back to batik

... batik just won't let me go. The more I learn about it, the more thirsty for more knowledge I become. Especially when I read that in Tuban, East Java, they used home-grown, hand spun and handwoven cotton (other batik is on Indian cotton)! And the indigo is grown around the village. This method is still being used and I will HAVE to go there and check it out.

Batik is just one of the traditional fabrics of Indonesia, alongside Songket and Ikat but it is THE fabrics of the nation. It is the cloth with the most meaning and full of symbolisms. It tells you something about the maker as well as its wearer in colour, design, the way it's made and finally the way it's folded and worn.

Brides receive a precious batik sarong from her father on her wedding day, it may be custom made with with symbols signifying the new unity of the 2 families. These fabrics are handed down from generation to generation. The thought of documenting the special day in a piece of cloth which is completely unique and precious to be a family inheritance somehow speaks to my little heart. On my last trip I was fortunate enough to visit Kathmandu where I bought 3 traditional fabrics which is on the shelf between my new Garut batik that a kind group of local women gave me and my Swiss print cotton with teeny-tiny flowers. I have been collecting fabrics for as long as I remember; many bought on holiday and rarely even made into clothing as they seemed to precious with memories.

Some batiks are only for royalty (as still worn by the sultan in Yogyakarta); but everyone wore a casual batik cloth around their waist back in the day. And even nowadays batik print shirts and fashioned dresses are worn by young and old.

HOWEVER... of course with modern times, modern mass productions methods are implemented. Many "batiks" are not even made by the batik method of wax resist dyeing but by printing by machine and... and don't fall off your chair... are cheaply imported to Indonesia from China!!!

Well, I am going to stick to tradition; on real batik the pattern is visible clearly on both sides of the cloth and you can smell the natural wax. Lets go right back to where vegetable dyes were used. All the colours, all thees vibrant blues, reds and yellows were produced naturally 100 years ago. In a few weeks I shall be visiting a batik workshop to learn the skill of handmade batik myself, and more importantly visit Solo and Yogyokarta, the two royal courts of central java and capitals of batik to visit Studio Bixa where only home-grown vegetable dyes are used. My vision is to collaborate with these places and support this traditional way of producing this precious traditional cloth.

What will the fashion industry look like in 2025?

An initiative by Forum for the Future, this is a call for a sustainable fashion industry. On this website you can find a heap of resources like the complete report including thoughts by fashion experts from all around the world. Be sure to check out the animations showing 4 scenarios!

Cleaning up Batik

Since my last entry, so much has happened! Good things, lots of them, inspiring people and places.

Time to share 'em.

This entry is dedicated to the Clean Batik Initiative.

I read about it in the Jakarta Post article and immediately made contact with the organisation responsible for it : EKONID , the German-Indonesian Camber of Industry and Commerce, (ah, my fellow Germans!) and met them just a few days ago in Jakarta.

The popularity of batik has only grown since UNESCO added the technique to its World Heritage list. This has sparked the project after it became known that small to medium sized enterprises in batik produce the highest amount of CO2 among their sector (oh dear).

I discussed this initiative which is 'cleaning up' batik with the project officers, Anne Dih and Adnan Tripradipta. They explained how this programme that has only been launched at the beginning of this year is aiming for more efficient water&electricity consumption and waste management by providing free workshops (funded by the EU). This 4-year programme will face major challenges as a certain fear of change prevails despite the huge financial savings that can made and considering that the end-product will be the same as produced through the traditional, more environmentally-harming methods.

The lovely lady on the left is Anne Dih, whom I spoke to.

In conversation it became apparent that although producing more environmentally-friendly textiles is a growing trend, developing a certification for the cleaner batik and taking the next step of using sustainable fibres such as organic cotton is something to be pursued at a much later date.

The second phase of this programme aims to "green" the demand side of batik through free marketing, promotion and consultation programmes. Being a member of the Ethical Fashion Forum made me realize how important and helpful it is for designers, suppliers and other players in the industry to have a platform to exchange and communicate. Maybe something along those lines can be introduced for Indonesia, as I myself would appreciate one myself right now! (Oh Indonesian organic textiles, where art thou? Somewhere for sure, ... will keep on looking.).

