Wax is a traditional cotton fabric used in many African countries. In general, these fabrics usually have colorful and bright patterns. Despite the relationship of this type of fabric with African culture, its origin comes from Holland.
In the 19th century, the Dutch located in Indonesia sought to supplant the local fabric market, to do so they relied on Batiks Javanais, a colorfully patterned fabric originating from the island of Java. The African soldiers that the Dutch had brought to Indonesia became interested in the colorful fabrics, so the Europeans decided to manufacture this type of fabric for the African market, thus creating wax fabric.
If it is cotton, how do you get that characteristic touch of wax fabric?
This type of fabric is achieved by applying hydrophobic waxes to both parts of the cotton fabric. The use of waxes or resins for the manufacture of this fabric is what gives it its name, wax (from the English "wax").
Currently, as we mentioned at the beginning, this type of fabric is widely used for the manufacture of dresses, suits, etc., in many West African countries, such as Senegal.