Aso‐oke: a Nigerian classic style and fashion fabric

Abstract

Purpose

How hand‐weaving skills got to Nigeria, from where and when, have been tentatively answered in the literature and virtually every ethnic group in the country weaves. Aso‐oke fabric has been woven by the Yorubas of Western Nigeria for decades. This study therefore sets out to find possible reasons for the fabric's continued acceptance by Nigerians.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 100 respondents taken in Benin City, capital of Edo state, Nigeria was studied by means of field survey tool of questionnaire and the responses to rating scale questions were tested for significance using the “t‐test”.

Findings

The analysis revealed that aso‐oke consumption is being sustained through frequent product modification, and deeply rooted socio‐cultural factors. The fabric appears to be both a style and a fashion.

Practical implications

In spite of its long‐standing popularity, aso‐oke has a number of negative attributes. Specifically, consumers would be more satisfied if weavers employ only color‐fast yarns in weaving, and produce lighter‐weight aso‐oke fabrics that suit all purposes and are also shrinkage‐resistant.

Originality/value

The unique contribution of this paper is its emphasis on the consumption of aso‐oke fabric. Previous studies focused on the weaving aspect: weaving technology, weavers' ingenuity and skills, and the history of cloth weaving in Nigeria. A few of these studies examined the cultural uses of particular motifs of the fabric.

Citation

Agbadudu, A.B. and Ogunrin, F.O. (2006), "Aso‐oke: a Nigerian classic style and fashion fabric", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610651150