5:26 AM
admin
 |
| Megawati Soekarnoputri |
Indah Setiawati,
Danar by Carmanita. JP/PJ LeoBatik is enjoying a new lease of life, resurrected in the country’s fashion industry.
Batik now comes with colorful and cutting-edge designs, perfect for all. Its past stigmas — formal attire for the older generation, boring motifs and colors — have disappeared into thin air.
Stories of a slow batik business, with factories declared bankrupt, were also out of the picture.
Batik Danar Hadi from the Central Java town of Surakarta is one of the country’s prominent batik producers that has survived the slow days and is shining, as shown in its latest fashion show, attended by Jakarta’s socialites and public figures, from former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.
For the new collection presented at the fashion show, the company — built by Santosa Doellah and his wife Danarsih Santosa in 1967 — challenged five designers to translate their fine fabric into dozens of premium and limited designs, called Danar.
The designers — Oscar Lawalata, Carmanita, Ghea Panggabean, Hutama Adhi and Sapto Djojokartiko — translated the challenge into stunning evening gowns, casual and elegant outfits.
Head of the marketing communication division at PT Batik Danar Hadi, Hoshi Mitchel Hutabarat, said the company had been working together with top designers for the past three years.
Any reproduction of the collection would differ in designs, colors and motifs, he added.
“Our challenge in batik development is to ensure the designs are perfect and fully applied in our fabrics because we don’t want to lose the heritage elements,” he says.
The hard work paid off.
Surakarta-born designer Sapto showcased his 16 signature evening gowns, with green, red and yellow dominating the tone. He also chose simple patterns, with sequins and drapery details to accentuate his designs.
Danar by Gea Pangabean JP/PJ LeoOne gown was a sparkling green short-sleeved batik shirt combined with a long yellow batik skirt cut open in the middle. Other designs had cheongsam styles, one-shoulder dresses, ruffle accents, sleeveless and short-sleeve cuts and various necklines.
Carmanita used casual and asymmetric cut approaches in her designs while Ghea’s chic and modern batik style are shown in the combination of black pants and long-sleeved batik tops, including a high-waisted tulip batik skirt combined with a black low-cut top and batik cardigan.
Hoshi applauded the designers for beautifully applying the company’s request to fully showcase batik in their designs.
“We have worked together with them several times. They understand what we want,” he says.
Danar Hadi is among a few business enterprises in Surakarta that survived the hard time between the 1980s and 2000 at the time Chinese batik, which used printing technology, swarmed the Indonesian market — affecting the handmade batik or batik tulis in other cities.
Batik Kudus, for example, almost stopped some years ago as the Central Java city only relied on Mikmah to produce the exquisite batik.
In a recent fashion show presented by NGO Rumah Pesona Kain at the Dharmawangsa Hotel, Kudus businesswoman Yuli Astuti promoted local motifs of batik from her city.
The organization collaborated with designer Barli Asmara and Inne S. Nurbani to present some 25 ready-to-wear collections that mostly used Yuli’s batik product.
In the collection, called Lady Look, Barli presented a mix and match of different fabric with batik, combining a batik classic dirndl skirt with a lace cardigan, which was inspired by the “New Look”, a design introduced by Christian Dior in 1947.
Carmanita used casual and asymmetric cut approaches in her designs while Ghea’s chic and modern batik style are shown in the combination of black pants and long-sleeved batik tops, including a high-waisted tulip batik skirt combined with a black low-cut top and batik cardigan.
Hoshi applauded the designers for beautifully applying the company’s request to fully showcase batik in their designs.
“We have worked together with them several times. They understand what we want,” he says.
Danar Hadi is among a few business enterprises in Surakarta that survived the hard time between the 1980s and 2000 at the time Chinese batik, which used printing technology, swarmed the Indonesian market — affecting the handmade batik or batik tulis in other cities.
Batik Kudus, for example, almost stopped some years ago as the Central Java city only relied on Mikmah to produce the exquisite batik.
In a recent fashion show presented by NGO Rumah Pesona Kain at the Dharmawangsa Hotel, Kudus businesswoman Yuli Astuti promoted local motifs of batik from her city.
The organization collaborated with designer Barli Asmara and Inne S. Nurbani to present some 25 ready-to-wear collections that mostly used Yuli’s batik product.
