Abstract

The chapter challenges the aesthetic imprints of Vlisco, a Dutch firm, whose representation of Africa’s image in its textile products and fabrics exported to Africa over many decades left much to be desired. The artistic contents of the products, mainly an amalgam of Javanese, Indian, Chinese, Arab and European cultural imageries, are branded as “African prints”. The chapter considered several arguments for and against Vlisco’s “African prints,” as well as the objection for a global understanding of textile and their aesthetic dynamics that make them “Afropolitan” rather than indigenous. To be “Afropolitan” simply denotes a fabric or print as an all-comer art content which gives it the capacity for adaptability, and elevates it to global acceptability. The chapter rejects both Vlisco’s “African prints” and the argument for an Afropolitan prints because such designs sideline African traditional expressions. Consequently, the author suggests that some African industrialists should be encouraged to join the global textile trade and make designs with the purpose of projecting African aesthetics and imagery on fabrics.