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Classy, environmentally-friendly batik ateliers
Five designers have demonstrated creative approaches in producing 42 items from the everlasting EcoBatik Signature collection with eco-friendly gestures
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Five designers have demonstrated creative approaches in producing 42 items from the everlasting EcoBatik Signature collection with eco-friendly gestures.
Known for her total dedication to batik and graceful designing, Carmanita presented a collection, entitled 'Indonesian Heritage', which resembles a classic style within a contemporary enclosure.
She modifies traditional batik motifs by combining them with modern patterns. Carmanita transforms the batik fabrics she uses into attires full of drape, asymmetric lines and loose cuts.
'We combined fabrics to mix and match, to create beautiful outfits that meet the demand of today's market,' said Carmanita at the launch of the collection at Kunstkring Palais art gallery in Jakarta recently.
The collection is a product of a four-year Clean Batik Initiative (CBI) program implemented by German Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (EKONID), co-financed by the European Union (EU) under a SWITCH-Asia Grant and technically supported by the Indonesian Cleaner Production Centre (ICPC) of the Environment Ministry.
Those who are familiar with Lenny Agustin's colorful pieces will get a nice surprise as she successfully delivers
a calmer color palette in her 'Lennor's' eco-batik collection.
Aiming at young fashion lovers, Lenny uses an 'in the wood' theme for the collection, which represents an atmosphere of a tropical forest. It is evoked by motifs of leaves, flowers and butterflies with earthy colors.
Combining batik shirts with butterfly motifs, plus pairs of short and eight-holed boots, is part of Lennor's styling. Hence, eco-batik in Lennor is for those who are into sexiness, girlie things and a young look.
'Working for this eco-batik project is truly a challenge for me because I'm accustomed to bright colors in making clothes. I was a bit nervous when I was designing a collection in softer colors. Gratefully, my Lennor fans and some customers in my other boutique appreciate this new collection,' said Lenny.
Bandung-based Batik Fractal introduces a combination of cutting-edge technology and Indonesian tradition with its work.
Its batik products are created with a traditional hand writing process using natural coloring material. The pattern itself, however, is manufactured with the fractal math formula translated to printable design patterns by special software, jbatik.
The grid theme of Batik Fractal's eco-batik collection is inspired by people living in the Bauhaus movement.
Bauhaus was a place of color, excitement and youth that encouraged an atmosphere of artistic creativity and individuality. This collection also tries to stress its femininity.
As Bauhaus is trying to create utopian dream where art, craft and technology peacefully combine, it is essential for Batik Fractal to create its imaginary world. The brand shapes its experiences through exploring materials, rhythm, proportion, color and form.
One aspect of the grid look is represented by a unique girl in an asymmetric knee-length bluish dress with classic-cute ankle boots and funny-looking framed sunglasses.
Sexy and romantic are two perfect words to define 'Exotic Silhouette' by Caterina Hapsari, a designer who was also Miss Indonesia of 2007.
Caterina was simply inspired by the beauty of Indonesia, using colors that reflect the country's rich biodiversity. Her choice of motifs also portrays the magnificence of natural beauty in Indonesia.
Prominent designer Musa Widyatmodjo showcased his 'Natural Society' eco-batik collection for men. He got creative by using well-produced batik fabrics into inspiring shirts, jackets and coats.
For the artisan, designing clothes for men has always been a challenge because a particular motif and cutting can alter a masculine figure into a feminine figure.
Each designer worked with selected and certified small-medium batik enterprises from Cirebon, Pekalongan, Surakarta and Sumenep to create the whole collection.
Each batik producer in the project applied natural dying from waste leaves, vegetables and fruit for all their handmade fabrics.
Interestingly, such eco-friendly gestures work with other cost- and energy-saving attitudes, such as using the electric stove instead of a costly fuel-based traditional stove.
CBI project coordinator Martin Krummeck said the objective of the EcoBatik Signature Collection goes beyond showcasing the program and its achievements, as it is also a means of getting the eco-friendly batik to market.
As of now, Indonesia sees many batik factories operating with excessive wax, chemical dyes and bleaching agents that are harmful to people and the environment.
As a result, water scarcity is a common issue during the dry season, which often prompts batik factories to turn to water solutions that require even greater energy supplies that lead to increased production costs.
'We strongly encourage SMEs [small and medium enterprises] to produce environmentally-friendly batik products and at the same time we motivate Indonesian designers to take advantage of it,' said Krummeck.
' Photos by Ricky Yudhistira
