Painting Mudcloth fabric

KOF- Dolores Casual

Bogolanfini adds a sahelcore flair to any outfit in the form of headwraps, scarves, skirts, pants or boubou (kaftan).

It may be the most emblematic Sahelian textile apart from indigo tie-dye.

A town called San is the epicenter of bogolanfini production and source of the highest quality bogolan textile.

The dyeing process has been described as "cumbersome and tedious". First, cotton strips woven by the men are then dyed by the women (who undergo year-long apprenticeships)-- but first, the fresh cloth is soaked in a sort of tea made from ngallama leaves turning it yellow. After this, it is sundried, and then patterns are repeatedly hand painted with dyes made from iron-rich riverbed clays that have been fermented in jars for up to a year. The iron in the dye turns the painted areas a very dark brown thanks to the chemical reaction between the treated cotton and the dye.

The yellow parts are bleached with soaps and then the cloth is washed, leaving behind the distinctive black and white pattern that overtime may fade to varying shades of brown.

Other methods of producing bogolanfini exist in other parts of Mali, of varying degrees of quality.

Bogolanfini entered the fashion industry via designer Chris Seydou, who brought the enigmatic traditional textile into the mainstream.

Made in Kenya | Visuals for Ichyulu, an online African Fashion Concept Store