As an ambassador of ethical fashion, it was inspiring and interesting to exchange throughts with clean batik initiators in person; it is a h u g e step in the right direction. I am looking forward to getting involved somehow and will report back regarding this topic. Time to clean up!

Mister van Noten, can I interest you in clean batik, yes?

Inspiring (Batik)

Last weekend I visited my childhood friend, Cici, who was my childminder's daughter. They lived in a small house attached to ours. We spent 7 years of our childhood together, making sand & flower cakes and running around the garden with the batik capes of our fairy costumes flying behind us.

In Indonesia, it is tradition for the young to look after the old. It sounds natural and ideal; in western society this tradition is long gone. Cici returned to Desa Hanja after living and a decent eduction in Bandung a few years after my family had returned to Germany. This was not questioned despite her potential for a career. First I felt disappointed for her, but then seeing 4 generations (Cici has a son called Vega Verdaus, what a name!) all living in the same house, healthy and happy looking, living in a picturesque hilly village with a community, changed my thoughts. Remember where you are. Here, family comes first, values are different than in Europe, it is not all about career&success.

What else I saw there were colours. Such vibrant colours!

Colour Lovers

Quick one: I came across Colour Lovers on Mudpie's LinkedIn forum (another good resource for ppl in the fashion industry), as I too am a lover of colour however, I get indecisive. Naturally, with the endless possibilities the combinations and shades provide you with! Colour Lovers has just helped me out BIG time as I was stuck on my colours for the range I am working on. You can search for palettes by entering 3 hues for example and then a very very long list appears. Well structured website, too. Anyway, back to work, now that I've got my colours sorted :)

Grizzly bear

Their popularity of this New York band has increased immensely since the release of their latest album 'Veckatimest' (2009). The music is slightly haunting despite being melodic and the videos visually strangely captivating .

evening view from roof terrace

What an incredible and incredibly busy week last week was. In the best possible way. This the first week in our new little house in Bandung, during which we also adopted a little cat (called 'Jelek', ugly, by the previous owner as it was so ill and horrible looking, but very cute by now)... ... ... and 3 interesting events occurred in Bandung last week...

Institut Teknolologi Bandung (ITB), as the dean himself said to me, is 'the most prestigious university in Indonesia' and internationally acclaimed. But almost more important for myself was the beautifully spacious campus with many huge leafy trees and the eager but laid-back vibes it sent out. I had a meeting with staff from the Faculty of Arts and Crafts, did a little ppt about me, myself and I (skills, interests, experience etc etc) which was basically a job interview; apparently this informal and indirect approach is typical of the Asian way. Glad to have prepared well, I had some fruitful exchanges and I will be involved there in the new term in one way or another. To be continued and confirmed.

ITB main campus

Now this is interesting: while researching ITB, I came across jBatik, Fractal Batik, created by Pixel People Project. They have won several awards, including the ICT Asia Pacific award and the UNESCO award of excellence. I have already been researching batik quite a bit but had come across nothing this innovative or original. One of the lecturers who attended my presentation happened to be part of that project and he told me that there were mixed reactions to fractal batik, many people feared that traditional batik would be undermined and the skills lost, others find digitalisation a natural progression also in batik. I replied that I was surprised to have not found any more experimental, new approaches to traditional Indonesian fabrics. This is really thinking outside the box, incorporating modern technology and does not stand in competition to traditional Batik; if anything it makes it more appealing! Read about it here. Batik was nominated a UNESCO world heritage last year. Especially since then but in the last 5 years, batik has turned into a bit of a hype here; hence my surprise how conventional most of it still is and my joy upon discovering Fractal Batik.

So, what is it? "jBatik is an open source software, custom developed to design Batik Fractal. This Java based program can be found in website www.pxlpplproject.com for user can have first hand experience to generate graphics by writing fractal formula based on L-Systems. User can also copy the formula provided in Galleries, manipulating the formula, iterations or angles of the fractal to produce various results. End results can be saved in png format for further development." taken from their website, more info there.

And for your reference, traditional batik can look a little something like this (this is a humble selection, there are endlessly many styles and patterns):