SHWESHWE - my discovery

Shortly after arriving in South Africa, I took the opportunity to visit the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Strolling through the capital, Maseru, I was impressed by all the colorful, bustling markets and shops. As a fashion and textile addict, I was particularly fascinated by an extraordinary fabric shop with fabrics I had never seen before. Not only were they made from an amazing quality of cotton, but the colors and designs surprised and fascinated me. Each fabric was unique, with subtle floral and geometric patterns; its colors had an explosive effect on me, even today. Instinctively, I began combining colors and patterns in my mind. They are made to create ever-new pieces. This experience was the starting point for my new apple green collection. I bought as many bolts of fabric as I could carry.

Back in Pretoria, I began to play with colors and patterns, adding my own preference for classic European cuts. This is how the first pieces of the apfelgrün collection came about. When I found fabric stores in Johannesburg that offered the same variety and quality of Shweshwe—the South African name for this fabric—as I had found in Maseru, I was very relieved. Being able to source this magnificent material so close to the apfelgrün studio was simply wonderful.

Shweshwe is the name of a small yellow flower that grows in Lesotho. The roots of African Shweshwe fabrics are closely intertwined with blue-print fabrics. European settlers brought the fabrics to South Africa, where they increasingly blended with the traditional clothing of the local ethnic groups. The unique interplay of European and African influences gave rise to Shweshwe fabrics with exotic patterns, including diamonds, squares, stripes, flowers, and circular geometric shapes in vibrant colors.

In 1982, South Africa itself began producing indigo-dyed fabrics; today's company Da Gama Textiles is the sole manufacturer of the original "Shweshwe" made from cotton imported from neighboring Zimbabwe.

Fairtrade Shweshwe cotton is produced using traditional manufacturing methods. The cotton fabric is passed through copper rollers engraved with a special print. As the fabric passes through these rollers, the pattern is bleached onto the fabric using a gentle solution. Often, colored patterns are applied to the fabric through fine nozzles in the copper rollers. Because the fabrics are waxed during production to make them more durable, they are pre-washed before cutting. Afterward, the fabrics feel soft and resist shrinkage.

It's time to wear them!