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Over time, patterns morphed to meet West African tastes. They became brighter, more geometric and more symbolically loaded, and they were associated with Africa to an ever increasing extent. Today the identification is so strong that European designers including Valentino and Prada use them as shorthand for Africanism. A new exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art stands as a welcome correction, revealing their fascinatingly complex origin.

Focused on Vlisco, the leading manufacturer of African-patterned Dutch wax fabrics – and the only surviving company with 19th-century roots – the exhibit connects the storied past with the vibrant present. Vlisco produces dozens of new patterns every year, created by a cosmopolitan group of designers from both Europe and Africa, and sold to an international market.

Although few wearers know the worldly origins of Dutch wax fabrics – and some people persist in calling them “tribal” – their visual sophistication spectacularly embodies the beauty of cultural and economic exchange. As the Western world succumbs to monochromatic isolationism, and international cooperation falls out of fashion, African patterns stand out as banners of globalism. Who could possibly resist?

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