in keeping the tradition alive by teaching student in this twenty first century.





    Adire Tradition Relived In School Activities

Adire started from an inspiration of a cap from the Dogon Kingdom in Mali situated in west Africa dating to the eleventh century dyed in the Oniko Adire making technique but wasn't really defined until the craft was learnt, practice and established in Abeokuta by the Egba woman . The Adire clothing firstly was worn as wrappers by the Abeokuta women before the fashion style was inculcated by the Abeokuta men as kembe , Dashiki , Gbanu e.t.c . The fun and enthusiastic attraction of the Adire making, in time pass were designed by the Egba women with hands using feathers , cassava starch or raffia. In Yoruba, the professional Adire Makers are called "Aladire" , for every Adire designs the Aladire made they imprints a signature or sign indicating ownership of its production was from them.



                                  
              Aladire Doing What They Do Best

Due to the high demand for Adire in the early twentieth century ,increase in the importation of special shirting material was inevitable via European textile exporters into Abeokuta, Osogbo and other Yoruba towns making the local traditional market more busy and the artistic skills of these women more appreciated attracting buyers and distributors from all over west African. Now in foreign countries , African stores have been open exhibiting Nigeria traditional fashion and topping the rank is the Adire.






Video Interview By Fashion Insider On Adire

Abeokuta is respectfully the major Adire manufacturing territory in Nigeria and states like Ibadan ,Osogbo are also important in the Adire making industry. As technology evolved, stencil machines were made to meet the high demand and supply of Adire one of which is the prototype of a CNC technology based 'Adire' Fabric pattern sketcher these machines has made production and stencil designs easier. There is also a multicolored stenciled wax resist clothe which looks exactly like the Adire called "Kampala" but it is still classified as Adire by a few people.


 

    Kampala (Adire)

As civilization crept in, the tradition of Adire was almost forgotten as the crafts women faced challenges in sales and production of the Adire but enthusiastically was revived by some Nigerian professionals,Artisans and prominent figures to mention a few ; Nike Davies Okundaye (founder off Nike Gallery), Dr Toyosi Craig, Bamidele Abiodun; the wife of the governor for Ogun State, she established a market just for sales of Adire. These women revived the tradition of Adire and paved way for foreigners to embrace the warmth Adire fashion of the likes of Michelle Obama, I type this with a smile, Lupita Nyong'o Tostos.


 

Mrs Michelle Obama Looking So Sweet In Her Adire Gown with Her Soothing Smile.

Presently over a hundred African stores have been opened in London, Japan, New York, India, Ghana exhibiting the African-Nigerian tradition in Adire causing a much more increase for the demand of the tradition clothing "Adire". Now many Nigerian celebrities like; Adekunle Gold, Stephenie Coker Aderinokun, Eku Edewor, Chimamanda Adichie, Ini Edo, Timini Egbuson all wear the attire with Vibe.

 
 
                         
  Adekunle Gold ( My king Of Adire) Always Rocking

My Love for Adire blossomed during my second year in tertiary institution where I first saw a friend of mine rocking a multicolored designed Adire shirt to church on a Sunday with a picture of him I will share ,the brightly mixed blended colors made me droll within and ignited cravings to own many Adire shirts collection.



    My Man Steve Praise In Adire

The joy I felt when I started wearing Adire was unfathomable , before then I have heard of Adire at least to certain levels but still had this stone age picture in mind , it is the fashion of the old but after that Sunday my love for the attire blossomed . I am not southwestern nor connected to any Yoruba state except I lived there but the knack for traditional cultures and nature to be preserved is instilled.


These are Some Adire Shirt Designs You Should try out






Adire are classified into Geometric Motifs, Skewmorphic Motifs, Celestiomorphic Motifs, Figural Motifs, and Lettered Motifs.


For every classification of the Adire, there is meaning for every objects , piece designed or inscribed on the fabric and it has a link to the Yoruba history in some ways, they tend to have deep meaning than pictorial view can explain.




The types of Adire varies in design and mode of making and are;  Adire Oniko (Tie And Dye), Adire Alabela (Batik),  Adire Alagbere, Adire Eleko, Adire Oni machine, and Adire Printing.


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