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A celebration of modern batik
(JP/Novia D
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(JP/Novia D. Rulistia)
Batik is becoming increasingly popular. People no longer consider batik outdated wear that can only be worn on formal occasions and are now instead donning fashionable batik pieces with pride.
'People are wearing batik every day now because it's on par with other fashion items,' designer Nonita Respati of Purana Batik line said.
Five years ago on Oct. 2, the government called on the public to wear batik to commemorate National Batik Day, following UNESCO's decision to add the traditional dyeing technique to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The result: Jakarta and other cities turned into a sea of batik.
But the use of batik intensified in 2007 as a way to protect the Javanese fabric from Malaysia, which had attempted to copyright batik designs.
'Apart from the UNESCO acknowledgement and Malaysia's claim, people now wear batik because they want to and they now have more options that fit their styles,' Nonita said.
She said modern takes on batik came to the forefront when designers such as Josephine 'Obin' Werratie Komara of Bin House and Edward Hutabarat created batik pieces that were simple and in vogue.
Nonita said that with the rising popularity of modern batik, she also began taking in more business.
'Customers are always in search of modern batik, but lots of people are also interested in traditional motifs, like parang and sekar jagat,' she said.
'And that's the challenge for designers today ' creating modern batik without eliminating its roots to meet customers' needs.'
The thriving business of batik is not only seen in Jakarta but also in the regions. There was a time when the batik industry was struggling to survive and businessmen were forced to close their shops while workers began seeking jobs at factories.
'But as we can see now, batik shops in the regions, like in Pekalongan, are up and running again, new shops are being built and the artists' are doing well' she said.
The government has said that 7.9 percent of gross domestic income is generated from the creative industry, with the batik industry contributing 10 percent.
However, the popularity of batik had not necessarily led people to delve deeper into batik, Era Soe-
kamto, creative director of the Iwan Tirta Private Collection, said.
'People have started to take a liking to batik, but only less than 50 percent understand the philosophy of batik itself,' she said.
She added that many might not even know whether the batik they wore was hand drawn or printed.
'Batik is the wax-resistant dyeing technique used on textiles and if it's printed then it's not batik, it's just a common garment that features batik patterns,' Era said, adding that printed was mostly used to meet the high demand in the market.
Despite the low awareness of batik history in society, she said efforts had been made by several companies to take batik to another level.
'Companies are more capable and have more influence to do that. They're not just using batik as company uniforms, but also spreading the concept of batik through various means,' she said.
With such recognition from the public, many batik events have been held by various organizers. And at such fashion events, batik is front and center.
At the annual Jakarta Fashion Week (JFW) for example, batik has been presented each year the event has been held and always receives a loud applause from fashion lovers. 
Anne Avantie (JP/Awo)
A number of noted batik lines, such as Bin House and Carmanita, will take part in the 2015 JFW, which will run on Nov. 1 - 7.
JFW's creative director, Diaz Parzada, said the batik designs highlighted at the fashion event were usually inspired by the latest worldwide fashion trends.
'We will see at the upcoming JFW that the trend will shift from floral motifs to geometrical with many sides and angles, such as rereng, bilik and kerikil motifs,' he said.
Moreover, Diaz said, the colors would also be warm and cheerful, such as peach, reddish yellow and dark pink paired with simple silhouettes.
'The styling trend will be layering, with long batik scarves,' he said.
Aside from international influence in batik development on the local fashion scene, it had also been accepted on the international stage as several designers, including Dries van Noten and Oscar de la Renta, had used it in their designs, he said.
'Batik is not only part of what's hip today, it will always be around with a lot of innovations to come,' Diaz said.
