ABSTRACT
This study is on the exploration of Akwete weaves motifs for adaptation on printed textiles for apparel production. It investigated the traditional hand woven fabrics of the Akwete Igbo And identified a lot of symbolic motifs. This study aimed at adapting and printing these Igbo traditional motifs on cotton fabrics by adopting the screen printing, stenciling, batik (wax resist) and free hand drawing techniques. Some of the printed fabrics, were sewn into fashionable wears with the view that they will suit current fashion trends in Nigerian society. The research designs adopted were the descriptive survey and the studio exploratory strategies. The population of the study comprised of Akwete woven motifs (38), Akwete weavers (30), users of Akwete hand woven fabrics and potential users of the new Akwete printed fabrics (48,324). The sample size for this study is three hundred and eighty- one (381) which was arrived at using the Krejcie and Morgan (2001) formula for calculating sample size. Structured questionnaires, observation and photographs were the three instruments used for data collection. A focus group discussion was conducted with the thirty weavers mentioned earlier. They were six (6) in a group that is a total of 5 groups were formed during the group discussion. Interviews, were also conducted with the oldest weaver found in the field and a male community leader from Akwete Town. The data collected, were subjected to qualitative analysis while the data collected from the questionnaires were subjected to analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The descriptive statistics of percentages, mean and standard deviation were employed to analyze the data collected. The findings of this study indicated that Akwete weaving tradition is on the decline and there is low patronage.The results based on the research questions are as follows: Akwete weaving has a history which has not been sufficiently documented, the weavers make use of a lot of symbolic motifs with which Akwete hand woven fabrics are recognized, the symbolic meanings attached to the Akwete woven designs depicts the Igbo world view and the weavers perception of life, the aesthetic appearances of Akwete woven fabrics, which showcase Igbo culture are what determine the attraction of the consumers, Akwete woven fabrics have many traditional uses which are beneficial to the weavers and the potential users but not constantly used, they have not been in constant use in contemporary Nigerian fashion, the respondents also agreed that, Akwete printed fabrics should be produced using the symbolic design motifs so that the Igbo cultural heritage showcased in the weaving tradition will not be lost,Akwete woven designs are suitable and appropriate for prints on cotton fabrics and the constructed apparels of the Akwete printed fabrics suit the contemporary fashion trends in Nigeria.This research concludes that, the Akwete woven motifs can be utilized on printed textiles and the printed textiles are suitable for constructing fashionable wears whether combined with other plain fabrics or not.