The Famous isi Shweshwe

Of course no cloth is more widespread than IsiShweshwe. First imported by German Missionaries from central Europe in the 1800s, it has since been adopted for traditional and daily use by most South African cultural groups, and thus might be the most democratic of all South African cloths. It is still only printed on archaic narrow copper plates at Da Gama textiles in the Eastern Cape, who bought up the machinery from the Manchester factories in the 1970s. With democracy this cloth became so popular, both with designers and rural dwellers, that at times the mills couldn't keep up with demand.

Because it is everywhere, we even customise the fabric in various ways in order to make it our own.

Ethnic Ideaz will not stop creating something different from the famous isiShweshwe.