Pepper Leaf ALSO KNOWN AS Adémé This design is called 'Pepper Leaf' and "Adémé", named after a vegetable from the south of Togo. Most mothers have their own way of preparing this vegetable, and likewise this fabric has many ways it can be worn.

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Helmet ALSO KNOWN AS Bunch of bananas / Shell This heritage design from the 1960s is also known as 'Bunch of Bananas' and "Coquillage", which means shell in English. In Togo this design is known as "Abobo To Lé Gomè", which means ‘the snail out of its shell’. In a village called Abobo, they celebrate [...]

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You leave, I leave ALSO KNOWN AS Tu sors, je sors The name "Tu sors, je sors" means: if you are unfaithful to me, I’m not going to restrain myself either. With these words, the newlywed wife warns her husband about future escapades. In Togo the pattern is always bought by the woman herself in [...]

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ABC ALSO KNOWN AS Alphabet People wear this design to indicate that they went to school and know how to read and write. They also attach importance to a good education for their children, and they set aside money to provide it.

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Santana ALSO KNOWN AS Darling don't turn your Back on Me This rare three-colours pattern, loved by the Igbo, is one of the few Wax Hollandais patterns to incorporate three colours. Santana is derived from the name Madame Santa Anna Nelly, the name of one of the Nana Benz in Togo who apparently got the [...]

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Congrès The pattern is very popular in Ivory Coast and Togo. Its two colours, red and yellow, are printed on top of each other. Each year it is worn during the meeting of the Lomé Houngni women, an order of women from Lomé, Togo. Despite the many imitations of this pattern that circulate today, the [...]

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Don't get married empty-handed Don’t get married with empty hands: In Togo, young women prepare for marriage by assembling their valuable materials and financial assets, in order to be financially independent from their future husband. it is said that when a girl is wed with love as her only baggage, she runs the risk of [...]

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Otopa This design is called "Otopa" in Togo. In the book "Les Messages du Pagne" (The Stories of Loin Cloth), this pattern means 'Concert of Stars'. They are shining and moving. It's a sign of a celebration, success and joy. The second name of the design, in Benin is "Hêfounmè wè hè non soudè" meaning [...]

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Lomé 2015 This design is a new interpretation of the iconic ‘1004’ pattern. President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo had renewals and renovations planned for the city of Lomé in 2015 . The people of Togo named the pattern ‘Lomé 2015’ because they no longer believed in change.

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Nadouvi Lawson-Body was Vlisco’s 2013 ambassador in Togo and is a renowned cardiologist and the director of La Clinique le Coeur. Being a female cardiologist, Dr Lawson-Body was a pioneer of her time.

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