BLK 038p Funtua Adire Okuta Rock

The Funtua Adire makes use of raw cotton grown, harvested and processed in Katsina state, Northern Nigeria. The name ‘Funtua’ is from the town in Katsina (Funtua) where cotton plant is grown and spun. The textile mill where the fabric is woven has existed since Nigeria’s cotton industry boom in the 1970s and is a joint venture between a Chinese manufacturer and Katsina’s government, boasting of 90 percent local staff working under slow but deliberate conditions.

The raw cotton plant is a long staple cotton between 30mm to 40mm grown across Nigeria and the cotton yarns produced are woven loosely using a traditional weave which makes the cotton fabric extremely breathable, malleable and soft.

When the funtua cotton fabric arrives Lagos, the workers at our dye-pits complete the final stage of desizing the fabrics before they are decorated with fascinating designs and dyed with interesting colours just like this pea design…

The Rock design
The history of Adire in Nigeria can be traced to Abeokuta, a city in Nigeria known for its rocks and a place that protected the people of Abeokuta from their enemies during their war, they hid under the rocks to preserve their lives giving rise to the name A-be-okuta meaning under the rock. This motif is an ode to this name, done with the combination of two techniques; marbling and batik (alabela)