Kente is more than just a beautifully woven fabric with bright colours and individual patterns. Kente goes back to a centuries-old weaving tradition that is linked to a deep meaning of identity and culture.
All our hand-woven fabrics are based on the tradition of Kente weaving of the Ewe culture in the Volta region of Ghana. Our ambition is to preserve the authenticity of the traditional weaving patterns and make them desirable for the rest of the world through fine adaptations and new colour definitions.
The realistation is done together with Jo and his team from Wordu Kente. Jo has perfected Kente weaving over many years and is an expert in the traditional patterns of the Ewe culture.
The special combination of colours, patterns and symbols gives each Kente fabric its very own meaning.
Kente is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, religious beliefs, social values and political thought. Kente is therefore worn in its tradition not only for its beauty, but above all for its symbolic meaning.
The numerous patterns and motifs are usually created by weavers, who also assign names and meanings to them. Thus, each fabric is given its own name and meaning. Names and meanings are derived from historical events, individual achievements, proverbs, moral values, social codes of conduct, human behaviour and certain characteristics of the plant and animal world. In doing so, the patterns and motifs are rendered in geometric abstractions of objects associated with the intended meaning.
Each Kente fabric design comes with numerous variations in colour and motifs. Colour symbolism influences the aesthetic of Kente. Colours are chosen for their visual impact as well as their symbolic meaning. The choice of colour may be determined by tradition or by a weaver’s individual aesthetic taste.
Today, as in the past, Kente is mainly woven on narrow wooden looms. In order to make the traditional fabrics attractive for today and to bring them into new products, we have made small adjustments in production technology so that our fabrics can be produced with the necessary width for Soloko products. In this way we create beautiful and timeless pieces, staying true to tradition while adapting to today’s customer requirements.
Textiles by Soloko tell stories
Each Soloko fabric design has its own meaning and tells its own story. Our woven patterns are created in close collaboration with Jo and his team. For the colour definition, we bring in our expertise, creating an extraordinary symbiosis of traditional values and contemporary designs.