In the collection, called Lady Look, Barli presented a mix and match of different fabric with batik, combining a batik classic dirndl skirt with a lace cardigan, which was inspired by the “New Look”, a design introduced by Christian Dior in 1947.
“Batik Kudus is rich in colors. Before designing the outfit, I would take a look at the colors of the batik cloth first,” Barli says.
He said he chose a certain color from the batik as the basis for the cardigan and top. After that, he used the batik’s basic color to choose the application color for the top and cardigan.
Barli said he treated the handwritten batik very carefully, knowing the intricate process to make the fabric.
“I didn’t cut the cloth for the skirt. It’s still authentic,” he said, adding that the skirt owner could just undo the seam if she wanted to try another style.
He said he chose a certain color from the batik as the basis for the cardigan and top. After that, he used the batik’s basic color to choose the application color for the top and cardigan.
Barli said he treated the handwritten batik very carefully, knowing the intricate process to make the fabric.
“I didn’t cut the cloth for the skirt. It’s still authentic,” he said, adding that the skirt owner could just undo the seam if she wanted to try another style.
Danar Hadi's men collection JP/PJ LeoYuli said she was proud to introduce batik motifs from her town to a bigger audience in Jakarta.
She did not initially think to start a batik business. She was involved in a family embroidery business until she met Mikmah, an old woman that made her realize that handwritten batik was dying in her town and the young generation was unwilling to continue the cultural heritage.
She refused to sit back and watch. Instead she began learning about batik to preserve the heritage.
“In 2005, I decided to develop Batik Kudus because I realized there was only one artist who was already 80 years old,” Yuli said.
She started her quest by researching philosophy and knowledge on the classic motifs that had existed in her town a long time ago in the hope to popularize the motifs once again.
Some motifs, she says, have their own stories, including the one inspired by Jodhipati fruit, popular among Kudus residents.
“People in Kudus believe that if a seven-month pregnant mother eats the fruit, her baby will be good looking,” Yuli says.
Other classic motifs include beras utah (spread out rice), Chinese love story Sam Pek Eng Tay, the bitter melon flower, a stranded ship, calligraphy and a parijoto (showy Asian grapes) bouquet.
The stranded ship motif was based on an old story of a ship from China that was stranded near Kudus. The ship’s survivors later lived around Mount Muria or Kudus.
New motifs inspired by local icons in Kudus such as the Kudus tower and cigarette maker tool, have also been created.
A few numbers of batik entrepreneurs were born after the Kudus administration paid attention by providing workshop and soft loans.
Yuli said she hopes Batik Kudus gains more prominence once again, with those buying the fabrics curious to learn more about the motifs and stories behind them.
She did not initially think to start a batik business. She was involved in a family embroidery business until she met Mikmah, an old woman that made her realize that handwritten batik was dying in her town and the young generation was unwilling to continue the cultural heritage.
She refused to sit back and watch. Instead she began learning about batik to preserve the heritage.
“In 2005, I decided to develop Batik Kudus because I realized there was only one artist who was already 80 years old,” Yuli said.
She started her quest by researching philosophy and knowledge on the classic motifs that had existed in her town a long time ago in the hope to popularize the motifs once again.
Some motifs, she says, have their own stories, including the one inspired by Jodhipati fruit, popular among Kudus residents.
“People in Kudus believe that if a seven-month pregnant mother eats the fruit, her baby will be good looking,” Yuli says.
Other classic motifs include beras utah (spread out rice), Chinese love story Sam Pek Eng Tay, the bitter melon flower, a stranded ship, calligraphy and a parijoto (showy Asian grapes) bouquet.
The stranded ship motif was based on an old story of a ship from China that was stranded near Kudus. The ship’s survivors later lived around Mount Muria or Kudus.
New motifs inspired by local icons in Kudus such as the Kudus tower and cigarette maker tool, have also been created.
A few numbers of batik entrepreneurs were born after the Kudus administration paid attention by providing workshop and soft loans.
Yuli said she hopes Batik Kudus gains more prominence once again, with those buying the fabrics curious to learn more about the motifs and stories behind them.
source: jakartapost.com
Posted in: Batik,Fashion
1 comments:
thank for info
Post a Comment