This picture is from momo gallery website,its  a sculpture by Mary Sibande born in Mpumalanga a graduate in fine art from the university of Johannesburg of a black maid got me thinking how apartheid affected fashion in south africa.the first garment is a 1950 maids and waitress   

the second pic is a morden design of what we call isishweshwe look at the similarities then it got me thinking how did (isishweshwe) come about in south Africa and what inspired the pattern design that our mothers love so much ....you walk in end street in jozi that all the sell ,most people buy products, make decisions according to whats familiar to them that why we have ads the more you see it the familiar it get  (subconscious decision) the more likely that you will buy it. in time this pacticular design has changed drastically from it original form people stated using material called Shweshwe is a 100% cotton fabric manufactured in the traditional way using copper rollers which have patterns etched on the surface, allowing the transfer of a weak discharge solution onto the fabric. While this fabric is now inherently very African, it initially came from India and was brought to South Africa by German settlers. It was first adopted by the Xhosa who made it their own and began adapting it to give it the uniquely African feel that it retains to this day

  ( modern design)