About Nankeen

The Concept

• Nankeen creates chic, fun, durable, and functional accessories
  for everyday style
  

• Our designs fuse 100% cotton, indigo dye, and exquisite patterns
  using a traditional Chinese art form dating back to the Song
  dynasty.  Click here to learn more.
  

• We are committed to fair labor practices, environmentally
  friendly manufacturing, and the preservation of the art form

This historic Asian process is rapidly becoming endangered. Your support will help rescue and sustain this treasured tradition. Please pass along this treasure and share with your friends and family.

Our Nankeen Fabric

The term "blue nankeen" describes hand-dyed fabric of artistic refinement and primitive simplicity, which originated on the Silk Road over three thousand years ago. Hand-carved stencils, originally made from wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour and slaked lime is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the 100% cotton fabric.

The cotton undergoes an elaborate hand dying process before it is perfected and made into one of our unique designs. Click here to learn more about this amazing process.

The Story

Nankeen was born when designer Anne Page discovered the perfect fabric for her contemporary creations: traditional blue and white hand-printed cotton from China. Her extensive background in design and art convinced her that, in the alleys of Shanghai, she had truly unveiled an authentic treasure that was in danger of extinction.

To rescue and sustain this extraordinary craft would not be easy. The challenge, she came to believe, was how to provide a level of support for the "old ways" and to create a market in which the traditional methods of production could ensure a livelihood for those still working in these ancient art forms. Hopefully, it would attract others to participate in the perpetuation of this authentic element of Chinese culture. Unique, fashionable and elegant cotton accessories became her mission in the birth of the Nankeen collection.

Using a three-thousand year-old paste-resist process, this ancient art form is still being created by artisans in the Shanghai region of China. From the Matisse-inspired, colorful linings, to the innovative detailing, each Nankeen design expresses simple elegance. Variations in the dyeing process are to be valued as part of its uniqueness. The purity of the natural indigo dye ensures its stability when washed. Our fabrics will age beautifully.

Enjoy Nankeen as a classic, yet contemporary cotton lifestyle.

Our Philanthropy

Today, in addition to designing and importing a line of products that will help revitalize the local artisans and their factories, we are seeking ways to perpetuate this hand-crafted art form. A percentage of our online sales go to the China Hand-Print Blue Nankeen Exhibition Hall and the China Nantong Blue Calico Art Gallery. Both located in China, these galleries educate the public as well as display examples of the history of the "blue nankeen" process. In the United States, we support the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. and the textile department of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence, Rhode Island.