Political dressing: wax hollandais as ethnic tools afro-Brazilian identity affirmation

This article aims to discuss the role of Wax Prints in ethnic affirmation politics through fashion in Rio de Janeiro. Based on Hobsbawm and Ranger's (1997) and Livio Sansone's (2005) studies we analyse how these prints convey ideas of tradition and origin associated with the Afro-Brazilian ethnicity, materializing the representation of the African continent. We became aware of how important it is to black social movements to adopt objects of the material African or Afro-Brazilian cultures as a way of expressing their political ideas directly related to ethnic identities. The article reveals results from the qualitative research that has been carried out with Afro-Brazilian fashion designers who use Wax print fabrics confirming their intentional use by its language potential pointed out by Barthes (2005).