African Prints, African women dresses, African fashion styles, African clothing, Nigerian style, ….. Bongiwe Walaza Shweshwe Designs however, and its journey from the indigo fabric makers of India to South Africa. Shweshwe is a stiff cotton fabric that initially came from India and was heavily starched to fight off the damp in the ships’ storage compartments as it crossed the ocean to the Eastern Cape. Xhosa women took a look at these wondrous bolts of cloth, fell in love with the Shweshwe fabric and made it their own