The transnational identity of wax-resist textiles emerges from the numerous cultures that have in the past, and continue today, to identify with wax resist cloth. Present-day Indonesia has a history of refined wax-resist cloth production known as batik. During Dutch colonization of the region, batik production was taken up in the Netherlands, as well as other textile manufacturing centres such as Manchester, England, intended for trade with the islands. (Kent 2008: 12) But the market proved unsuccessful. Aesthetic concerns are often cited as the reason for this failure, with the presence of ‘veins’ of dye on the cloth occurring during mechanical production deemed inferior by a market familiar with the subtleties of hand production. (Picton 2001) But taxation imposed, ironically, by the Dutch government, to protect the value of cloth produced in the islands is also cited as a reason why importing cloth to the region was a marketing failure. (Hobbs 2008 and Vergès 2014) Instead, the textiles found a welcome reception in West Africa, becoming symbols of national pride associated with independence gained by a number of nations in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Dutch company Vlisco has been designing and manufacturing wax-resist cloth since the late nineteenth century for the African market. (Arts 2012) Based in Helmond near Eindhoven, Vlisco today produces wax-resist textiles that are sold globally. In this chapter Roger Gerards, creative director of Vlisco, discusses the company’s brand identity, speculates on the reasons for Vlisco’s longevity and proposes that fashion, by default, always seeks out the unfamiliar. ...

"Dutch wax-resist textiles: Roger Gerards, creative director of Vlisco, in conversation with Jessica Hemmings" in Cultural Threads: transnational textiles today, Jessica Hemmings (ed) London: Bloomsbury, 2015: 66-91.