The indiennes industry was established in Geneva in the 1670s and the 1680s. The Genevan merchants imported brightly coloured painted, dyed or printed cotton textiles with exotic patterns from India: indiennes. Demand was so high at the end of the 17th century that arrivals were not sufficient to satisfy it. It was then that the idea was born to print white cloth imported from India in Geneva. The arrival of many French indiennes makers following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) and the decree banning indiennes (1686) would provide the impetus necessary to make Geneva an important printing centre.
H. Bieri Thomson